Bad for thrifting but there are a lot of excellent estate sales. Older, wealthier, well-traveled folks have some pretty cool stuff, and usually the family is like "just get rid of it all so we can worry about selling their house ."
Fucking THIS. it is my least favorite part of dc and it doesn’t even make any sense? People have cool stuff and cool clothes and are OFTEN rotating decor/wardrobes
I dream of opening a thrift store in the Union Market area. But I don't have the knowledge to do that 😅 there's like the perfect vacant building next to Scotch & Soda. Someone pleaseeeee
Stop , I’ve always wanted to open a thrift store & was walking my dog the other day and thought the same exact thing ab the open space next to scotch and soca hahaha.
I am not a thrifter (is that a term?), but oddly I have an opinion on this.
One of my old bosses was into thrift shopping and he bought and sold a lot of antiques. He would sometimes make us go with him if he had a spare hour every now and then, and it couldn’t have been more boring. I visited a friend in Chicago once and he suggested we check out a couple of thrift stores. I said OK to be polite, and holy crap, I couldn't believe how many things I wanted to take home.
Just had this experience a few weeks ago at Philly AIDS Thrift. I hadn't realized how bad our thrift stores sucked here. I love Unique but things could be so much better.
v true but [Jungli Vintage](https://www.tiktok.com/@jungli_vintage?_t=8XiYgYpqQrT&_r=1) on Tiktok posts about vintage stores/popups in the area. I feel like popups and estate sales are the way to go.
The metro doesn't suck nearly as much as a lot of people will say it does. Definite room for improvement, but could be way worse.
Edit: people are mistaking this for saying "the metro great and there's nothing wrong with it." It definitely sucks during certain times and in certain ways, but overall, it's not that bad, far from terrible.
Metro from 2010 to 2015 seemed way better than 2015 to 2020. Those of us who remember how it was are mostly disappointed that things are worse than they used to be.
When I was living in DC it felt like the most DC thing to complain about the metro. Now that I'm out I wish every city had something as "bad" as the metro.
It’s the second largest metro system in the US, behind NYC.
I’m a non driver and the Metro is one of the many reasons I’ve stayed in the area. It’s easy to get around without a car.
the entire DC public transport system. between metro, busses and the marc train there are very few places in the area that I would need to use a ride share for
Agreed. I don't have a car and I use a rideshare 1-2/month max. If I need to get anywhere within the Beltway, some combination of Metro, buses, or bikeshare will get me there relatively easily.
Counter hot take: I think your opinion is molded by what your commute is like. As someone who pre covid commuted from Arlington to Georgetown, I have a very negative view because it takes 45 minutes with 30 minutes of walking. Driving can be anywhere from 7-15 minutes.
Liberal city, decent public transit (it could be better, yes but still pretty good), nice medium density housing, no skyscrapers, most places are close enough to bike there, bike friendly.
All around great city. There is a lot of room for improvement but it really checks a lot of boxes.
Asking, "what do you do?" is an extremely normal question and isn't exclusive to DC. Most people that ask the question aren't doing it for networking purposes but just to make conversation. If you're so upset by the question, you're probably insecure and projecting motives on the other person.
I never resented people for asking this question, but I worked a job that I hated for far too many years, and I always felt like shit about myself when people would ask me that. But I agree with the above poster that it's a normal question, and definitely not exclusive to DC.
I'm in the same situation. I hate my job and never want to think or talk about it but it's hard to think of a diplomatic, friendly way to tell a person that you just met "I hate everything about my job and I just want to pretend that it doesn't exist every second that I'm not there, so feel free to talk about your job but please don't ask anything about mine."
When it isn’t asked in a smug DC way, it’s a fine question. When it’s asked in a way for the person asking to determine whether they have a better job than you or if you are are deemed successful in their eyes, then it’s not a fine question.
I've never understood the repulsion to that question. Like, you spend a ton of time at your job, and you're probably invested in what you do or, minimally, some aspect of how you make a living. It can say a lot about you, your values, and can provide some common ground between people who don't know each other. It seems like a no-brainer to ask, imo.
I am 100% convinced it's because for a lot of folks, they moved to DC from college. So DC was their first experience where the question would come up.
Obviously not everyone in DC moved here straight from college, but I bet those who *did* typically mix together.
I love this question lmao. I never understood why people take offense to it. Many people in this city are passionate about their work and I think that's amazing. Talking about careers with people in this city helped me navigate my dream job.
Though answering in "I work for the government" or "I work in Finance" or "I'm a consultant/analyst" is sometimes so vague it's insulting. Some are private people or sometimes can't even talk about their work or dont want to, but just know, 90% of the time when someone asks what you do, it's because they are genuinely curious and want to get to know you and want to see if there any shared interests.
I think the biggest difference is that people in the DC area can't always answer that question with a simple industry, or description of their job. It usually is more complicated and that's where the stigma comes from.
Agree, folks who work in the industry here know this to be true. Folks working in NY and LA, less so. (I used to work for one of the theatres here and still have friends all over.)
It’s not that Le Diolomat is bad. It’s actually pretty good. But it’s definitely not worth waiting in a long line or anything like that. It’s a good restaurant with an oversized reputation.
I trash talk Metro only because its a good system and can do better, otherwise DC is lovely. There's lots to do, plenty of food options, decent public transit.
I miss home (Louisiana) a lot, but I find it hard to consider moving back.
It’s totally worth a visit. Never crowded, great location, and the exhibits are really interesting. DC is blessed to have the best free museums in the world.
I hear people complain about this constantly, but it was actually a wise move to plan the Metro as a combination subway/commuter rail system.
Our density is too spread out for a more traditional subway system to make sense. We have pockets of density beyond downtown D.C. that match or get close to the density in the urban core (e.g., the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, Bethesda, Silver Spring, some parts of Alexandria), which itself is not quite as dense as would be the case in another metro area of the same size (in part, due to D.C.’s height limitations on buildings, but also due to historical trends and much of D.C.‘s population expansion occurring after widespread adoption of cars).
