I’ve lived in the Washington metropolitan area for almost six years, four of which have been in the District of Columbia. Over the years, I’ve seen many friends and acquaintances come and go, moving back to their home states, loathing their brief sojourn in our nation’s capital. Yet I have remained as a proud resident, not just of the Washington area but of the District proper.
Oftentimes, I’m asked by D.C. exiles how I could stand living here for so long. I’ve found the three most-common objections to be rather unconvincing. Here they are with a response from a defensive District dweller.
1. “People only care about what you do for a living.”
It’s certainly true that conversations with new people often start with “What do you do?” in Washington, particularly at networking events. However, that’s not necessarily because Washingtonians are all soulless card sharks. Rather, it’s because so many of us are passionate about our jobs and the social change we seek to create.
People move to New York to go into finance. People move to San Francisco to go into tech. People move to Los Angeles to go into acting. What is the one underlier for white-collar jobs in Washington? It’s ideas.
Be it in government, lobbying, or nonprofit work, professionals in Washington are idealists at their core — even if, in reality, they are simply cogs in the machine. While there are certainly people who clock in and out every day for the paycheck in every city, even the most institutionalist bureaucrat in Washington will still hold a sincere belief that their work serves an important function in society.
So, yes, we ask, “What do you do?” Because we ‘re genuinely interested.
2. “D.C. has no culture.”
This excuse is willful ignorance, pure and simple. Washington has a rich history in its 227 years since its founding in 1791, political culture aside. Frederick Douglass, Walt Whitman, Duke Ellington, Marvin Gaye, Chuck Brown, and so many other important figures in American history once called Washington home. Visitors will find Neighborhood Heritage Trail signs scattered throughout the District highlighting residents who made an impact in the city’s, and country’s, progress.
Even in more recent history, D.C.’s culture has been a shining light. In music, D.C.’s African-American community has their own genre of music indigenous to the city called go-go. The 1980s and 1990s were host to a thriving punk scene, with well-regarded DIY acts like Minor Threat, Fugazi, and The Nation of Ulysses.
Today, D.C. is regarded as one of the best cities for drinking and dining in the U.S. In 2016, D.C. became the fourth U.S. city to receive a Michelin guide to restaurants from the famed French company, following New York, San Francisco, and Chicago. In 2017, Derek Brown’s The Columbia Room was named the “Best American Cocktail Bar” by the Spirited Awards.
To the contrary, when it comes to culture, D.C. punches above its weight.
3. “It’s too expensive, and the taxes are bad.”
Yes, D.C. is the fifth-most expensive city in North America to live in, according to Expastian. But, cities are expensive, and it could be worse. Unlike NIMBY strongholds like San Francisco, cranes can be spotted all over D.C. For all her faults, Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser has been a development proponent. In fact, at a graduate school course I took at George Washington University last semester, my socialist classmates would often grumble at Bowser’s so-called “neoliberal” policy perspective.
If she’s angering the far-left, she’s got to be doing something right!
In terms of taxes, I won’t pretend that D.C. is a libertarian paradise. That said, there are much worse cities in this regard, and I’m not solely referring to New York or San Francisco. The District’s Office of Revenue analysis puts out an annual study comparing D.C.’s tax burdens to the largest cities in each state. In the latest issue, dated December 2017, they found that a family earning $50,000 — just below median household income in the U.S. — would have higher taxes in 37 other top cities. The D.C. City Council actually enacted an oddly pro-growth tax reform in 2014 that was supported by the center-right Tax Foundation. For a Democratic stronghold city, it could be much worse.
I have no ill will to old friends who have moved away for a white picket fence and 2.5 children. It’s the American dream, after all, and there are plenty of beautiful cities and suburbs scattered across this magnificent land. But, let’s not pretend that the capital district is a hellhole, even if politicians oftentimes seem like the spawn of Satan. Washington, D.C., is a great place to live, and I’m proud to call it home.
[Also read: No, you don’t need to earn $77k to live in D.C.]
Casey Given (@CaseyJGiven) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is the executive director of Young Voices.
