Living in DC?

[Hugh Conway]

Two years of some of the best ethnic food you'll ever eat

bullshit. but keep spinning. like the "vibrant young city". what city isn't other than buffalo?

[cinnepa]

Biking, especially mountain biking, trumps skiing at this point in my life. So I'm glad to hear that there is some there. I was thinking if I went I'd have to sell my MTB and get a roadie.

check with shops for a race series if you're into that too. some would extend into the twilight hours so have your lights ready.

[concretejungle]

Bouldering at Carderock. Lulz.

[BrianH]

bullshit. but keep spinning. like the "vibrant young city". what city isn't other than buffalo?

Were you not able to get laid in DC? Is that why you're so bitter?

[iceman]

bullshit. but keep spinning. like the "vibrant young city". what city isn't other than buffalo?

um, spokane?

[Hugh Conway]

Bouldering at Carderock. Lulz.

Hey, in a week of afterwork nights you'll have every move memorized. And if you get really bored you can go find some small cliff overgrown with poison ivy and clean it to repeat some 30' route thats been done dozens of times.

meh, as for road biking. if flattish fields are your thing, there's tons.

Were you not able to get laid in DC? Is that why you're so bitter?

Is DC the only place you were ever able to get laid? Is that why you are so keen on it? Jesus man, most any city has tons of women now. And foodie-ism has taken over the nation (or at least the same yuppie city nation).


Sure, you can endure DC if you want to go to grad school. Maybe I don't understand why you'd want to go AU unless you want to get stuck in a DC-ish existance.

[GoldMember]

....I'd take an city in the western US (even Spokane) before DC....

Wait...What??

Hugh - The guy wants to go to DC for his Master's degree. Maybe he wants to be one of the overcredentialed. I've never lived in DC but have been there a bunch of times over the past fifteen years. It's really a pretty good place to be, all things considered. Besides, if it's only two years and he's in school, school will be the primary focus with plenty of things to occupy whatever little free time he might have. Cut him a break.

I like Adams Morgan area but I also like Georgetown. But that's as a visitor who's not there for more than a few days. I was just there last week and it was great weather, great women, and good times. While I'm not really up to speed with the music scene, we went to Madam's Organ last Thursday and they had a terrific band. Lots of good restaurants and plenty of history and museums to explore. I may not want to live there but could for a couple of years if my intent was the same as the OP. DC isn't hell...and neither is Spokane (check my location).

[iceman]

Were you not able to get laid in DC? Is that why you're so bitter?

I think he and stfu had their final breakup in DC. The two of them are comical.

[GoldMember]

um, spokane?

Wow, you guys have the wrong impression.... You're east coasters and have probably never even been here.

[Hugh Conway]

I think he and stfu had their final breakup in DC. The two of them are comical.

it'd be nice if I were rich living in the sweet pad in the country with the ability to fuck off to places at the beach or the mountains whenever the fuck I want.

comical is the people on a ski website saying DCs "not that bad". and the usual parachute in for a couple days "oh, it's nice". well most anywheres nice. Idiots.

[concretejungle]

Hey, in a week of afterwork nights you'll have every move memorized. And if you get really bored you can go find some small cliff overgrown with poison ivy and clean it to repeat some 30' route thats been done dozens of times.

Carderock Jeff.

[GoldMember]

it'd be nice if I were rich living in the sweet pad in the country with the ability to fuck off to places at the beach or the mountains whenever the fuck I want.

comical is the people on a ski website saying DCs "not that bad". and the usual parachute in for a couple days "oh, it's nice". well most anywheres nice. Idiots.

Bitter much?

[Hugh Conway]

Bitter much?

just stating the truth that it can be a nice place to live if you are wealthy; it's a shitty city - and life - if you aren't. This isn't like all citys. But hey, it's time for another person on an expense account business trip to the city to chime in and say its awesome! You can bike on the C&O! Woohoo 100+ miles of the flattest route ever!

Geoff was a cool guy and a fine antidote to that city. Interesting stories.

[BrianH]

Carderock Jeff.

"You're off route. That hold's for Monkey Chunder, 5.11."

That Carderock Jeff?

[Hugh Conway]

"You're off route. That hold's for Monkey Chunder, 5.11."

That Carderock Jeff?

He wasn't hot enough for you? Or were you one of those tangled mess of anchors just bought from REI climbers?

[Supermoon]

just stating the truth that it can be a nice place to live if you are wealthy; it's a shitty city - and life - if you aren't. This isn't like all citys. But hey, it's time for another person on an expense account business trip to the city to chime in and say its awesome! You can bike on the C&O! Woohoo 100+ miles of the flattest route ever!

Geoff was a cool guy and a fine antidote to that city. Interesting stories.

I lived there for m mid 20's and I was no means rich (see the living in the Getty thread). I loved tha place, and I still do. You don't have to be rich to have a good time, or to find fun outdoorsy stuff around there. Is it like living out west? No. But nowhere in the world is really the same. For someone looking for something different than the mountain town lifestyle, DC is a great place to spend a few years.

All this talk makes me think I need to schedule another trip out there ASAP.


PS - there's nothing quite like riding 60 miles of flat on the C and O, then having to climb up into Georgetown at the end.

[Hugh Conway]

I loved tha place, and I still do.

I'm sorry. Most of the people I know were glad of the experience living there but few loved the place and none would move back. YMMV, and clearly it does, but you are fucking high if there's lots of cool outdoorsy stuff near the city. What? Where? Carderock, Great Falls, blah blah blah are all fun-ish for afterwork or something but they are nothing to write about. Most cities have something outdoorsy nearish. Unless it's Ft. Wayne Indiana.

