Anonymous wrote:It's the people. I know -- lots of us are great. But we are all the same. In my upper-middle-class suburban hometown, there were lots of white-collar types, sure, doctors, lawyers, VPs at major corporations. But there was also...the guy who ran the soccer apparel store. The car dealership owner. The cafeteria aid. I went to school with all of their children. Around here, the people who fill these roles live in their own suburbs. At least in the nice DC neighborhoods, people aren't mixed together for a healthy sense of what life is.
I know that this is the case for a lot of major cities -- in high-density areas, people self-segregate. But DC also lacks the diversity typical of many cities. There aren't a lot of artists, for instance. Yeah...I know that instead we have people from all over the world, and rather than the car dealership owner's kids, my kids hang out with the kids of the guy with a prominent role at an important and unique NGO, or whatever. But that's fake diversity. When you get down to it, that guy is the same as a lawyer in terms of education, upbringing and life goals. A journalist is like a lobbyist (though they make a lot less.) Worldly, goal-oriented -- and at the end of the day, quite dull, when that's all there is.
Sorry, but you know I'm right.

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the folks that don't like living here. Cost of living aside it's an amazing city.

Great downtown. Not too big, enough greenery. Nice neighborhoods close to downtown. Good food, diverse with large international population, I had Ghanaian food the other night. 2 international airports, great schools. Where do you people want to live ? Atlanta? Charlotte? Chicago? Bleh. DC is amazing.

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the folks that don't like living here. Cost of living aside it's an amazing city.

Great downtown. Not too big, enough greenery. Nice neighborhoods close to downtown. Good food, diverse with large international population, I had Ghanaian food the other night. 2 international airports, great schools. Where do you people want to live ? Atlanta? Charlotte? Chicago? Bleh. DC is amazing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah - I hate the feeling of being a few miles away from the dimwits in the government.

Yes. My daily run would take me past the idling SUVs in front of the Capitol and the swarming sycophants. The building is beautiful but Congress is pathetic.

Anonymous wrote:My main issues are:

1. The weather - too hot and humid too much of the year. I like crisp weather, and I like cold weather.
2. The distance from the ocean or for that matter, any natural bodies of water.
3. The lack of character in the suburbs.

I'm not a hater. I just think DC is very expensive for what it is.

Anonymous wrote:I moved here 20 years ago and loved loved loved DC so please don't consider me a DC hater. The OP is asking for the things we don't like.
Now I'm kind of eh on it and we are strongly considering leaving.

At this point in my life these are the cons:
- Cost of Living. Unless we want to move 30mi out, we are stuck in the house we have. It's a perfectly decent house, although many on DCUM would call it a shack, but it was never meant to be my forever home.
- Crowds. I admit, I just don't like crowds of tourists. Between the tourists and the traffic we almost never take advantage of the museums and cool things that make DC unique.
- The parenting competition. I try not to buy into it, but found myself debating the merits of Kumon for my preschooler last week when I learned a friend had started her's in Kumon and was considering a foreign language tutor. Had to shake myself out of it. Maybe it's the same in other parts of the country, but I feel like this is probably a distinctly DC and NY phenomenon.
- Jobs. I no longer enjoy the things that brought me to DC, but feel tied here since my entire resume is government. Makes it hard to leave while at the same time resentful of the city that I can't.
- Honestly, frustration and anger with our government. It feels so up close and personal with a failing Congress and Administration. The impacts of budget cuts and sequestration on my family and on friends feel so tough here. Comparatively, friends and family in other parts of the government feel it much more remotely. Yes, the economy hits them but it just feels different.

Anonymous wrote:Yeah - I hate the feeling of being a few miles away from the dimwits in the government.

Anonymous wrote:I don't particularly like DC, and I love many cities around the world and in the US.

People don't like to admit it, but black-white relationships in DC are horrible. There is no middle class. The public schools are not good. The elitism of the NW residents has virtually no equal anywhere else in the US. The younger residents seem old before their time and just waiting to stop playing kickball and take up shuffleboard.

Some of the architecture is nice, but there is nothing that truly soars or inspires. The federal buildings are mostly bland. Once you've seen the monuments and museums once, that is enough. And, of course, the centers of government in DC are largely failures. Obama is feckless, Congress is worthless, and the Supreme Court is not remotely in tune with the lives of average Americans.