Washington vs D.C.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Authentic DC lies eotr, everyone knows that. Mumbo sauce, GoGo and the culture.

No. Mumbo sauce is a Georgia Avenue/HU thing, so EOTP (at least to start in DC) but not EOTR.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC = what people call the district who don’t live here

The District = what we call it

Downtown = the portion of NW that encompasses federal buildings/the mall/K street. I disagree with the person above who said it’s most of NW; it’s not. Adams Morgan is not downtown. Dupont is not downtown. Georgetown is not downtown.

As an aside, I feel like people from outside the DMV care more about what’s inside the Beltway and what isn’t. I’ve lived in this area for 15 years and never really think about it.

^Nope.

That’s a helpful response. Thanks for your contribution.

4th gen here--not going to debate someone who has only been here for 15 years. Most of the labels here are new and not traditional terms for natives.

I've lived here for 16 years. Everyone I know calls it DC. Everyone. The only time I hear anyone refer to it as 'The District' is on the local news.

Sure, locals refer to quadrants and neighborhoods when they're being specific. Some of the neighborhood names created by developers are just silly. They're almost as silly as 'North Bethesda' instead of Rockville.

I know some folks are trying to make DMV happen, but I don't love it. We need something better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in California, have lived in the District for 11 years. I married into a local family

People from outside the region say “DC” when they refer to our city. When they say “Washington” they mean the state.
When I’m talking to outsiders, I say “DC”
When I’m talking to someone from the region, I say “The District”
When I’m talking to a fellow District resident or a “local” who is intimately familiar with the city, we talk about specific neighborhoods
When I’m talking with friends and family who live in VA or MD, they use the word “downtown” but are not super familiar with the borders of individual neighborhoods
Black local residents say “The DMV” to refer to the region. I’ve never heard a white resident call it “The DMV” while speaking

Old money white ladies who have lived in DC or Bethesda for 70+ years call it “Warrrrrshington.” That term is going to die off in the next decade.

White people use DMV....but thanks for left coast expertise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my experience white people say Washington and black people say DC (I'm in the latter group). I live EOTP NW and my neighbors all say DC also.

Interesting. Do you have many friends or colleagues who are white, live in DC and call it Washington? I’m white and call it DC and so do basically all the people I know in the district. I assume anyone calling it Washington is either not from here or speaking specifically about the politicians.

That PP clarified after that they were referring to people outside of DC, white and black, referencing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC = what people call the district who don’t live here

The District = what we call it

Downtown = the portion of NW that encompasses federal buildings/the mall/K street. I disagree with the person above who said it’s most of NW; it’s not. Adams Morgan is not downtown. Dupont is not downtown. Georgetown is not downtown.

As an aside, I feel like people from outside the DMV care more about what’s inside the Beltway and what isn’t. I’ve lived in this area for 15 years and never really think about it.

^Nope.

That’s a helpful response. Thanks for your contribution.

4th gen here--not going to debate someone who has only been here for 15 years. Most of the labels here are new and not traditional terms for natives.

I've lived here for 16 years. Everyone I know calls it DC. Everyone. The only time I hear anyone refer to it as 'The District' is on the local news.

Sure, locals refer to quadrants and neighborhoods when they're being specific. Some of the neighborhood names created by developers are just silly. They're almost as silly as 'North Bethesda' instead of Rockville.

I know some folks are trying to make DMV happen, but I don't love it. We need something better.

^This is accurate--most of these distinctions are made up by developers and real estate agents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I know some folks are trying to make DMV happen, but I don't love it. We need something better.

The only people trying to keep "DMV" in use are MD/VA suburbanites who want to pretend that working in DC while commuting from Arlington/Bethesda/Fairfax (Fairfax, lmao) is somehow equivalent to living in the District. Nope, nope, nope! When I hear someone say "I live in the DMV" I mentally translate to, "I'm a bridge-and-tunnel type, but think I can pass as an urbanite."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I know some folks are trying to make DMV happen, but I don't love it. We need something better.

The only people trying to keep "DMV" in use are MD/VA suburbanites who want to pretend that working in DC while commuting from Arlington/Bethesda/Fairfax (Fairfax, lmao) is somehow equivalent to living in the District. Nope, nope, nope! When I hear someone say "I live in the DMV" I mentally translate to, "I'm a bridge-and-tunnel type, but think I can pass as an urbanite."

Huh?

DMV = DC, MD, and VA

It’s a term for the region as a whole, not the district.

Do you really not get that?

Also I lived in the district for over a decade. I’ve never been happier than when I moved to the burbs. It’s really not that great.