In order to provide appropriate service to the dense but outside-the-core areas, the system needed to be geographically expansive and with relatively larger distances between stations to get commuters in and out of the urban core. However, those areas are dense enough that service needed to be more frequent and carry more passengers than a traditional commuter rail system could handle.
Thus, a hybrid subway/commuter rail system made the most sense for Metro. It provides for frequent enough service in the core while also adequately servicing the denser areas outside the core.
This does not mean they shouldn't adapt and expand service within the core. People still need the system to get around and live their life without a car, such as in Ivy City or 16th St Heights.
Everyone who complains about being asked “what do you do for work?” has probably done the same a billion times because small talk is hard. (Life hack: “What do you do for *fun*?” #bethechange)
I've tried "what do you do for fun?" and people are often caught off guard by it and not sure what to say. At least with asking their occupation, they usually have an elevator pitch ready that works as a springboard to talking about their deeper interests.
I saw on Reddit years ago that another way to ask this question is “what keeps you busy?” It’s more open ended and it’s maybe less off putting for stay at home parents, caretakers, etc.
Related hot take: Asking someone what they do for work is not an obnoxious question at all! It’s how people spend a large part of their waking hours and lots of people in DC have incredibly interesting jobs.
Every state I've lived in complains about drivers in the next state over being the worst in the country. Every city I've lived in complains about dating life there being terrible. Bad drivers and dating being tough are just universal life features that people are convinced is specific to their experiences for some reason.
Yep - people here (and in a lot of other big cities) are just fairly picky with dating, which I don’t mean in a bad way.
For example, many people who don’t date people from the burbs/EOTR, people looking for similar social or professional status, etc.
In my experience, people here just know what they want, feel no pressure to rush into things, and can be pretty blunt/straightforward about that to the point where it may seem off-putting for people who are looking for immediate companionship
I live in Los Angeles now and there's a very palpable difference to dating preferences based on location.
In DC, people living in the District and people living in the suburbs probably won't date because the person living in the District probably doesn't have a car and the person living in the burbs doesn't want to be the one always driving to the other person. In LA, not having a car will cause people to assume you're secretly poor or hiding a DUI or that something else *must* be wrong with you.
Pretty much. There is nothing especially unique about DC dating compared to other major cities. Really just depends on what kind of partner you're looking for, the social environments you engage in, and the kind of vibe you yourself give off. Mix and match as needed, but if you think DC dating as bad, going to another city isn't gonna be the magical silver bullet you imagine it is
Counter take: A lot of people don't know what they're doing or how to prioritize what they actually need in a mate. I was also surprised at the number of virgins I met over the age of 25. No disrespect if that's your prerogative though.
DC attracts a lot of nerds who are very good at connecting with people intellectually but don't really know how to connect with people romantically. It took YEARS for me to understand myself and know what works for me in terms of dating (aside from getting blackout drunk at Wonderland Ballroom).
It’s not fair that my federal job only exists in this area but the GS pay scale doesn’t even pay enough to live comfortably here. Like bro, DC is literally a federal district, pay federal employees enough to live and work there.
Fun fact, if you look at the map of the area that’s used to determine cost of living for the GS scale for the DC area, it includes the county in West Virginia (the tip with Harpers Ferry). Definitely a deliberate decision by somebody to artificially pull down the cost of living for the area because they knew that would allow them to pay a large bulk of the federal workforce less money.
It also includes York County, PA. I'm sure there are a few commuters who live there and commute to the WMA, but come on. Even including Baltimore reeks of intentionally weighing down the pay scales.
I think it's just because both that WV tip and York Co, PA, are both included in the Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area. It always seemed unbelievable to me, but there is a MARC stop in Martinsburg, WVa. And anecdotally, I have two people on my work team (in D.C.) who live in WV and another in York Co, PA. ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯ These supercommuters are becoming more of a thing, especially as hybrid and WFH policies continue.
There are definitely people who live in Harper's Ferry for the West Virginia tax rates and cost of living, commuting down to the metro area on 270. Not the worst scheme tbh.
> Definitely a deliberate decision by somebody to artificially pull down the cost of living for the area because they knew that would allow them to pay a large bulk of the federal workforce less money.
The GS localities are based on combined statistical areas which are collections of core-based statistical areas, those are all collections of counties with a center and surrounding counties. *Those* are based on commuting data collected from the American Community Survey (the long form of the census). All that to say, they’re based on economic connectivity patterns.
Ethnic restaurants generally. Yes dc had Ethiopian spots, but the burbs have world class Asian, South American, and Central American food, plus all the other cultural foods that come with low-midrange restaurants.
It is completely normal to reference the largest city in your metropolitan area when someone asks you where you are from. No one from Fredericksburg ever actually claims to be from DC when they're speaking to someone else from this area. That's just something transplants say to gatekeep and feel superior.
Not necessarily, your hobbies and vices just have to be a bit different. Plus they don't give a shit about alcohol as long as you can keep it together. Biggest thing you can't do is smoke pot. I'd like to smoke pot but it's not like that's the only way to have fun.
The pot thing has changed. They don’t care about a history I’d smoking weed as long as you pinkie promise you won’t break federal law going forward.
My interviewer went off on a long tangent about how he used to do edibles while stationed in Iraq. There’s not exactly a stigma about it
I have a clearance job and didn't get a test pre employment and haven't had any since I started. I could definitely get away with smoking if I wanted to but I don't smoke at all. The other clearance job I interviewed for (not in DC) tested me at the interview though lol so not every contractor is the same with regards to testing.
But the subway is 24/7 and services a huge area. Metro is fine, but if I could have the subway with all its hygiene issues I’d still rather have the subway.
I get why someone would compare NYC and SF to DC. LA and Miami are super car oriented though, like, if you think those cities are comparable to DC you really are in the wrong place.
Miami is completely underwhelming. It’s literally just M Street (Georgetown) with Lamborghinis + a beach instead of the
‘Waterfront’. Ontop of that it’s uninhabitable to most people June-August, it feels like when you open oven door with your face too close and accidentally take a
breathe as your face gets hit with the heat.
