Agree with a lot of this post. I lived in DC from 2008-2010 and various short periods before and after and overall I liked it (though I’d probably like it a bit less today and expect a lot of EAs to like it less than I did).
The features of DC that most affected me:
-DC felt like a company town. This had advantages. I liked having tons of friends who were think tank analysts or worked on the Hill and were trying to change the world (though I suspect polarization has made the vibe a bit worse). It also had disadvantages. Relative to NYC (which I knew best at the time) I knew relatively few people living in DC because they wanted to make DC great and this meant things like a worse music scene (despite the fact that I grew up on DC punk music).
-Lots of people, especially young people, only stay for a couple of years so it was hard to maintain a friend group. I think this was a big deal.
-DC is small relative to a place like NY. Overall this felt like a disadvantage to me though I expect it would be a feature to some other people. DC felt like more of a bubble and there were fewer places to explore. There was a concert I’d be interested in ~once a week instead of a couple per night. On the other hand, several houses full of friends and co-workers lived within a five minute walk which was great. That said, it’s still one of the biggest metro areas in the US.
-I thought it was cool/exciting to live in a city where policy and politics were happening (though I think I’d enjoy less today).
-I think there were some disadvantages to everybody being very networky and the culture being kind of conservative.
Agree with a lot of this post. I lived in DC from 2008-2010 and various short periods before and after and overall I liked it (though I’d probably like it a bit less today and expect a lot of EAs to like it less than I did).
The features of DC that most affected me: -DC felt like a company town. This had advantages. I liked having tons of friends who were think tank analysts or worked on the Hill and were trying to change the world (though I suspect polarization has made the vibe a bit worse). It also had disadvantages. Relative to NYC (which I knew best at the time) I knew relatively few people living in DC because they wanted to make DC great and this meant things like a worse music scene (despite the fact that I grew up on DC punk music). -Lots of people, especially young people, only stay for a couple of years so it was hard to maintain a friend group. I think this was a big deal. -DC is small relative to a place like NY. Overall this felt like a disadvantage to me though I expect it would be a feature to some other people. DC felt like more of a bubble and there were fewer places to explore. There was a concert I’d be interested in ~once a week instead of a couple per night. On the other hand, several houses full of friends and co-workers lived within a five minute walk which was great. That said, it’s still one of the biggest metro areas in the US. -I thought it was cool/exciting to live in a city where policy and politics were happening (though I think I’d enjoy less today). -I think there were some disadvantages to everybody being very networky and the culture being kind of conservative.