Too Expensive
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5/31/2008
I am a DC native who is back in town visiting family. I have not lived in this city since 1991. The District seems much the same to me as when I left it, except that it's gotten incredibly expensive. Parts have been cleaned up--less visible drug dealing, prostitution, homeless, but the violent crime rate is still very high. Seven people were murdered in a small area of town last night. People are paying big bucks(starting around 450-500k)to live in rowhouses in the poorer sections of town that still lack services/conveniences like grocery stores, restaurants, and bars. The public schools are awful (with a few exceptions). If you have children, you can send them to DC schools for elementary school, but after that it goes down hill fast. People are generally not very friendly and can be obsessed with their oh-so-important jobs as lawyers, lobbyists, and gov't wonks. The traffic in town is terrible. I can't speak for the suburbanites, but driving the Beltway every day must be close to unbearable. There may be job opportunities here, but expect to compete against a large pool of people with Ivy League educations, as NY and DC seem to attract these people like flies on s***. Unless you really have to be here for your career in politics or public relations or what have you, I say avoid DC. It is about the most uptight, least fun city in all the USA.
James | Washington, DC