[Anonymous]

I’m from DC. My parents were born in DC. My grandparents moved to DC as young adults. Each of us, at some point, has worked in Washington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I know some folks are trying to make DMV happen, but I don't love it. We need something better.

The only people trying to keep "DMV" in use are MD/VA suburbanites who want to pretend that working in DC while commuting from Arlington/Bethesda/Fairfax (Fairfax, lmao) is somehow equivalent to living in the District. Nope, nope, nope! When I hear someone say "I live in the DMV" I mentally translate to, "I'm a bridge-and-tunnel type, but think I can pass as an urbanite."

Huh?

DMV = DC, MD, and VA

It’s a term for the region as a whole, not the district.

Do you really not get that?

Also I lived in the district for over a decade. I’ve never been happier than when I moved to the burbs. It’s really not that great.

DP: I get that — and, like the PP, I’ve noticed who seems to say or write DMV, and I’ve drawn my own conclusions re: why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I know some folks are trying to make DMV happen, but I don't love it. We need something better.

The only people trying to keep "DMV" in use are MD/VA suburbanites who want to pretend that working in DC while commuting from Arlington/Bethesda/Fairfax (Fairfax, lmao) is somehow equivalent to living in the District. Nope, nope, nope! When I hear someone say "I live in the DMV" I mentally translate to, "I'm a bridge-and-tunnel type, but think I can pass as an urbanite."

Huh?

DMV = DC, MD, and VA

It’s a term for the region as a whole, not the district.

Do you really not get that?

Also I lived in the district for over a decade. I’ve never been happier than when I moved to the burbs. It’s really not that great.

DP: I get that — and, like the PP, I’ve noticed who seems to say or write DMV, and I’ve drawn my own conclusions re: why.

You think it’s because we all secretly want to live in the District? That’s why we’re using an acronym that denotes the region?

Wut

[Anonymous]

3rd generation here. My parents and grandparents refer to DC as the District. Sometimes I do too, but mainly we call it DC or just, downtown (we now live in the suburbs). “Downtown” simply refers to DC and is not neighborhood specific at all. We’ve never, ever used “DMV”. If anything, we say “the DC area” when talking to those who live elsewhere.

Really sick of transplants insisting those of us who have lived here for generations are somehow using the wrong terminology.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:3rd generation here. My parents and grandparents refer to DC as the District. Sometimes I do too, but mainly we call it DC or just, downtown (we now live in the suburbs). “Downtown” simply refers to DC and is not neighborhood specific at all. We’ve never, ever used “DMV”. If anything, we say “the DC area” when talking to those who live elsewhere.

Really sick of transplants insisting those of us who have lived here for generations are somehow using the wrong terminology.

Oh get over yourself.

- 3rd generation New Yorker who has lived here for 15 years, would never do this to someone who was a newer New Yorker, and thinks you’re a PITA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3rd generation here. My parents and grandparents refer to DC as the District. Sometimes I do too, but mainly we call it DC or just, downtown (we now live in the suburbs). “Downtown” simply refers to DC and is not neighborhood specific at all. We’ve never, ever used “DMV”. If anything, we say “the DC area” when talking to those who live elsewhere.

Really sick of transplants insisting those of us who have lived here for generations are somehow using the wrong terminology.

Oh get over yourself.

- 3rd generation New Yorker who has lived here for 15 years, would never do this to someone who was a newer New Yorker, and thinks you’re a PITA

What is it I “did” to you? I would never move to NY and start telling native New Yorkers how to refer to their city. How obnoxious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3rd generation here. My parents and grandparents refer to DC as the District. Sometimes I do too, but mainly we call it DC or just, downtown (we now live in the suburbs). “Downtown” simply refers to DC and is not neighborhood specific at all. We’ve never, ever used “DMV”. If anything, we say “the DC area” when talking to those who live elsewhere.

Really sick of transplants insisting those of us who have lived here for generations are somehow using the wrong terminology.

Oh get over yourself.

- 3rd generation New Yorker who has lived here for 15 years, would never do this to someone who was a newer New Yorker, and thinks you’re a PITA

What is it I “did” to you? I would never move to NY and start telling native New Yorkers how to refer to their city. How obnoxious.

I recognize that terminology changes. There are neighborhoods in NYC that didn’t exist when I was growing up there.

So get your stick out of your ass and realize it happens here too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm always amused when people on DCUM say that our nation's capital is "staid" and "boring" and has no culture. What a crock. Do they never interact with anyone besides members of Congress or lawyers? The DC I know is vibrant, funky, creative, and lots of fun.

GoGo, baby, GoGo.