I mostly agree but a few counterpoints (I’ve been in DC for about 1yr total now).
The summers are absolutely miserable if you dislike humidity.
In general compared to SF and even Berlin I’ve found people (outside of the EA community) to be much more reactive and zero sum in their thinking than people who dream big and have visions of the future they want to build towards.
Echoing the company town comment- I feel like every conversation is about politics/policy/international affairs, which bugged me in SF about tech (there’s so much more to life! ) and was one of the things I loved about Berlin where I felt there was a much better mix of artists, tech people, government workers, etc.
I have mixed feelings about OP’s #4 as I have met quite a few mission oriented people, but I also meet a lot of very cynical and burnt out people, especially at work.
Many meetings feel very transactional (I see jokes all the time about people wondering if they’re on a date or networking) and people cycle in and out of the city quickly and often.
On net however, I think it’s a decent American city to live in and it certainly does punch above its weight for museums, architecture, restaurants, and even flights given its status as the capital.
I mostly agree but a few counterpoints (I’ve been in DC for about 1yr total now).
The summers are absolutely miserable if you dislike humidity.
In general compared to SF and even Berlin I’ve found people (outside of the EA community) to be much more reactive and zero sum in their thinking than people who dream big and have visions of the future they want to build towards.
Echoing the company town comment- I feel like every conversation is about politics/policy/international affairs, which bugged me in SF about tech (there’s so much more to life! ) and was one of the things I loved about Berlin where I felt there was a much better mix of artists, tech people, government workers, etc.
I have mixed feelings about OP’s #4 as I have met quite a few mission oriented people, but I also meet a lot of very cynical and burnt out people, especially at work.
Many meetings feel very transactional (I see jokes all the time about people wondering if they’re on a date or networking) and people cycle in and out of the city quickly and often.
On net however, I think it’s a decent American city to live in and it certainly does punch above its weight for museums, architecture, restaurants, and even flights given its status as the capital.