Why so many negative posts about "the DC area"?

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[Post New]11/01/2009 20:49
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
20:14 and 20:40 have GOT to be related.


Having problems with reading comprehension? Try again, they are stating opposing views.
[Post New]11/01/2009 20:53
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:People would rather shoot you the bird than say hello around here. I have been here three years and definitely think it is the rudest place I've ever lived (and I have lived many places). We've lived in two noVA locations and no one speaks to each other - it's unreal.
Try Hill East. Strangers say "hi" over here.
[Post New]11/01/2009 21:06
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Sorry, I love DC. No manufacturing jobs, so few blue collar workers...I saw the previous posts, and I understand that many people like the "feel" of towns like Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, etc. I don't, and I like the fact that this is a white collar town. Also, no rednecks, no trailer parks, etc...unless you venture outside the beltway. Like the old maps said, "Here there be dragons".

I'm from Cleveland (which I liked) and I really like Baltimore.
I only started liking DC when I moved east of the park and out of the white professional neighborhoods. DC was the last place I wanted to live but changing neighborhoods made all the difference for me. Like some of the pps have said, you can find a place that suits you here -- but maybe you have to look for it.
[Post New]11/01/2009 21:13
Anonymous


Let them think it's the blue collar that is missed. The "ignorami" are much more smug and happy that way.
[Post New]11/01/2009 21:20
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Sorry, I love DC. No manufacturing jobs, so few blue collar workers...I saw the previous posts, and I understand that many people like the "feel" of towns like Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, etc. I don't, and I like the fact that this is a white collar town. Also, no rednecks, no trailer parks, etc...unless you venture outside the beltway. Like the old maps said, "Here there be dragons".

I'm from Cleveland (which I liked) and I really like Baltimore.
I only started liking DC when I moved east of the park and out of the white professional neighborhoods. DC was the last place I wanted to live but changing neighborhoods made all the difference for me. Like some of the pps have said, you can find a place that suits you here -- but maybe you have to look for it.


I like Cleveland as well. My favorite city thus far is Madison, WI.
[Post New]11/01/2009 21:46
Anonymous

20:49 - "related" does not mean "same person", FYI.
[Post New]11/01/2009 21:51
Anonymous
Just skimming this thread is enough to make me feel negative about this area - things get so snippy, so fast.
[Post New]11/01/2009 22:01
zumbamama
Site Admin Offline
You can dwell on the negative or explore the positive in any city. That's what I keep telling DH, who complains about DC all the time.

Personally, I love it here. I grew up here, lived away from here and moved back. I love the architecture, my commute with a view, the creative job market, the art scene, the hundred of people I meet from all over the world, the little Asian delis, the music in the streets and memories everywhere I turn.

Sure there are rude and crazy people, but I don't let them get me down when there's so much else going on.

[Post New]11/01/2009 22:46
Anonymous
I'm one of the posters who's not from here but likes it anyway. Is it as friendly as where I'm from? No. And traffic is worse, and houses cost more.

But we love our tiny house (and our resulting very short commute). And D.C. has free museums. Good restaurants. Live music venues to rival any in the country (if that's your thing, it doesn't get any better than the 9:30 Club). It's easier to live in than New York (and still close). We have blue skies and tolerable winters. We like our neighbors, and our neighborhood is friendly.

People on this site are mean, but I don't know people like that in real life.

I love it here. Things are what you make them.
[Post New]11/01/2009 22:54
Anonymous
i do think this site has very much made me hate DC more. hard to believe so many annoying female lawyers + catholic bashers exist ...
[Post New]11/02/2009 11:00
Anonymous
I am a former New Yorker and it took me a long time to adjust to DC. I felt it was sterile and lacked a soul. The people watching and restaurants did not compare to NY. However, I finally realized this is where we are going to live and I started to see all the wonderful things about this city and stopped comparing it to NY. Here are my favorites:

--free museums (really great for kids)
--live music options
--the Kennedy Center
--availability of great ethnic food
--well educated people from all over the world
--access to 3 major airports
--great day trip options
--I love how on our date nights we can still take a cab to a fun restaurant/bar and not have to worry about driving
--Rock Creek Park (the foliage is truly breathtaking in the Spring and Autumn)
--so many free cultural events, book fairs, festivals



Also, there are many trade offs you can make that will allow you to avoid the big cons of this area (TRAFFIC!) For now, we decided to buy a small but charming colonial in DC even though we could have gotten a much larger house somewhere else. When schools are a concern, we will move into one of the close in suburbs like Arlington or Bethesda. I truly find that the people who are the unhappiest here have horrible commutes and live so far out that they rarely get to partake in all that DC has to offer.