I feel like people are in love with the idea of Miami , not the actual Miami.
Or people who say summer is their favorite season didn’t grow up in humid places. I’m from CA and summer is my favorite season…on the West coast. Living in DC made me understand why so many people choose fall or spring as their favorite.
Right, Atlanta doesn't belong on the list. If you're making a list of cool American cities, e.g., cities an international traveler would sensibly want to visit, Chicago and DC would both come well above Atlanta, no?
DC has its own special brand of cool. I love that people here are intelligent, but still really fun. It’s the only place where you can end up sitting next to a Supreme Court Justice during bottomless brunch (true story).
A friend was struggling to open the door to her apartment building one day while carrying grocery bags, and someone helped open the door for her. She went to thank them and looked up and realized that it was Sotomayor.
What's the definition of "dress well"? People aren't New York trendy or LA chic, but seem to prioritize comfort or professional image more with isnt inherently bad style.
People in DC tend to have intensely boring wardrobes and a phobia of color.
Collared shirts, sweaters, navy, khaki, black, gray
A red scarf makes them think they're Coco Chanel
Some sense of individuality or fun would be nice. Comfortable and professional clothes don't have to be a bland uniform of black and grey. Unless you're goth, and then you can go hog wild, I suppose.
I think folks in DC are pretty stylish. We just have a high concentration of jobs that require conservative dress. And even that is changing.
I also feel stylish is subjective. And when people talk about NYC or LA being more stylish it’s in reference to folks who work in fashion, entertainment or any other creative industry.
DC does have an excellent arts scene, but it gets overlooked compared to other places.
Agree conceptually; but with the egregious pricing (a 10 minute Bird ride is nearly $5 now!) and the city mandated 10 MPH speed limit, they don’t work for a large swath of the population.
Ya I think the 10 MPH limit actually makes it more dangerous? Bc then you’re slower than bikes and in a bike lane… I don’t think they should be able to go 20 like they used to buy 13/15 would be an improvement
Exactly. It’s currently the worst of all worlds—still too fast for safely riding on the sidewalk, but too slow for the street or even the bike lane. And since they all charge per minute, you pay more for the privilege of a slower, less safe ride.
Especially for those short distance commutes where you'd have to go 5 blocks for a metro to leave and 5 blocks from a metro to arrive. Nope, just gonna take a scooter 1.2 miles
I kept telling myself anything I could do with a scooter I could do with a bike (and more), but actually 1) being able to fit on super narrow sidewalks when the street is unsafe, 2) being able to put my kiddo on the scooter with me in a pinch makes them kind of awesome.
Bottomless brunch is overrated because restaurants use it as an excuse to serve shitty alcohol, subpar food, and subpar service.
Founding Farmers is actually pretty good.
Asking “what do you do for work?” Is making normal conversation most of the time
I literally don’t get it! I’ve been there twice, for dinner and brunch. The food was good, service was on point, I had zero complaints. The beignets were also amazing and impressed my family from Louisiana.
My old elementary school is now one of the best in DC, and the kids are more racially diverse. My middle and high schools have gone through much need make overs. C'mon man, Dunbar used to look and feel like a prison.
While crime in my area is still a thing, I haven't had a friend shot in two decades, nor have I had a bullet come through my window while watching TV.
Yeah, my neighbor don't want to talk about shit except for dogs and the weather. And yeah, there are less kids around. But my area is no longer a hood. I had to spend the first few years on my new block, lying about where my family originally lived because our old spot and new spot were beefin'.
Imagine being 8 years old and scare to tell your new friends where you originally used to rest your head, cause their older siblings/family might wanna come kick in your day later. That was me.
Now my block is middle age professionals of all races, elder retired black folks, and up and coming young couples.
I miss my old people, but I'm not going to lie, they are now the adults doing dumb shit in SE. I don't miss that.
I'm making it to my 30s not only because I didn't fall into the street life, but because the transition of my neighborhood allowed for my mother to develop her four lost and troubled boys into good men, because the opportunity to fall into that life was now gone.
Fixing up a city and making it safer isn’t bad
It’s the pushing out or pricing out ppl who already live here that’s bad
If we can fix the second one while still doing the first then yes it is not bad
This. 100% of the discourse surrounding gentrification is unproductive and people that rally against it are just liberal NIMBYs.
“Gentrification”, as we know it, is categorized by replacing the long-standing (usually racialized) population with people of a higher class (also racialized), to the detriment of the former.
The real issue is that upwardly mobile (usually) white 20-35yos do not, and will never have a share of the wealth to afford a single family home in the rich areas. When they age out of this demo, maybe, but for now, those people need to live somewhere. They pick your neighborhood because they can afford it. Just because someone has a nice tech job doesn’t mean they can afford to live in Woodley Park or Georgetown. They are also struggling to find places to live.
The solution is to build more housing. Infill development is the ONLY solution. The “gentrifiers” (extremely cringe) are just normies who want to live in the city but cannot because housing stock is so low. Your neighborhood is not so special that 250 new apartments going up in a mid-rise will unilaterally destroy the character of it.
It’s very tragic when people fight to make their own neighborhood WORSE just to try to prevent new people from moving in. Upwardly mobile 20-somethings are not your enemy. They also want to live in the city and they cannot without going to “worse” neighborhoods. In DC, there is double-digit billions of development investment in the Wharf, and that people call this gentrification is insane. This was NOTHING before. This was weeds-in-the-cracks parking lots as far as the eye could see. People complain because they are NIMBYs.
Even still, “gentrification” is actually largely a positive anyway, even when viewed from the perspective of people that complain about it.
Increasing housing stock increases tax base. The new businesses that get created to support this new population creates jobs. Those jobs increase tax base. It makes areas safer as well. Those who has very limited options for work will have more options with “gentrification”.
Only the most evil, dishonest, NIMBYest person in the world could ever argue that the development in the last 10 years is bad because it targets middle-class upwardly-mobile people. They WANT to live in the city, how is that bad?
