If you don't like DC, what prevents you from leaving?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I came to DC because my husband was transferred there for work and it seemed like the better alternative to divorce. He works for the govt and his job is one of a kind, so there was no alternative for him unless he wanted to completely start over. We were able to leave after 7 years, but I can't break my DCUM addiction. I have tried!

My problem with DC was the traffic, rude people (result of traffic, I think), high cost of living, and long work hours. Our life was just tougher there.

I love it but we make plenty of money so it doesn't seem expensive. We also live close to our jobs and never fight traffic. We also have a great work/life balance.

Regardless of how much you make, it sucks living in an area where you pay so much for so little, in terms of both quality of life and the general area.

There's a reason the rick dont "summer" "winter" or spend any season in DC!

We lived in a much more expensive city previously so this doesn't seem to be the case for us. We have a great quality of life and have a lot of fun here in DC with our friends and family.

I'm glad it's a good fit for you. As I pointed out though, you might be in the minority. There's a reason the top high earners dont live in DC unless they have business or government contracts here. But you like it, good for you.

This isn't true.

It is, but what do you expect when you post on a DC board? People have a self interest in denial.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I came to DC because my husband was transferred there for work and it seemed like the better alternative to divorce. He works for the govt and his job is one of a kind, so there was no alternative for him unless he wanted to completely start over. We were able to leave after 7 years, but I can't break my DCUM addiction. I have tried!

My problem with DC was the traffic, rude people (result of traffic, I think), high cost of living, and long work hours. Our life was just tougher there.

I love it but we make plenty of money so it doesn't seem expensive. We also live close to our jobs and never fight traffic. We also have a great work/life balance.

Regardless of how much you make, it sucks living in an area where you pay so much for so little, in terms of both quality of life and the general area.

There's a reason the rick dont "summer" "winter" or spend any season in DC!

I think the COL is a bit exaggerated, considering that many people move here for the higher wages. Higher wages usually coincide with higher COL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I came to DC because my husband was transferred there for work and it seemed like the better alternative to divorce. He works for the govt and his job is one of a kind, so there was no alternative for him unless he wanted to completely start over. We were able to leave after 7 years, but I can't break my DCUM addiction. I have tried!

My problem with DC was the traffic, rude people (result of traffic, I think), high cost of living, and long work hours. Our life was just tougher there.

I love it but we make plenty of money so it doesn't seem expensive. We also live close to our jobs and never fight traffic. We also have a great work/life balance.

Regardless of how much you make, it sucks living in an area where you pay so much for so little, in terms of both quality of life and the general area.

There's a reason the rick dont "summer" "winter" or spend any season in DC!

We lived in a much more expensive city previously so this doesn't seem to be the case for us. We have a great quality of life and have a lot of fun here in DC with our friends and family.

I'm glad it's a good fit for you. As I pointed out though, you might be in the minority. There's a reason the top high earners dont live in DC unless they have business or government contracts here. But you like it, good for you.

High earners probably don't live in DC because it's a small area so not much room if you want a big house and/or land. I don't think DC is suited for people who want the typical suburban life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just really curious. No snark intended. It's just tiresome to read the ad nauseam posts about being miserable in DC. If I truly hated a place, I would leave right away. Life's too short. If another place calls to you, you have ties there, you just love love love it, and the people are awesomely friendly, surely you can find a job there? Why be so unhappy that your perspective is clouded to the point that you think everyone here is terrible? That's just illogical.

DH's industry is here and southern CA, prefer here. Wish it were N.E.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I came to DC because my husband was transferred there for work and it seemed like the better alternative to divorce. He works for the govt and his job is one of a kind, so there was no alternative for him unless he wanted to completely start over. We were able to leave after 7 years, but I can't break my DCUM addiction. I have tried!

My problem with DC was the traffic, rude people (result of traffic, I think), high cost of living, and long work hours. Our life was just tougher there.

I love it but we make plenty of money so it doesn't seem expensive. We also live close to our jobs and never fight traffic. We also have a great work/life balance.

Regardless of how much you make, it sucks living in an area where you pay so much for so little, in terms of both quality of life and the general area.

There's a reason the rick dont "summer" "winter" or spend any season in DC!

We lived in a much more expensive city previously so this doesn't seem to be the case for us. We have a great quality of life and have a lot of fun here in DC with our friends and family.

I'm glad it's a good fit for you. As I pointed out though, you might be in the minority. There's a reason the top high earners dont live in DC unless they have business or government contracts here. But you like it, good for you.

High earners probably don't live in DC because it's a small area so not much room if you want a big house and/or land. I don't think DC is suited for people who want the typical suburban life.

+1

And even DC proper feels very suburban, to me. Compared to other cities. It's a good city for those that dont really want to live in a city, but want to tell people they do

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I came to DC because my husband was transferred there for work and it seemed like the better alternative to divorce. He works for the govt and his job is one of a kind, so there was no alternative for him unless he wanted to completely start over. We were able to leave after 7 years, but I can't break my DCUM addiction. I have tried!