[Supermoon]

I'm sorry. Most of the people I know were glad of the experience living there but few loved the place and none would move back. YMMV, and clearly it does, but you are fucking high if there's lots of cool outdoorsy stuff near the city. What? Where? Carderock, Great Falls, blah blah blah are all fun-ish for afterwork or something but they are nothing to write about. Most cities have something outdoorsy nearish. Unless it's Ft. Wayne Indiana.

I define it pretty loosely more like fun stuff to do while outside. I don't climb, So I can't comment on that, but I think pretty much every weekend it was nice I found myself outside most of the day whether it was biking on road or dirt, getting onto a river somewhere or even just going for a run around the Mall and the monuments. It really is just what you make of it, and ultimately I did leave so I could ski more. Once I'm old and can't ski as much I could totally see myself living back there.

[Crapshoot]

I went to college there, worked there for two years after, and now am back here part-time as my wife works here.

How you like it really depends on what sort of things/people you are interested in. Like any place, you can find all types, but it definitely has a certain culture that permeates a lot of its different scenes. The people there are very focused on life course success. Their jobs - often politics/consulting - are very important to them and you'll hear about it a lot. If you're not into these things, then it can get kind of tedious and at worst you can feel like you're at a networking event.

I think it's a pretty good place to meet women. There are a bunch of young single well-educated people coming into town from all over and that presents a pretty nice pool for you. If you're big into particular outdoor activities and you want a girlfriend that is too, you might have to look harder as it isn't exactly a mecca for that, but there are a good number of women around.

Things to do? Well as has been mentioned, the museums are nice. There are a bunch of young professional sports teams and the like. There are some nice parks if you're a runner. You can climb at Great Falls and it has a few nice little hikes. It's close, but it's small, so I don't imagine it would be something a serious climber hit up repeatedly. You can drive to some hikes/climbs in the Smokies if you have a car.

It really depends on your personality what area you'd most enjoy for going out. For nightlife I'd say just try Georgetown/Dupont Circle/Logan Circle/U Street/Adams Morgan/H Street/etc. and see what feels comfortable to you.

It's a perfectly bike-able city, though it doesn't have quite the infastructure of some places yet. I got a bike a maybe 6 months before moving away and it made me like the city a lot more. I had thought that I'd be too scared to ride it down through Dupont Circle into the center of town for work, but ended up loving it and it shaved probably 45 minutes total off of my commute.

What are you studying?

The program is a MS in Sustainable Management. Combines aspects of MBA program with a focus on one 3 areas, policy, business, environmental science. Policy is the track I'm looking at. Which makes DC the place to be, as far as I can tell.

[skiballs]

The program is a MS in Sustainable Management. Combines aspects of MBA program with a focus on one 3 areas, policy, business, environmental science. Policy is the track I'm looking at. Which makes DC the place to be, as far as I can tell.

DC is the place to come to further your paper pushing skills.

[Meadow Skipper]

I almost moved to DC about 9 years ago for that "two years and out" thing. I figured it would have been a nice urban thing and I could ski in Europe. It would have meant a nice bump in $$, but I went there for a temporary assignment to check the job out and I realized that working for a political appointee would have been the worst kind of hell. Outside of work, I enjoyed the town for its urbanity. I'm from the sticks.

[Crapshoot]

DC is the place to come to further your paper pushing skills.

Call it what you want, but I would like to get a job that requires more use of my brain than my back. Yea, I can sling pizza or booze, build houses, or paint, or shovel snow and make some money living here, but I don't want to do those things. And I've done the 100 days of skiing a season for a few seasons, I know what that shit is all about. I'm over it. I'm sick of freezing my fucking ass off 9 months of the year.

The good thing about the program I'm interested in is that it is in the b-school, which will give me some skills to use even if I don't go with the sustainability part of it. But that part of it is growing too.

Anyway, that part isn't what I'm asking about. So for reasons to live there, we've got women, culture, the educational piece, good food (if not the best). for negatives we've got heat/humidity, crummy winters, expensive, not much in the way of skiing (which I knew), and less than ideal access to recreational opportunities.

Did I miss anything? Is there anything else to add to the list?

[Supermoon]

Medicinal marijuana?

[BmillsSkier]

I'm sorry. Most of the people I know were glad of the experience living there but few loved the place and none would move back. YMMV, and clearly it does, but you are fucking high if there's lots of cool outdoorsy stuff near the city. What? Where? Carderock, Great Falls, blah blah blah are all fun-ish for afterwork or something but they are nothing to write about. Most cities have something outdoorsy nearish. Unless it's Ft. Wayne Indiana.

Funny sidebar, I was in Ft. Wayne recently for a baptism - quick overnight trip. Shoot me in the face if I ever had to live there. I stood at the 'crossroads of America' and no shit I could see for miles in all 4 directions. That and it was pervasively bleak, ugh, no thanks. Oh, and to the thread, pretty much everything Hugh has said is spot on in my experience. I'm that dickbag that blows in for a conference a couple times a year and has fun on the company dime then moves on. Every time I've had to be there for more than a week I've wanted to scratch my eyeballs out. The political lens that everything in town is viewed through is exhausting, and so are the hangers on. My law school buddies that went there right out of graduation couldn't wait to move. If working closely with a governmental agency is your thing it's gotta be nirvana.

[iceman]

Medicinal marijuana?

A huge plus.

"Cool outdoorsy stuff nearby" is maybe 20% of the grade a city gets. What makes a city is the city, not the mountains out back or the singletrack in the burbs, or the suburban sprawl that surrounds everything these days. It's the city as an entity, as a place in its own right, that matters to me. And on that score, as a city, DC is fine with me.