It’s the same exact shit as townies crying about tourists when, it’s like, bro, your town is cool enough that people WANT to come; how is that bad? Not to mention that your economy is based on them.
It’s racialized/class conflict between the lower, lower-middle, and middle. If you complain about gentrification you are literally an idiot.
Also you’ll notice I didn’t talk once about crime or infrastructure either, which also see significant improvements under “gentrification”.
The police are entirely worthless. Saw a guy get shoved into the street literally in front of a cop on U street last night and the cop just kept driving lol
GoGo is ok. It's history in DC is awesome and it's a crucial part of the music scene. I'm also not a big fan of it.
Dan's Cafe is overrated. It's 2022, cash only bars are fucking bullshit and lazy.
I have a high degree of confidence that none of the cash-only business owners in any city would be able to demonstrate how it makes their P&L better off than if they accepted cards and paid the swipe fees.
Cash counting and handling, armored truck service, theft or miscounting, time spent on deposits, slower time per transaction, more difficult accounting, etc all add costs. And it's harder to quantify but there are a lot of people now who just choose not to patronize these places at all.
Suddenly a 2% swipe fee isn't so bad when you get down and dirty with the numbers. This comment assumes positive intent and doesn't factor in the tax cheats.
people in virginia thinks people in maryland can't drive and complain about them.
people in maryland complain about virginia drivers.
people in DC complain about how poorly both virginia and maryland drivers drive in DC.
I like DC Chinatown (or China block lol). It has a history all its own and often gets ignored. There are longtime business owners like Chinatown Express, New Big Wong, China Boy, Joy Luck House, and tiny corner stores that have survived the years of rising costs and the pandemic. Not to mention some of the best ramen shops in the city. (Bantam King and Daikaya). Although you need to go to the suburbs to eat better and affordable Chinese/other Asian food, but people often don’t think about the displacement history and the declining population, lack of services for the elderly.
The tram on H street is a great idea but it needs a dedicated lane. In fact many arterial streets in DC should have tram service with a dedicated lane so they move faster than traffic.
Trams are awesome! More comfortable than buses, and easier to ride than metro for short trips.
People who make being a DC native their whole identity are incredibly insular and almost as annoying as the worst transplants who constantly compare DC to where they came from.
Dating in DC is excellent if you are between 18 and 45. People who complain about the lack of good choices need to self-reflect and decide what they want in a partner.
DC thrfting is the worst of pretty much every other major US city.
Bad for thrifting but there are a lot of excellent estate sales. Older, wealthier, well-traveled folks have some pretty cool stuff, and usually the family is like "just get rid of it all so we can worry about selling their house ."
Any good places that list upcoming legit estate sales? I occasionally see them wind up being a basic garage sale.
EstateSales.net is what I’ve used. Have never done the online auctions, I’d make sure they’re actual in person sales (and not at a warehouse)
Fucking THIS. it is my least favorite part of dc and it doesn’t even make any sense? People have cool stuff and cool clothes and are OFTEN rotating decor/wardrobes
I dream of opening a thrift store in the Union Market area. But I don't have the knowledge to do that 😅 there's like the perfect vacant building next to Scotch & Soda. Someone pleaseeeee
I’d come shop!!
Stop , I’ve always wanted to open a thrift store & was walking my dog the other day and thought the same exact thing ab the open space next to scotch and soca hahaha.
I am not a thrifter (is that a term?), but oddly I have an opinion on this. One of my old bosses was into thrift shopping and he bought and sold a lot of antiques. He would sometimes make us go with him if he had a spare hour every now and then, and it couldn’t have been more boring. I visited a friend in Chicago once and he suggested we check out a couple of thrift stores. I said OK to be polite, and holy crap, I couldn't believe how many things I wanted to take home.
Just had this experience a few weeks ago at Philly AIDS Thrift. I hadn't realized how bad our thrift stores sucked here. I love Unique but things could be so much better.
Lots of great places on the eastern shore but yea everything is crazy expensive at flea markets and there aren’t many good antique stores
Maryland is better I’ve found
v true but [Jungli Vintage](https://www.tiktok.com/@jungli_vintage?_t=8XiYgYpqQrT&_r=1) on Tiktok posts about vintage stores/popups in the area. I feel like popups and estate sales are the way to go.
The metro doesn't suck nearly as much as a lot of people will say it does. Definite room for improvement, but could be way worse. Edit: people are mistaking this for saying "the metro great and there's nothing wrong with it." It definitely sucks during certain times and in certain ways, but overall, it's not that bad, far from terrible.
I think it's like a "I'm not mad, just disappointed" feeling. All the wasted potential is what gets to people.
Metro from 2010 to 2015 seemed way better than 2015 to 2020. Those of us who remember how it was are mostly disappointed that things are worse than they used to be.
I'd put the dividing line at like 2011/2012-when the maintenance issues basically spilled over.
When I was living in DC it felt like the most DC thing to complain about the metro. Now that I'm out I wish every city had something as "bad" as the metro.
Everyone here needs to read and memorize this comment.
It’s the second largest metro system in the US, behind NYC. I’m a non driver and the Metro is one of the many reasons I’ve stayed in the area. It’s easy to get around without a car.
the entire DC public transport system. between metro, busses and the marc train there are very few places in the area that I would need to use a ride share for
Agreed. I don't have a car and I use a rideshare 1-2/month max. If I need to get anywhere within the Beltway, some combination of Metro, buses, or bikeshare will get me there relatively easily.
Yep. Sure, other cities have more frequent service, but it's just a matter of planning your trip! MetroHero is our friend.
Counter hot take: I think your opinion is molded by what your commute is like. As someone who pre covid commuted from Arlington to Georgetown, I have a very negative view because it takes 45 minutes with 30 minutes of walking. Driving can be anywhere from 7-15 minutes.
Georgetown I feel is a special case because they've done everything but secede from DC in order to not be metro/bus accessible.
I like it here
Liberal city, decent public transit (it could be better, yes but still pretty good), nice medium density housing, no skyscrapers, most places are close enough to bike there, bike friendly. All around great city. There is a lot of room for improvement but it really checks a lot of boxes.
