rose1986

Hello!

Can anyone help me decide whether to move to DC? I grew up and live on the West Coast, and looking at job postings in DC makes me feel like a kid in a candy store. I went to top universities to study social science but have only achieved moderate success in my career so far. I'm 35, single, still deeply want to make the world better, write in my spare time, am a bit of a Luddite.

I'm trying to find someplace to settle down where there are people to spend time with who are kind, wise, smart, down to earth, and reliable. I'm concerned by the descriptions of DC as someplace where people feel defined by what they do for a living, work 14 hour days, and are elitist and cliquish. I have also heard there is a terrible dating scene.

Does anyone have insights? Thank you!

Seamus

Of course there are kind, wise, smart, down to earth, relioable people everywhere and it is impossible to accurately categorize the entire population of a place with one list of descriptors. That said, what you have heard is pretty much accurate IME.

Christina

well, I've lived here 30 years. I don't know what you are expecting, that's what's hard to say. There are a lot of interesting jobs here. People can be workaholics in any big city, seems to me, just depends on the industry, type of job, and things like that.

Some of your desires seem very odd to me and I really don't think you are being realistic. For example, wanting a city where people are "wise". What does that even mean. I would say becuase of some of the major industries here (law, consulting, politics), a lot of people are ambitious and may not be what you call "down to earth". And they can be competitive. But it really depends where you work, that's why this is such a thing you can't really make statements on. I lived in LA before coming here, and it did feel more workaholic when I moved here, and that people weren't as "nice". But that was due to the type of company I was in, kind of a cut-throat consulting firm. I remember some people there bragging about "pulling all nighters". I thought that was what you did in college, and they marveled when I took a week's vacation to go to a dude ranch.

Anyway, the point is that in LA I worked in an academic think tank and it was very laid back and different environment and did not depends so much on winning proposals from for-profit cmpanies. But before I got into that, I worked in the entertertainment biz and if you want cutthroat and unkind, that was it in spades. I was a nervous wreck from how mean some of those people were to me (I was just a low level "secretary" etc). I have also worked in international cosmetics out there, and that was the same way, jsut different industry.

so in general, I think you make your own place and it depends what kind of job you get. If you work for a nonprofit charity or AID or anything like that, those people are going to be different than the guys at Hogan, Hartson and Whosis.

I don't know what kind of job you are actually qualified for, that's the problem. YOu can't really be a social scientist and be a Luddite. If you find jobs appealing in some nonprofit, that might work. I don't know where the dating scene is supposedly great, you tell me, seems people complain about that everywhere. There isn't much of one right now, of course.

DC isn't cheap, but is cheaper than NYC or San Francisco, that's for sure.

rose1986

Curious: Why can't you really be a social scientist and oppose aspects of technological progress?

Jean

The atmosphere you seem to be seeking sounds like the Mid-West.

I'm a Southern California native and live in a beach town. Being completely honest, I don't think I could tolerate the weather in WDC. I'm not sure I could even tolerate the year-round weather in some parts of Los Angeles. Call me spoiled, but I'm a wimp in hot and muggy conditions, need to see blue sky regularly and don't want to live anywhere where it snows unless there's skiing. There are many pluses to living in the District, but for me to balance work and a personal life, I need to be able to spend a lot of time outdoors. Lots of friendships can be found and nurtured in shared activities away from work like walking/hiking, swimming, sailing, tennis, etc.

yestravel

Weather here is not great in the winter -- cold and can be snowy or summer--hot and muggy. I have lived in DC and surrounds my whole life. There are all kinds of people here. Its a very liberal area. In parts of it like on Capitol Hill you do feel the political presence in terms of who lives there. Its very different than the West Coast. I dont know the dating scen but it used to be way more females than ,ales, dont know if that is still true today. Lots of internaitonal people live here. Tons of free museums and parks. I love it here!