The only constant is change...
...and that's not a bad thing. Of all the things you mention about our transitory metropolis, it's interesting what you leave out--the constant sense of change that results. Young residents + population turnover + changing ideologies = a lot going on for a relatively small big city (I realize the suburbs aren't counted here). If a wheel's always spinning, it can't rust...
Take Philadelphia. It has a census three times the size of the District, terrific museums and universities...but it just felt overshadowed by the vitality of NYC to the North and DC down I-95, in part because there are so many area lifers. I love the vitality here. Just look at the new Washingtonian, the best restaurants issue. Sure, they have to switch up the winners every so often, the old US News trick, if only to ensure people buy the latest and greatest. But it's not even the top list, awash in regulars like 1789 and Kinkead's, that intrigues me; it's the lengthy roll of "Ones to Watch"--the Indian-French hybrid IndeBleu, the stylish Palette--that makes me glad DC's turnover and tendency towards the cutting-edge cater so well to us foodies.
Your observations are still well-taken, of course. There was a time this summer, as some packed up for graduate school and others took new jobs, that forced me to count out the number of legitimate friends who've left DC since I arrived in July 2002 (hopefully out of coincidence, not a causation). It was a depressing--and draining--exercise in the futile. Making friends is great, but not if you have to do it every six months.
So yes, the true Washingtonians are the ones trapped in poverty, living in Anacostia and past Capitol Hill (though not as bad as some in Northwest seem to think). Do you think the better-off residents would care more about the plight of the poor if we weren't too busy planning to flee?
Take Philadelphia. It has a census three times the size of the District, terrific museums and universities...but it just felt overshadowed by the vitality of NYC to the North and DC down I-95, in part because there are so many area lifers. I love the vitality here. Just look at the new Washingtonian, the best restaurants issue. Sure, they have to switch up the winners every so often, the old US News trick, if only to ensure people buy the latest and greatest. But it's not even the top list, awash in regulars like 1789 and Kinkead's, that intrigues me; it's the lengthy roll of "Ones to Watch"--the Indian-French hybrid IndeBleu, the stylish Palette--that makes me glad DC's turnover and tendency towards the cutting-edge cater so well to us foodies.
Your observations are still well-taken, of course. There was a time this summer, as some packed up for graduate school and others took new jobs, that forced me to count out the number of legitimate friends who've left DC since I arrived in July 2002 (hopefully out of coincidence, not a causation). It was a depressing--and draining--exercise in the futile. Making friends is great, but not if you have to do it every six months.
So yes, the true Washingtonians are the ones trapped in poverty, living in Anacostia and past Capitol Hill (though not as bad as some in Northwest seem to think). Do you think the better-off residents would care more about the plight of the poor if we weren't too busy planning to flee?
posted by DD at 8:54 PM
1 Comments:
I don't mind that it's a small big city. And DC has defnitely got the better restaurants than Baltimore.
But it's your last point that is what really troubles me about the city. I really do think that if people stayed longer, they'd give a damn. There would also be enough clout to finally get a legislative representative.
But even beyond politics, the lack of a group with staying power is what kills the potential for a uniquely Washingtonian culture or style. The closest we've got is that Washingtonians talk about federal politics all the time and they perhaps dress on the conservative side (khakis and the intern look). But what about a music style? Or an artistic style? I think the lack of a solid permanent middle class is what contributes to DC's lack of its own signature film director (Balmer's got John Water, NYC's got Woody Allen...etc).
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