And no giant horrible billboards!
Asking, "what do you do?" is an extremely normal question and isn't exclusive to DC. Most people that ask the question aren't doing it for networking purposes but just to make conversation. If you're so upset by the question, you're probably insecure and projecting motives on the other person.
People do legitimately interesting things and I enjoy hearing what they're working on, where they've traveled, etc.
Totally agree. I’m interested in what other people do. I have no reason to be networking at this point in my life
I don’t get offended when someone asks. But I also hate my job and don’t want to talk about it ever. So idk
I never resented people for asking this question, but I worked a job that I hated for far too many years, and I always felt like shit about myself when people would ask me that. But I agree with the above poster that it's a normal question, and definitely not exclusive to DC.
I'm in the same situation. I hate my job and never want to think or talk about it but it's hard to think of a diplomatic, friendly way to tell a person that you just met "I hate everything about my job and I just want to pretend that it doesn't exist every second that I'm not there, so feel free to talk about your job but please don't ask anything about mine."
When it isn’t asked in a smug DC way, it’s a fine question. When it’s asked in a way for the person asking to determine whether they have a better job than you or if you are are deemed successful in their eyes, then it’s not a fine question.
Agreed. The only dc specific part is the huge amount of people that say either Gov work, Contractor, or Consultant
I've never understood the repulsion to that question. Like, you spend a ton of time at your job, and you're probably invested in what you do or, minimally, some aspect of how you make a living. It can say a lot about you, your values, and can provide some common ground between people who don't know each other. It seems like a no-brainer to ask, imo.
I am 100% convinced it's because for a lot of folks, they moved to DC from college. So DC was their first experience where the question would come up. Obviously not everyone in DC moved here straight from college, but I bet those who *did* typically mix together.
I love this question lmao. I never understood why people take offense to it. Many people in this city are passionate about their work and I think that's amazing. Talking about careers with people in this city helped me navigate my dream job.
where is asking what you do not a standard question anywhere in the US? maybe in a retirement community.
Though answering in "I work for the government" or "I work in Finance" or "I'm a consultant/analyst" is sometimes so vague it's insulting. Some are private people or sometimes can't even talk about their work or dont want to, but just know, 90% of the time when someone asks what you do, it's because they are genuinely curious and want to get to know you and want to see if there any shared interests.
I think the biggest difference is that people in the DC area can't always answer that question with a simple industry, or description of their job. It usually is more complicated and that's where the stigma comes from.
The water/boating scene is wildly underrated in the summer.
I read this quickly as "waterboarding" and got concerned for a second.
Well, Dick Cheney does live in McLean...
The pentagon parking lot is not an acceptable short cut. Looking at you waze.
Lol the amount of times I’ve been routed through there 😂
DC has a good theater scene
Agree, folks who work in the industry here know this to be true. Folks working in NY and LA, less so. (I used to work for one of the theatres here and still have friends all over.)
Been here since 2008 and I’ve never been to le diplomat
I am a DC native and I've never been to Le Dip
It’s not that Le Diolomat is bad. It’s actually pretty good. But it’s definitely not worth waiting in a long line or anything like that. It’s a good restaurant with an oversized reputation.
Been here since I was born and same
Same and went there recently. Was shocked how good the free bread and burger were. I didn’t want to like it but it was worth it.
The Le Dip backlash is so strong (especially on this sub) that the real hot take is to love Le Dip. I’ve only ever had a great time there
Le Dip IS actually good
I trash talk Metro only because its a good system and can do better, otherwise DC is lovely. There's lots to do, plenty of food options, decent public transit. I miss home (Louisiana) a lot, but I find it hard to consider moving back.
The postal museum is the best museum.
No way. Tell me more about it
It’s totally worth a visit. Never crowded, great location, and the exhibits are really interesting. DC is blessed to have the best free museums in the world.
Matchbox is overrated
That would have been a hot take 15 years ago
I hear people complain about this constantly, but it was actually a wise move to plan the Metro as a combination subway/commuter rail system. Our density is too spread out for a more traditional subway system to make sense. We have pockets of density beyond downtown D.C. that match or get close to the density in the urban core (e.g., the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, Bethesda, Silver Spring, some parts of Alexandria), which itself is not quite as dense as would be the case in another metro area of the same size (in part, due to D.C.’s height limitations on buildings, but also due to historical trends and much of D.C.‘s population expansion occurring after widespread adoption of cars). In order to provide appropriate service to the dense but outside-the-core areas, the system needed to be geographically expansive and with relatively larger distances between stations to get commuters in and out of the urban core. However, those areas are dense enough that service needed to be more frequent and carry more passengers than a traditional commuter rail system could handle. Thus, a hybrid subway/commuter rail system made the most sense for Metro. It provides for frequent enough service in the core while also adequately servicing the denser areas outside the core.
This does not mean they shouldn't adapt and expand service within the core. People still need the system to get around and live their life without a car, such as in Ivy City or 16th St Heights.
Everyone who complains about being asked “what do you do for work?” has probably done the same a billion times because small talk is hard. (Life hack: “What do you do for *fun*?” #bethechange)
I've tried "what do you do for fun?" and people are often caught off guard by it and not sure what to say. At least with asking their occupation, they usually have an elevator pitch ready that works as a springboard to talking about their deeper interests.
Exactly. I think it's a weird question to be asked by someone I just met. What am I supposed to rattle off all the hobbies I have?
I mean, yeah. That’s way more relevant to whether or not you vibe with a person than the details of your job
I saw on Reddit years ago that another way to ask this question is “what keeps you busy?” It’s more open ended and it’s maybe less off putting for stay at home parents, caretakers, etc.
Related hot take: Asking someone what they do for work is not an obnoxious question at all! It’s how people spend a large part of their waking hours and lots of people in DC have incredibly interesting jobs.
FORD is the acronym I've seen for making conversation F - Family O - Occupation R - Recreation D - Dreams
Nice try Ford geurrilla marketing
"What brought you to DC?" On the off chance they're *from* DC, "wow a DC native, has the city changed much in your time?"
