Anyone else burnt out with DC lifestyle

[Anonymous]

Wow -- can't folks agree to disagree?
DC can be more stressful than some other places.
This area has a high cost of living!! Yes, to some degree the salaries are comenserate with that -- but it means folks have to work harder, longer hours because a house that would be worth $300,000 in Atlanta is priced at $600,000 here...it does make a BIG difference. Trust me...I moved here from there and I know the difference. That doesn't mean there are not good things here and you can make a good life. We have family here so that helps -- A LOT!
The two things are not mutally exclusive -- can have a fast-paced, stressful lifestyle AND forge out a life that can work for you on some levels.

[Anonymous]

We bought in 1999 before the run up in prices so the relatively high cost of living here is blunted somewhat. I spent 4 months living and working in Kansas City and about died of boredom. Very reasonable work/life balance, but not too much to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There is a WAIT LIST for neighborhood pools. But if you have a pool, PP we will be glad to bring our throngs to your house and see how you like it and for how long. People do try different activities, its discouraging when everything is a huge deal, however. You can't deny that. I am open to constructive, specific suggestions instead of just criticism. This is not the PP you were writing to, BTW. There are many people who feel the same way. These are productive contributors to society who are just "done", that's all. Who knows, we may be your employers.

Gosh, I know. That's why we leased a summer membership the first two years before we got off the WAIT LIST and were able to purchase a membership. Sheesh.

Our neighborhood pool has no option like "leasing a summer membership". They are full and the waiting list is apparently 10 yes, 10 years long.

[Anonymous]

What the heck is the DC lifestyle? Sure housing is more expensive here, but I walk the two blocks to school with DD, we can ride our bikes to the Smithsonian, both I and my spouse work from home 90% of the time, and the only time we ever get in the car is on weekends when we drive an hour or so to the Bay, or the mountains.

Heck, neither of our jobs are even that stressful, since we work in fields where we have highly specialized knowledge, and are paid to apply that knowledge in short concentrated bursts.

I'd write more, but I'm going to go get on a Bikeshare bike, and ride over to my masseuse, then hit H Street for some lunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What the heck is the DC lifestyle? Sure housing is more expensive here, but I walk the two blocks to school with DD, we can ride our bikes to the Smithsonian, both I and my spouse work from home 90% of the time, and the only time we ever get in the car is on weekends when we drive an hour or so to the Bay, or the mountains.

Heck, neither of our jobs are even that stressful, since we work in fields where we have highly specialized knowledge, and are paid to apply that knowledge in short concentrated bursts.

I'd write more, but I'm going to go get on a Bikeshare bike, and ride over to my masseuse, then hit H Street for some lunch.

Exactly. This is the "DC Lifestyle". OP is describing suburban commuting struggles.

Is there any need for pool membership angst in DC itself? I'm asking because we've never looked to become members anywhere, but have so many options for occasional swimming that it's never been an issue. There are so many hotels with pools that are available for a fee (that I think also sell neighborhood memberships), plus the JCC, plus the YMCA on Rhode Island Ave., plus the municipal pools, plus all the gyms. Few apartment buildings in my immediate neighborhood have rooftop pools (historic district), but the newer ones in PQ and U St. all do. Is this really an issue in the city?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There is a WAIT LIST for neighborhood pools. But if you have a pool, PP we will be glad to bring our throngs to your house and see how you like it and for how long. People do try different activities, its discouraging when everything is a huge deal, however. You can't deny that. I am open to constructive, specific suggestions instead of just criticism. This is not the PP you were writing to, BTW. There are many people who feel the same way. These are productive contributors to society who are just "done", that's all. Who knows, we may be your employers.

Gosh, I know. That's why we leased a summer membership the first two years before we got off the WAIT LIST and were able to purchase a membership. Sheesh.

Our neighborhood pool has no option like "leasing a summer membership". They are full and the waiting list is apparently 10 yes, 10 years long.

So do you spend your entire summer inside where it's air conditioned?

[Anonymous]

I think how you feel about DC depends a lot on where you are from and where you've been. I'm from here. I grow up in Alexandria (FFx Co.) and LOVED it. I would say a good 60-75% of the people I knew well growing up (kids from school, etc.) still live in this area.

I went to college in New England, have lived on the West Coast, in the midwest and also overseas (in London) and this is where we kept coming back to. Good schools, great jobs, diversity, interesting people from all walks of life, free museums, the water (the Potomac) and close beaches, driveable to lots of cool places...for me, the list goes on and on.