My problem with DC was the traffic, rude people (result of traffic, I think), high cost of living, and long work hours. Our life was just tougher there.

+1

I could've written this myself, except we're still here. Spouse has a very specialized skill set and the job is here. I'd have to divorce my spouse in order to leave and I love my family too much to do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I came to DC because my husband was transferred there for work and it seemed like the better alternative to divorce. He works for the govt and his job is one of a kind, so there was no alternative for him unless he wanted to completely start over. We were able to leave after 7 years, but I can't break my DCUM addiction. I have tried!

My problem with DC was the traffic, rude people (result of traffic, I think), high cost of living, and long work hours. Our life was just tougher there.

I love it but we make plenty of money so it doesn't seem expensive. We also live close to our jobs and never fight traffic. We also have a great work/life balance.

Regardless of how much you make, it sucks living in an area where you pay so much for so little, in terms of both quality of life and the general area.

There's a reason the rick dont "summer" "winter" or spend any season in DC!

I think the COL is a bit exaggerated, considering that many people move here for the higher wages. Higher wages usually coincide with higher COL.

PP who was quoted. We moved from Denver, and even though locality pay was slightly higher in DC, with taxes, my husband's paycheck went down due to higher taxes. So the transfer was just a big bummer from every angle. And I complained a lot and certainly annoyed my fair share of people. His commute wasn't bad, but it was easier in Denver without having to deal with the metro and all the traffic snafus that happen for random reasons. Plus he was expected to work longer hours just because it's DC and that's how people roll in DC. There just really was no upside for us. Free museums? But really we did make some great friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I came to DC because my husband was transferred there for work and it seemed like the better alternative to divorce. He works for the govt and his job is one of a kind, so there was no alternative for him unless he wanted to completely start over. We were able to leave after 7 years, but I can't break my DCUM addiction. I have tried!

My problem with DC was the traffic, rude people (result of traffic, I think), high cost of living, and long work hours. Our life was just tougher there.

I love it but we make plenty of money so it doesn't seem expensive. We also live close to our jobs and never fight traffic. We also have a great work/life balance.

Regardless of how much you make, it sucks living in an area where you pay so much for so little, in terms of both quality of life and the general area.

There's a reason the rick dont "summer" "winter" or spend any season in DC!

We lived in a much more expensive city previously so this doesn't seem to be the case for us. We have a great quality of life and have a lot of fun here in DC with our friends and family.

I'm glad it's a good fit for you. As I pointed out though, you might be in the minority. There's a reason the top high earners dont live in DC unless they have business or government contracts here. But you like it, good for you.

High earners probably don't live in DC because it's a small area so not much room if you want a big house and/or land. I don't think DC is suited for people who want the typical suburban life.

Would you say the same about kalorama ?

[Anonymous]

Can't find a similar job making the same amount of money in another city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, I dont live in DC anymore. Thank God. But I still reserve the right to snark on it, because it genuinely is a shitty place.

If you dont like it, don't open threads complaining about DC.

+1

PREACH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just really curious. No snark intended. It's just tiresome to read the ad nauseam posts about being miserable in DC. If I truly hated a place, I would leave right away. Life's too short. If another place calls to you, you have ties there, you just love love love it, and the people are awesomely friendly, surely you can find a job there? Why be so unhappy that your perspective is clouded to the point that you think everyone here is terrible? That's just illogical.

Have a great job,dont want to start over.

[Anonymous]

I don't live in DC, but know multiple people who do and would like to move for improved quality of life. In every instance, they would have to take big enough salary and benefits cuts, even accounting for lower cost of living in their preferred region, that they can't justify the move. I only know one who took the pay cut to move, and he didn't have a family yet, was leaving to live with his finances in another city. The jobs and salaries are definitely a force.

[Anonymous]

I can't leave because of DH's job. Not convinced where my family lives is any better. The grass is not always greener. All you have to do is look up a city data forum of a place you want to move to, and you will find a thread about how that place sucks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't leave because of DH's job. Not convinced where my family lives is any better. The grass is not always greener. All you have to do is look up a city data forum of a place you want to move to, and you will find a thread about how that place sucks.

This. I left an area many people probably think they might love to live in (SoCal) to move to DC. DC is not perfect, but there are many aspects of living here that I prefer over SoCal. Not the weather, tho.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't leave because of DH's job. Not convinced where my family lives is any better. The grass is not always greener. All you have to do is look up a city data forum of a place you want to move to, and you will find a thread about how that place sucks.

This. I left an area many people probably think they might love to live in (SoCal) to move to DC. DC is not perfect, but there are many aspects of living here that I prefer over SoCal. Not the weather, tho.

Isn't it like 110 degrees there right now with rampant wildfires?