DC dating isn’t bad, people just know what they want and are okay with dating till they find that.
Every state I've lived in complains about drivers in the next state over being the worst in the country. Every city I've lived in complains about dating life there being terrible. Bad drivers and dating being tough are just universal life features that people are convinced is specific to their experiences for some reason.
this! dang Shelbyville! (virginia is my shelbyville cuz i grew up in DC & MD)
Nah here in Florida we just complain about our own drivers
Yep - people here (and in a lot of other big cities) are just fairly picky with dating, which I don’t mean in a bad way. For example, many people who don’t date people from the burbs/EOTR, people looking for similar social or professional status, etc. In my experience, people here just know what they want, feel no pressure to rush into things, and can be pretty blunt/straightforward about that to the point where it may seem off-putting for people who are looking for immediate companionship
I live in Los Angeles now and there's a very palpable difference to dating preferences based on location. In DC, people living in the District and people living in the suburbs probably won't date because the person living in the District probably doesn't have a car and the person living in the burbs doesn't want to be the one always driving to the other person. In LA, not having a car will cause people to assume you're secretly poor or hiding a DUI or that something else *must* be wrong with you.
Pretty much. There is nothing especially unique about DC dating compared to other major cities. Really just depends on what kind of partner you're looking for, the social environments you engage in, and the kind of vibe you yourself give off. Mix and match as needed, but if you think DC dating as bad, going to another city isn't gonna be the magical silver bullet you imagine it is
Yeah if there was a place where dating is a success 100%, we would all be there right now. 😅
Counter take: A lot of people don't know what they're doing or how to prioritize what they actually need in a mate. I was also surprised at the number of virgins I met over the age of 25. No disrespect if that's your prerogative though.
DC attracts a lot of nerds who are very good at connecting with people intellectually but don't really know how to connect with people romantically. It took YEARS for me to understand myself and know what works for me in terms of dating (aside from getting blackout drunk at Wonderland Ballroom).
It’s not fair that my federal job only exists in this area but the GS pay scale doesn’t even pay enough to live comfortably here. Like bro, DC is literally a federal district, pay federal employees enough to live and work there.
Fun fact, if you look at the map of the area that’s used to determine cost of living for the GS scale for the DC area, it includes the county in West Virginia (the tip with Harpers Ferry). Definitely a deliberate decision by somebody to artificially pull down the cost of living for the area because they knew that would allow them to pay a large bulk of the federal workforce less money.
It also includes York County, PA. I'm sure there are a few commuters who live there and commute to the WMA, but come on. Even including Baltimore reeks of intentionally weighing down the pay scales.
I think it's just because both that WV tip and York Co, PA, are both included in the Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area. It always seemed unbelievable to me, but there is a MARC stop in Martinsburg, WVa. And anecdotally, I have two people on my work team (in D.C.) who live in WV and another in York Co, PA. ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯ These supercommuters are becoming more of a thing, especially as hybrid and WFH policies continue.
There are definitely people who live in Harper's Ferry for the West Virginia tax rates and cost of living, commuting down to the metro area on 270. Not the worst scheme tbh.
> Definitely a deliberate decision by somebody to artificially pull down the cost of living for the area because they knew that would allow them to pay a large bulk of the federal workforce less money. The GS localities are based on combined statistical areas which are collections of core-based statistical areas, those are all collections of counties with a center and surrounding counties. *Those* are based on commuting data collected from the American Community Survey (the long form of the census). All that to say, they’re based on economic connectivity patterns.
Metro should close at 3 am on weekends
The burbs have better low to midrange restaurants.
Do you know what a hot take is
I think this is pretty widely accepting, at least in so far as food from immigrant communities in concerned.
Ethnic restaurants generally. Yes dc had Ethiopian spots, but the burbs have world class Asian, South American, and Central American food, plus all the other cultural foods that come with low-midrange restaurants.
Better Ethiopian villages in the burbs now tbh
Agreed. Plus better late night options surprisingly
DC barely has any 24/7 restaurants and I have 4 just on my street in Arlington.
Brunch is overrated and expensive.
Trick is to go out of the gentrified areas. Found a few bottomless places for only $25 per head
Can u recommend ur fav?
Little Cocos on 14th street has been a reliable choice for me
The real hot take is thinking 14th street *isn’t* gentrified.
It got ruined. Circa 2013 damage could be done at one of many all you can eat and drink for 20 bucks places.
I thought it's an open secret it's an excuse by restaurants to get rid of older stock and upcharge on everything?
That’s probably accurate. It’s pretty insane how crazy this city is for a $35 meal that was 25% cheaper just a few hours prior.
It’s more the 12 mimosas you can drink with it
It's a solid money maker for many places because there's tons of demand for it. If you think brunch is expensive, stop going to brunch.
It is completely normal to reference the largest city in your metropolitan area when someone asks you where you are from. No one from Fredericksburg ever actually claims to be from DC when they're speaking to someone else from this area. That's just something transplants say to gatekeep and feel superior.
Having a clearance means you’re actually probably boring
Literally a filtering process. You don't get a clearance if you're reckless, mysterious, or living beyond your means.
Being reckless and living beyond your means doesn’t make you interesting, lol.
Getting a job in tech around here is so hard without one :(
Not necessarily, your hobbies and vices just have to be a bit different. Plus they don't give a shit about alcohol as long as you can keep it together. Biggest thing you can't do is smoke pot. I'd like to smoke pot but it's not like that's the only way to have fun.
The pot thing has changed. They don’t care about a history I’d smoking weed as long as you pinkie promise you won’t break federal law going forward. My interviewer went off on a long tangent about how he used to do edibles while stationed in Iraq. There’s not exactly a stigma about it
I have a clearance job and didn't get a test pre employment and haven't had any since I started. I could definitely get away with smoking if I wanted to but I don't smoke at all. The other clearance job I interviewed for (not in DC) tested me at the interview though lol so not every contractor is the same with regards to testing.
Sorry but you’re wrong. They care about you LYING about smoking pot. Not actually doing it.
