I’m still stuck on how absolutely idiotic it is that the president of the United States is trying to distract from his being implicated in documentation of the most infamous sex trafficker in American history by deploying federal agents on the streets of the nation’s capital to rectify a nonexistent crime epidemic, so I figured I’d take a stroll down memory lane and look at some pictures from when I lived in DC. This was in 2021 and 2022, when I finished my MBA from American University and started working at Pepco, a.k.a. Exelon.
I lived in two places over two different terms– one in the northern burbs, close to the Red Line, and the other in Northeast DC, a pleasant but considerable walk from the Rhode Island Brentwood Red Line and close to the Metropolitan Branch Trail. I was never murdered.
Crime? What Crime?
A lot of people– liberal transplants to cities, especially, I’ve noticed- seem really invested in this game of things like, “no, my city is worse!” It’s not a competition. Every city has its advantages and disadvantages. Some cities seem to have more disadvantages than advantages, but the determinations are often very subjective. Some people love the idea of living in a place that requires air conditioning to be habitable for six months of the year. Others (myself included) find that contemptible to even consider.
Thinking about DC in retrospect is especially weird because of the crime narrative. Coming from Detroit, where I used to hear gunshots at night quite frequently, and moving into a neighborhood that was fairly racially and socioeconomically diverse– but felt pretty safe, it’s weird to think about the fact that there are people who are terrified to set foot in either city.
Wheaton & Silver Spring
Living just outside the city was nice in that I had a deal on a spot (renting from friends) in a quiet neighborhood that was a short walk from the Red Line, which took me directly to work. Work was, of course, mind-numbingly boring, because nobody was ever in the office and I had nothing to do, and every time I tried to get involved in something, I would get my wrist slapped. Wild to collect such a lavish paycheck to do so little work!
But it was nice to be at Gallery Place and be able to get any food I wanted within walking distance. Gallery Place is, of course, next to DC’s modest Chinatown, which offers a lot of options, plus the restaurants catering to the lunch crowd. DC is also a great town for happy hours because it has a monstrously unhealthy work culture and a ton of young people, which, well, you know.
Northeast DC
I also lived in Northeast DC for a bit, where I enjoyed being close to the Metropolitan Branch Trail and Union Market. There is something to be said for being able to leave your house on a bike and just get onto a trail and go. I cannot tell you how exciting it is to have real trail infrastructure near your house– as opposed to a half-assed bike lane, or a street with all of a sharrow and that’s it.
Union Market is sort of peak gentrification as far as DC, as I saw a lot of transformation over even a short period of time, with a grittier aesthetic slowly being replaced by shinier storefronts and, of course, ubiquitous luxury high-rises. Some of these were shockingly not even that expensive, though, and I was pretty close to either buying a place or signing a lease when I ended up making the decision to resign from my position, given a year and a half of constant chaos from a revolving door of managers (after the one who hired me abruptly resigned) and a toxic (and extremely boring) work culture.
But again– enjoying the city was a fabulous thing after spending so many years amid the diesel exhaust and nonexistent transportation infrastructure of Detroit.
In the above pictures, we see a great example of good public space, too! The complex on the left fronts on Eckington in Northeast DC, and backs up to the Metropolitan Branch Trail. Sometimes I would go and sit and ogle the dogs in the dog park, since I was tragically without my own doggos at this point. We debated moving, but my then-not-yet-wife suggested (appropriately) that relocating for a job that wasn’t my absolute dream job was perhaps not the greatest idea.
Snacks With Friends
Food is always one of the best ways to enjoy a city, of course, and it was great being able to explore not just Union Market and environs in near-northeast DC, but also DuPont Circle, downtown, etc. I have some complaints about how expensive DC’s food scene is– I recall a particular incident in Silver Spring in which we availed ourselves of a $35 pizza- and the quality doesn’t always justify the inflated price, but it’s definitely a town in which it’s hard to be gastronomically bored. I also enjoyed connecting with new friends– including a couple I met through the NUMTOT groups on Facebook, whom I’m still friends with- and exploring Takoma Park, northeast DC, downtown DC, and beyond.
Baltimore!
I also had the opportunity to visit Baltimore, a city I don’t spend nearly enough time in (but where I have a few friends). In climactic and architectural terms, it shares vibes with DC (stately, historic rowhouses, sweating through interminable, Midatlantic summers). The food is great. It’s slightly dysfunctional and gritty. Everyone is friendly. The neighborhoods are utterly charming.
Rust Belt? It might be as a matter of the history of deindustrialization and disinvestment, but Baltimore often evades the Rust Belt moniker because it’s part of the East Coast megalopolis.
Every time we travel, I mention to my wife how great it would be to live in a city that had real infrastructure, or clean air, or even a real economy, at which point she reminds me that I have a good job that requires me to be in the same place for an extended period of time, and that we already own not one, but two houses in two different Rust Belt cities. It’s true that the combined valuation of both of these would barely buy a small condo in DC.
But I still find myself reflecting on having spent a discontiguous– but nonetheless thoroughly enjoyable- stint in and around our nation’s capital. And I trust that my friends and colleagues are staying strong in spite of all of the bullshit being thrown their way.