Is DC more expensive and more congested than many other parts of the U.S.? Sure. But it has also provided much better opportunities for my husband and me. Not to mention, unemployment is DC is SOOO MUCH LOWER than in almost every part of the U.S. I'm surprised all of you people who are bemoaning life in DC don't appreciate the fact that other parts of the country have been hit really hard by unemployment and substantially lower housing prices. You think your house has gone down in value here? Try living in Arizona or California or pretty much anywhere else.

While I think many of you DC haters tend to only see the bad in DC and the good elsewhere, you are certainly entitled to feel that way. And I think some of that has to do with where in DC (or the burbs) you live...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There is a WAIT LIST for neighborhood pools. But if you have a pool, PP we will be glad to bring our throngs to your house and see how you like it and for how long. People do try different activities, its discouraging when everything is a huge deal, however. You can't deny that. I am open to constructive, specific suggestions instead of just criticism. This is not the PP you were writing to, BTW. There are many people who feel the same way. These are productive contributors to society who are just "done", that's all. Who knows, we may be your employers.

Gosh, I know. That's why we leased a summer membership the first two years before we got off the WAIT LIST and were able to purchase a membership. Sheesh.

Our neighborhood pool has no option like "leasing a summer membership". They are full and the waiting list is apparently 10 yes, 10 years long.

So do you spend your entire summer inside where it's air conditioned?

No, we go to the local public pool where there is a fight for parking and its unbearably crowded. Better than staying inside of course, but yet another way that even recreation is frustrating.

I would like to know which hotels in DC allow you to use their pools for a fee. We are in Bethesda, just over the DC line, so its not like we are way out in the burbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think how you feel about DC depends a lot on where you are from and where you've been. I'm from here. I grow up in Alexandria (FFx Co.) and LOVED it. I would say a good 60-75% of the people I knew well growing up (kids from school, etc.) still live in this area.

I went to college in New England, have lived on the West Coast, in the midwest and also overseas (in London) and this is where we kept coming back to. Good schools, great jobs, diversity, interesting people from all walks of life, free museums, the water (the Potomac) and close beaches, driveable to lots of cool places...for me, the list goes on and on.

Is DC more expensive and more congested than many other parts of the U.S.? Sure. But it has also provided much better opportunities for my husband and me. Not to mention, unemployment is DC is SOOO MUCH LOWER than in almost every part of the U.S. I'm surprised all of you people who are bemoaning life in DC don't appreciate the fact that other parts of the country have been hit really hard by unemployment and substantially lower housing prices. You think your house has gone down in value here? Try living in Arizona or California or pretty much anywhere else.

While I think many of you DC haters tend to only see the bad in DC and the good elsewhere, you are certainly entitled to feel that way. And I think some of that has to do with where in DC (or the burbs) you live...

I've lived in Boston and London, too and I also grew up here, but in the MD burbs. I would take Boston or London any day over DC. London has a walkability and parks like DC can only dream of and its as close to get to Paris from there as it is to Ocean City from here. Boston has beaches nearby and beautiful seasons, history and charm and all of New England as your backyard (can you say skiiing?) But you are spot on with the job situation here. Beats anywhere else, hands down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


No, we go to the local public pool where there is a fight for parking and its unbearably crowded. Better than staying inside of course, but yet another way that even recreation is frustrating.

I would like to know which hotels in DC allow you to use their pools for a fee. We are in Bethesda, just over the DC line, so its not like we are way out in the burbs.

Yes you are, but in any event, lots of hotels in Woodley Park and Dupont will let you use their pools. Take Metro and make a day of it-- no need to "fight for parking" when there are other options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I've lived in Boston and London, too and I also grew up here, but in the MD burbs. I would take Boston or London any day over DC. London has a walkability and parks like DC can only dream of and its as close to get to Paris from there as it is to Ocean City from here. Boston has beaches nearby and beautiful seasons, history and charm and all of New England as your backyard (can you say skiiing?) But you are spot on with the job situation here. Beats anywhere else, hands down.

Quoted person here. Definitely this is a "to each their own" b/c I HATED Boston (lived in Back Bay for 4 years) and - while I loved London - it IS seriously expensive (with the exchange rate, we were paying about 10 times as much for housing).