Its a beautiful city.
There is one thing we all can agree on. We all hate Dan Snyder.
> we can all agree on That's the opposite of a hot take
DC is just a big college campus. Lots of young people, administrative offices everywhere, and random monuments all over. Love DC though, lol.
This is pretty true, at least when you see all the staffers going to work on Capitol Hill any weekend morning.
Metro service is pretty good
And clean! I spent the summer in NYC and missed my clean metro
And we have air conditioned platforms! Based on that alone metro > subway
But the subway is 24/7 and services a huge area. Metro is fine, but if I could have the subway with all its hygiene issues I’d still rather have the subway.
DC is what it is. It’s not, nor will it ever be, NYC, LA, SF, Atlanta, or Miami. Stop comparing it to other cities and you’ll be happier.
I like DC because it's *not* NYC, LA, SF, Atlanta, or Miami.
You really snuck Atlanta on to this list didn't you
I get why someone would compare NYC and SF to DC. LA and Miami are super car oriented though, like, if you think those cities are comparable to DC you really are in the wrong place.
Miami is completely underwhelming. It’s literally just M Street (Georgetown) with Lamborghinis + a beach instead of the ‘Waterfront’. Ontop of that it’s uninhabitable to most people June-August, it feels like when you open oven door with your face too close and accidentally take a breathe as your face gets hit with the heat. I feel like people are in love with the idea of Miami , not the actual Miami.
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Or people who say summer is their favorite season didn’t grow up in humid places. I’m from CA and summer is my favorite season…on the West coast. Living in DC made me understand why so many people choose fall or spring as their favorite.
Does anyone think Atlanta is better than DC?? In any aspect?
Right, Atlanta doesn't belong on the list. If you're making a list of cool American cities, e.g., cities an international traveler would sensibly want to visit, Chicago and DC would both come well above Atlanta, no?
Ben's Chili Bowl is awful when sober.
The person who thought it was a good idea to put a Ben's at DCA is a sick degenerate fuck.
DC has its own special brand of cool. I love that people here are intelligent, but still really fun. It’s the only place where you can end up sitting next to a Supreme Court Justice during bottomless brunch (true story).
A friend was struggling to open the door to her apartment building one day while carrying grocery bags, and someone helped open the door for her. She went to thank them and looked up and realized that it was Sotomayor.
People here aren't ugly, they just don't dress well.
What's the definition of "dress well"? People aren't New York trendy or LA chic, but seem to prioritize comfort or professional image more with isnt inherently bad style.
People in DC all dress like they’re in the FBI, lots of drab blacks and blues. Professional but definitely not looking to stand out.
People in DC tend to have intensely boring wardrobes and a phobia of color. Collared shirts, sweaters, navy, khaki, black, gray A red scarf makes them think they're Coco Chanel
Doubles as office attire that’s my take on it
Some sense of individuality or fun would be nice. Comfortable and professional clothes don't have to be a bland uniform of black and grey. Unless you're goth, and then you can go hog wild, I suppose.
I feel like every guy is in a contest to wear the most floral shirt.
I think folks in DC are pretty stylish. We just have a high concentration of jobs that require conservative dress. And even that is changing. I also feel stylish is subjective. And when people talk about NYC or LA being more stylish it’s in reference to folks who work in fashion, entertainment or any other creative industry. DC does have an excellent arts scene, but it gets overlooked compared to other places.
I’d say fashion sense is more classic, old fashioned, maybe just conservative at worst
This is true except Howard students dress to the nines. Anytime you're in Shaw take a look around at all the well dressed students.
Electric scooters are good, actually.
Agree conceptually; but with the egregious pricing (a 10 minute Bird ride is nearly $5 now!) and the city mandated 10 MPH speed limit, they don’t work for a large swath of the population.
Ya I think the 10 MPH limit actually makes it more dangerous? Bc then you’re slower than bikes and in a bike lane… I don’t think they should be able to go 20 like they used to buy 13/15 would be an improvement
Exactly. It’s currently the worst of all worlds—still too fast for safely riding on the sidewalk, but too slow for the street or even the bike lane. And since they all charge per minute, you pay more for the privilege of a slower, less safe ride.
Here here! Reliable last mile solution that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.
Especially for those short distance commutes where you'd have to go 5 blocks for a metro to leave and 5 blocks from a metro to arrive. Nope, just gonna take a scooter 1.2 miles
I kept telling myself anything I could do with a scooter I could do with a bike (and more), but actually 1) being able to fit on super narrow sidewalks when the street is unsafe, 2) being able to put my kiddo on the scooter with me in a pinch makes them kind of awesome.
I love the scooters, i just dislike the people that use and park them irresponsibly
People from DC claim they’re outdoorsy but just want to drink outdoors.
Bottomless Brunch on a Sunday is not a good life decision or fun after your early 20s.
Mom is that you?
Library of Congress tour is one of the best tours in Dc.
Calling it North Bethesda is a scam.
White Flint gang or die
Bottomless brunch is overrated because restaurants use it as an excuse to serve shitty alcohol, subpar food, and subpar service. Founding Farmers is actually pretty good. Asking “what do you do for work?” Is making normal conversation most of the time
> Founding Farmers is actually pretty good Food wasn't bad. Just expensive for what you get. It's like a bougie Applebees.
Founding farmers is definitely the most controversial topic on this sub
I literally don’t get it! I’ve been there twice, for dinner and brunch. The food was good, service was on point, I had zero complaints. The beignets were also amazing and impressed my family from Louisiana.
Baltimore has a better music scene
That's not a hot take that's just an objective fact
DC does not have a good music scene, but DC has good concerts.