Finally, yes this is a very expensive city but compared to NY or Northern California (the other cities where we would have comparable job options), DC is a much more livable city.
[Post New]11/02/2009 11:07
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Also, there are many trade offs you can make that will allow you to avoid the big cons of this area (TRAFFIC!) For now, we decided to buy a small but charming colonial in DC even though we could have gotten a much larger house somewhere else. When schools are a concern, we will move into one of the close in suburbs like Arlington or Bethesda. I truly find that the people who are the unhappiest here have horrible commutes and live so far out that they rarely get to partake in all that DC has to offer.

Finally, yes this is a very expensive city but compared to NY or Northern California (the other cities where we would have comparable job options), DC is a much more livable city.

Insightful point. I think living close-in by a metro stop makes a tremendous difference. The city feels livable and accessible in a way it never did when I lived 50 miles out in a bigger, cheaper, prettier house.
[Post New]11/02/2009 12:16
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Also, there are many trade offs you can make that will allow you to avoid the big cons of this area (TRAFFIC!) For now, we decided to buy a small but charming colonial in DC even though we could have gotten a much larger house somewhere else. When schools are a concern, we will move into one of the close in suburbs like Arlington or Bethesda. I truly find that the people who are the unhappiest here have horrible commutes and live so far out that they rarely get to partake in all that DC has to offer.

Finally, yes this is a very expensive city but compared to NY or Northern California (the other cities where we would have comparable job options), DC is a much more livable city.

Insightful point. I think living close-in by a metro stop makes a tremendous difference. The city feels livable and accessible in a way it never did when I lived 50 miles out in a bigger, cheaper, prettier house.


Ditto. My rowhouse 100 yards from a metro sometimes feels cluttered with our stuff in it, but that's nothing compared to a couple of hours per day in a car. We can walk anywhere to school, parks and playgrounds, Rock Creek, the library, the zoo, restaurants, a couple of music venues, many friends and playmates, and then of course Metro all over the city. Our one car sits around except for grocery shopping and visits to suburban friends. It feels very open and airy here because our house is not really our only space. To me, this is priceless.

Just my own opinion, but I can't see living anywhere that's not walkable unless it's truly in the countryside-- no big box stores, no strip malls, no Rockville Pike type roads, which seem to be anywhere now. If I lived up the Pike, I'd probably hate this area too. The traffic breeds aggression. If you're going to live in a suburb, might as well live in the suburb of a cheap area. But the city compares favorably to most cities in the U.S. because even though it doesn't have as many attractions as New York, it is far more livable and less expensive.
[Post New]11/02/2009 13:09
Anonymous
I agree with some of the PPs--it definitely seems like people who live in DC proper are happier with the area than those that live out in the burbs. I don't doubt this has a lot to do with sitting in traffic and with the soulless repetition of big box stores and Ruby Tuesday's franchises, which you would find in any suburb anywhere in this country. I live on Capitol Hill and love my neighborhood and my neighbors.
[Post New]11/02/2009 20:13
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I agree with some of the PPs--it definitely seems like people who live in DC proper are happier with the area than those that live out in the burbs. I don't doubt this has a lot to do with sitting in traffic and with the soulless repetition of big box stores and Ruby Tuesday's franchises, which you would find in any suburb anywhere in this country. I live on Capitol Hill and love my neighborhood and my neighbors.


OP here. That's an interesting observation. I agree that you'll find people very happy with city living but I believe you will find those equally happy not to live in the city. I grew up in NOVA and lived in DC for about two years and was happy to move back to VA. I didn't hate living in the city, (it had a lot of perks) but it just wasn't for me. My husband works in Fairfax and I don't have to go into the city very often for work so I'm sure that makes a big difference. There are a ton of jobs in the city, but there's also a lot in the surrounding areas. There are a lot of very content people that are further out and don't work in the city. I'm glad to see I'm not the only that sees how much this area has to offer. Not the most amazing place on earth, but no place is Utopia. If it was, we would all live there. Everywhere to live is about trade offs and what's important to you in life.
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