i love/hate dc: a man’s take on america’s capital.
(image by TheYouFinder/Katalina Mayorga)
Valentine’s Day is upon us, with the approach speed of a peregrine falcon and the sappy romanticism of Bridget Jones’s Diary. This quintessential Hallmark holiday always polarizes people with the same intensity as Tim Tebow and Michael Moore. It produces that familiar cliché, the “love-hate relationship.”
Love and hate don’t just apply to people. We prize and detest foods, places, activities and even the random inanimate object. With this in mind, I now write about something that I usually love but sometimes hate, my adopted city and the home of TheYouFinder, Washington, DC.
The love I have for my new Washington (My old Washington is of the state variety) is broad and deep. Firstly, and most obviously, I enjoy the thousands of beautiful, driven and socially competent young women. Yes, I have taken the DuPont escalator ride at 6 pm on a weeknight to enjoy the view, and don’t get all judgy about it. The women are great, but the brains in both sexes are better. I love the arcane public policy issues that people can talk about with comfort. There is no shame in being a nerd here, at least not for Medicare reimbursement rates or campaign finance reform.
Beyond beauty and intelligence, people here are welcoming of outsiders. In Seattle, my first city, people are friendly, but it is hard to break into a social group and make new friends. People in DC are not necessarily the friendliest, but they are willing to invite you to watch a sporting event or a to meet new people at a happy hour. It makes moving for work (why most of us are here) that much easier.
The people are great, but the pieces of the city add up to a fantastic whole. The free museums of the Smithsonian, mid-east coast location and international influence give Washington a unique character that is emulated by exactly zero other American cities. In terms of crazy nightlife, it is not as exciting as New York City, Miami or Chicago, but that’s quite all right. On a leisurely weekend, one can go to an amazing brunch, check out the zoo (for free), walk past dozens of amazing embassies, check out the White House and National Mall and have time to catch a show at the Black Cat or Kennedy Center, depending on your mood (or demographic). People want to visit me here, which is more than my buddy Ethan can say about living in Tampa.
So the people are great and the city has a lot to offer. What’s a guy to be upset about? Like most things in this world, the best parts can also be the worst. Let’s take the intelligence of the people for an example. Young people in DC are very knowledgeable and successful (aka Type A), but because they know they are smart, they can be arrogant and abrasive. The third question (after name and hometown) is always, “What do you do?” (This is 115% true, by the way) There are people that make friends based on their connections, political or otherwise.
The transient nature of the city, while making it easier to make friends, also makes it easier to forget about people and friends can slip through the cracks. DC is politically and regionally polarized as well. For example, I hang out with mostly people from the Pacific Northwest and mostly liberals (same same but different). Social sorting is a fact of life, but it is easy for a commonly held belief in a group to become the truth, regardless of whether it is true or not, and I have seen it happen here on more than one occassion.
Finally, DC’s status as a second-tier (or maybe even third-tier?) city can be painfully apparent. Architecturally, some buildings (FBI’s monstrosity on Pennsylvania Avenue) and neighborhoods (the depressingly impersonal area around the SW Waterfront and Nats Stadium) are just awful. The local art and music scene (with some notable exceptions, see: Chuck Brown) are unfortunately appropriate for the seat of the federal government.
I must stress that the positives greatly outweigh the negatives. When I am asked, “Do you like living in DC?” I respond, “I LOVE living in DC!” It is an amazing town, with wonderful people and lots to do. As it is with BFs/GFs/fiancées/spouses, no one is going to be completely happy with their partner in love. That doesn’t mean the relationship is bad. Happiness means nothing if it isn’t occasionally accompanied by sadness. So, DC, even if you piss me off sometimes, I still love you. Warts and all.
Love,
James
PS – Yes that is my street. And yes, it smelled like rancid butt.
To learn more about James click here.