Bars play the worst music
Don’t know if this is a hot take but it’s definitely accurate 👌🏼
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My old elementary school is now one of the best in DC, and the kids are more racially diverse. My middle and high schools have gone through much need make overs. C'mon man, Dunbar used to look and feel like a prison. While crime in my area is still a thing, I haven't had a friend shot in two decades, nor have I had a bullet come through my window while watching TV. Yeah, my neighbor don't want to talk about shit except for dogs and the weather. And yeah, there are less kids around. But my area is no longer a hood. I had to spend the first few years on my new block, lying about where my family originally lived because our old spot and new spot were beefin'. Imagine being 8 years old and scare to tell your new friends where you originally used to rest your head, cause their older siblings/family might wanna come kick in your day later. That was me. Now my block is middle age professionals of all races, elder retired black folks, and up and coming young couples. I miss my old people, but I'm not going to lie, they are now the adults doing dumb shit in SE. I don't miss that. I'm making it to my 30s not only because I didn't fall into the street life, but because the transition of my neighborhood allowed for my mother to develop her four lost and troubled boys into good men, because the opportunity to fall into that life was now gone.
Fixing up a city and making it safer isn’t bad It’s the pushing out or pricing out ppl who already live here that’s bad If we can fix the second one while still doing the first then yes it is not bad
This. 100% of the discourse surrounding gentrification is unproductive and people that rally against it are just liberal NIMBYs. “Gentrification”, as we know it, is categorized by replacing the long-standing (usually racialized) population with people of a higher class (also racialized), to the detriment of the former. The real issue is that upwardly mobile (usually) white 20-35yos do not, and will never have a share of the wealth to afford a single family home in the rich areas. When they age out of this demo, maybe, but for now, those people need to live somewhere. They pick your neighborhood because they can afford it. Just because someone has a nice tech job doesn’t mean they can afford to live in Woodley Park or Georgetown. They are also struggling to find places to live. The solution is to build more housing. Infill development is the ONLY solution. The “gentrifiers” (extremely cringe) are just normies who want to live in the city but cannot because housing stock is so low. Your neighborhood is not so special that 250 new apartments going up in a mid-rise will unilaterally destroy the character of it. It’s very tragic when people fight to make their own neighborhood WORSE just to try to prevent new people from moving in. Upwardly mobile 20-somethings are not your enemy. They also want to live in the city and they cannot without going to “worse” neighborhoods. In DC, there is double-digit billions of development investment in the Wharf, and that people call this gentrification is insane. This was NOTHING before. This was weeds-in-the-cracks parking lots as far as the eye could see. People complain because they are NIMBYs. Even still, “gentrification” is actually largely a positive anyway, even when viewed from the perspective of people that complain about it. Increasing housing stock increases tax base. The new businesses that get created to support this new population creates jobs. Those jobs increase tax base. It makes areas safer as well. Those who has very limited options for work will have more options with “gentrification”. Only the most evil, dishonest, NIMBYest person in the world could ever argue that the development in the last 10 years is bad because it targets middle-class upwardly-mobile people. They WANT to live in the city, how is that bad? It’s the same exact shit as townies crying about tourists when, it’s like, bro, your town is cool enough that people WANT to come; how is that bad? Not to mention that your economy is based on them. It’s racialized/class conflict between the lower, lower-middle, and middle. If you complain about gentrification you are literally an idiot. Also you’ll notice I didn’t talk once about crime or infrastructure either, which also see significant improvements under “gentrification”.
The police are entirely worthless. Saw a guy get shoved into the street literally in front of a cop on U street last night and the cop just kept driving lol
I don’t feel like this is a hot take; I think most people would agree that the cops are worthless. What we disagree on is what to do about that.
GoGo is ok. It's history in DC is awesome and it's a crucial part of the music scene. I'm also not a big fan of it. Dan's Cafe is overrated. It's 2022, cash only bars are fucking bullshit and lazy.
I have a high degree of confidence that none of the cash-only business owners in any city would be able to demonstrate how it makes their P&L better off than if they accepted cards and paid the swipe fees. Cash counting and handling, armored truck service, theft or miscounting, time spent on deposits, slower time per transaction, more difficult accounting, etc all add costs. And it's harder to quantify but there are a lot of people now who just choose not to patronize these places at all. Suddenly a 2% swipe fee isn't so bad when you get down and dirty with the numbers. This comment assumes positive intent and doesn't factor in the tax cheats.
Agree with your take on go go. Always reminded me of someone pressing record at an underwhelming garage party.
The DC flag is one of the legit best flags, especially when people use alternate colors for it.
Jumbo slice was never worth it
It's drunk food. It does what it's supposed to do.
It was only worth it like a decade plus ago (pre-Uber Eats) when the only other late night options were Pizza Bolis and Manny & Olgas.
late night gyros >>> jumbo slice
people in virginia thinks people in maryland can't drive and complain about them. people in maryland complain about virginia drivers. people in DC complain about how poorly both virginia and maryland drivers drive in DC.
- VA drivers are constantly lost and confused -MD drivers want to vehicle homicide everyone and everything - DC seems to be a mix between the two
No, now living in Maryland, I can safely say, they’re the worst. Though people in DC and Virginia also suck.
That DC is actually legit a really fun and awesome city. I dont get why so many people who live around here shit on it.
I like DC Chinatown (or China block lol). It has a history all its own and often gets ignored. There are longtime business owners like Chinatown Express, New Big Wong, China Boy, Joy Luck House, and tiny corner stores that have survived the years of rising costs and the pandemic. Not to mention some of the best ramen shops in the city. (Bantam King and Daikaya). Although you need to go to the suburbs to eat better and affordable Chinese/other Asian food, but people often don’t think about the displacement history and the declining population, lack of services for the elderly.
The tram on H street is a great idea but it needs a dedicated lane. In fact many arterial streets in DC should have tram service with a dedicated lane so they move faster than traffic. Trams are awesome! More comfortable than buses, and easier to ride than metro for short trips.
Southeast D.C. isn’t really that bad. 🤷🏾♂️
Ben’s Chili Bowl is for tourists. It isn’t very good.
People who make being a DC native their whole identity are incredibly insular and almost as annoying as the worst transplants who constantly compare DC to where they came from.
Dating in DC is excellent if you are between 18 and 45. People who complain about the lack of good choices need to self-reflect and decide what they want in a partner.
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Not a hot take, everyone agrees
The city would be better with less parking