From the article: Living in the Washington, DC Area
What's it like to live near the nation's capital? Tell others why the Washington, DC metro area is a great place to live and/or share some of the challenges that you cope with every day. Share Your Experience
Love Cheap Culture in Washington DC
- The article is spot on with the pros and cons of living in Washington DC. My favorite thing is the variety of free/cheap cultural opportunities. We take my kids to all the Smithsonian museums, many of which have free kids performances. The Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage. The Sculpture Garden jazz series. There's always something free and interesting to do.
- —MdMomof3
It's a Fascinating City
- There's always so much going on in DC. It's a great place to be if you like to be busy and immersed in cultural activities. I've lived here for 5 years and am always amazed by things that I haven't yet discovered. It's an expensive place to live but you can always find free things to do. It's pretty easy to get around by Metro but parking a car is pain. You have to plan extra time to get just about everywhere because you never know when you will be delayed by traffic.
- —Guest Sonya
Is everyone talking about the same city?
- Maybe living within the city is good, which also means you are wealthy and can afford to do more. The museums are free, nothing else is outside a few random events. I live outside the city in Northern VA. TRAFFIC is a NIGHTMARE. This is where you will most likely have to live (or MD) to afford anything (I pay $1160 a month for 600 sq ft.). The people are mostly unfriendly and won't even respond to "Hi" or "how's it going". No common courtesy, you'll see that when you drive as well. The multi-cultural events are interesting at first, but after you've been to a few you get the idea. You also get this sense that its wrong to proclaim pride in your own local/american culture, liberal guilt?? The area is very touchy and politically correct. All ethnic groups tend to stick with each other. Many different ethnicity's which is good for diversity, but it's almost impossible to understand greeters,barbers,fast food employees, or any basic position that requires communication. I'm ready to move.
- —Guest Keith
No Respect
- D.C. has a lot of jobs, federal and private, but it is very expensive, crowded, and stressful. It is similar to New York, but the atmosphere is politics instead of Finance. Personally i'm tired of it after 5 years, but other people may love this type of environment.
- —Guest Rodney D.
DC is a *Great* Place to Live!!
- I agree with the pros -- so much to do here in terms of outdoors, cultural activities, restaurants, nightlife, roadtrips, fascinating people from all over the world. Re. the cons -- traffic is awful, BUT... you likely will NOT need a car to commute to work, so you likely will not need to drive during prime traffic hours. Real estate is expensive, but as others have mentioned, there are so many fun, FREE activities that really add to the quality of life once you can afford the rent or mortgage. However, one big downside is that there are not so many less expensive options to eat out... and many services such as getting a haircut are ridiculously high. And... the public school system is AWFUL, so once I'm ready to have kids, I'll head out to No. Va or MD because don't want to pay private tuition. Even so, I absolutely love it here more than any other place, and I've lived in beautiful Colorado, California, the South, outside Boston, Philly, NYC, and abroad.
- —Guest Mel
Weather and Driving
- I love the weather (roses at Thanksgiving!) most of the year (don't talk about August). I dislike driving when it's snowy or icy -- so many other residents don't have experience in that weather and it can be more dangerous than in some other areas of the country where more people are experienced with winter driving. Balancing that: lots of places close when it's snowy or icy, so I don't miss much if I stay off the road. All in all, though, I love it here.
- —Guest JJ
Love the Area
- This area has been home for over 20 years. I love that there is so much to do and we're so close to all the political action. I enjoy the 4 seasons, too. Though I wish we had more of a cultural identity.
- —Guest Stephanie