Hated the weather in both those areas (seasons in Boston? Sure, if you like winter for 8 months). Didn't think people were any nicer (they weren't), didn't think things were less expensive (they definitely weren't) and while I agree about the amenities in New England, I just found the whole city miserable.

But this is all such a personal thing - there really is no right or wrong, I think it just depends on what you value in life and the things that made you stick (e.g., I have family in the area so that is a big one for me).

[Anonymous]

I think the reason this thread is not going anywhere is because for those of us who have the big things taken care of (the day to day stuff like commute, job satisfaction, neighborhood you like, etc.) the things people are pointing out seem really inconsequential. As someone who has posted that we really like it here, I get the things people are saying - the weekends are hectic, things are crowded, wait lists etc. But those things seem like inconveniences and not deal breakers. If I lived in my hometown, which I LOVE, a lot of those things would disappear, but I would probably have not nearly as great a job nor would DH. And if you are spending 40 hours a week for 35 or so years, you better be happy with your job or else life would be mind-numbing IMO.

Aside from work, my weekends are the same as they would be if I lived in my hometown. We don't do a lot of the big events/attractions, we stick to our neighborhood - farmer's market, block parties, holiday-themed events, and then we have people and their kids over sometimes. We love our house and like to spend a lot of time there. We have a nice yard and porch and a great kitchen where we spend a lot of time.

Today, on this early spring, breezy sunshiney day, I walked 15 minutes to a briefing where I heard some pretty smart people talk, then I walked back to my office. Once or twice a week, I go to meetings/briefings/conferences that people fly in from all over the country to attend, and I can walk or cab to them. It's pretty cool. There are a lot of resources here. I get that it is annoying to go to a pumpkin patch that is crowded but those things are not my day to day, so it doesn't annoy me enough to move to my hometown, where the reason the museums aren't crowded are because they aren't great museums! It's kind of like complaining that it cost more to go to warm beachy places in the winter. It's because that's when everyone wants to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think how you feel about DC depends a lot on where you are from and where you've been. I'm from here. I grow up in Alexandria (FFx Co.) and LOVED it. I would say a good 60-75% of the people I knew well growing up (kids from school, etc.) still live in this area.

I went to college in New England, have lived on the West Coast, in the midwest and also overseas (in London) and this is where we kept coming back to. Good schools, great jobs, diversity, interesting people from all walks of life, free museums, the water (the Potomac) and close beaches, driveable to lots of cool places...for me, the list goes on and on.

Is DC more expensive and more congested than many other parts of the U.S.? Sure. But it has also provided much better opportunities for my husband and me. Not to mention, unemployment is DC is SOOO MUCH LOWER than in almost every part of the U.S. I'm surprised all of you people who are bemoaning life in DC don't appreciate the fact that other parts of the country have been hit really hard by unemployment and substantially lower housing prices. You think your house has gone down in value here? Try living in Arizona or California or pretty much anywhere else.

While I think many of you DC haters tend to only see the bad in DC and the good elsewhere, you are certainly entitled to feel that way. And I think some of that has to do with where in DC (or the burbs) you live...

I've lived in Boston and London, too and I also grew up here, but in the MD burbs. I would take Boston or London any day over DC. London has a walkability and parks like DC can only dream of and its as close to get to Paris from there as it is to Ocean City from here. Boston has beaches nearby and beautiful seasons, history and charm and all of New England as your backyard (can you say skiiing?) But you are spot on with the job situation here. Beats anywhere else, hands down.

Another former Londoner here. I would also take London over DC hands down. (Boston maybe not so much. I don't know. Boston also seems small and quiet to me.) But the posters complaining DC and its suburbs are too crowded, competitive, and expensive would last all of 5 bewildered minutes in Central London. I hardly think offering the "London is way better" argument (true though it is) helps Betty from Peoria feel better about her lengthy commute home to Rockthesda, where she pays relatively handsomely for the privilege of competing for parking at the local pool with 6 other oversized minivan/SUV drivers.

[Anonymous]

I think we can all agree that living in the DC suburbs sucks in a big way. Whether you prefer DC to London or Boston is, of course, a matter of personal preference.

I do know this, though: every year that the burbs gets more congested is another year that DC proper continues to improve. This process will only accelerate over the next decade.

[Anonymous]

Funny, I have always thought it was the many self-righteous, nasty, mean-spirited, condescending, judgmental nerds that made this town less va-va-voom than it could be. The PP (15:53) seems to exemplify that odious type in full measure. Please, return to London immediately.