It is one of those truisms of life that, in order to move toward something new, you have to move away from something old.
For me, Washington, DC, is something old.
Because of the peculiarities of my life history, I originally moved to Washington, DC in either 1989 or 1994, depending on how you look at it. While it took a while to grow on me, I now truly love Washington, and will be sad to leave it behind. Perhaps as something of a catharsis, before I leave, I wanted to list all the things that I will miss about living in the capital city of the United States. Then, to remind myself of why I want to leave, I will also list all the things that we will be very happy to leave behind.
What we will miss:
The Embassies: Any time you drive up Massachusetts Avenue's "
Embassy Row," you can't help but be awed by the beauty of this part of town. Even better, for events like the
European Union Open House or the
Around the World Embassy Tour, you can even walk through the embassies, taste foods and drinks from various nations, and see some truly outstanding music and dance performances. There is no better way to spend a summer day in DC than by visiting a dozen or more countries.
The Museums: Yeah, Washington, DC has the
Smithsonian Institution, which is one of the world's greatest museum complexes. That alone would be awesome. But Washington also has the
National Gallery, the
Corcoran Gallery, the
U.S. Holocaust Museum, the
Phillips Collection, and dozens of smaller but equally excellent museums. People visit Washington from all over the world to see our museums, and it is not hard to see why.
The Monuments: When I first moved to Washington, and before I had to go to work every day, my favorite thing to do was to climb up to the
Lincoln Memorial, walk around to the back, and to sit watching traffic cross the Potomac River over the
Arlington Memorial Bridge. It was sublime. From the front of the Lincoln Memorial, you can look at the
Washington Monument reflected in the
Reflecting Pool where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "
I Have a Dream" speech. As you walk up the
National Mall, you have the
Jefferson Memorial,
Roosevelt, and
King Memorials off to your right. There is the
Vietnam Memorial on your left, and the
World War II Memorial straight ahead. Ultimately, you are aiming toward the
Capitol itself, which even though it is a working building, still stands as a monument unto itself. Whatever one thinks of what goes on inside, the Capitol is an awesome sight.
The Schools: One of the great advantages of living in the most highly educated city in the United States is that there is generally a high emphasis placed on quality education - at least in some parts of the city. At the elementary and secondary level, the Washington region has some of the best public school districts in the country, that are matched by many excellent
private schools. If you want to have more of an international flavor in your education, there's the
International School, the
German School, the
Lycée Rochambeau, the
British School, and dozens of other public and private language immersion schools representing every corner of the globe. Moving up to higher education, you get to
Georgetown University,
George Washington University,
American University,
Howard University,
Catholic University, and many others.
The Restaurants: Another advantage to being such an international city is that Washington is the home to a vast array of ethnic restaurants from all over the world. Forget the overpriced "famous chef" expense account restaurants. Washington is the home to some of the best and most authentic Vietnamese, Ethiopian, Korean, or Central American food you will find anywhere - almost always at a very reasonable price.
It's Washington, DC for Heaven's Sake!!!: Let's face it, it is really exciting to live in arguably the most powerful city in the world. Just walking down the street, you almost can't help but bump into Congressmen, Senators, state Governors, Cabinet members, foreign leaders, and many other notable characters. For a political junkie like myself, I always enjoyed running into folks who are regular denizens on
Meet the Press. Add to that, whenever there are big political movements, Washington is inevitably the epicenter. It is exciting to watch history being made right outside my window. This is probably the only place in the world where you can show up late for work and reasonably say, "Sorry, I was held up by a Presidential motorcade - again!"
What we will be happy to leave behind:
Traffic: Washington, DC has consistently ranked as having some of the
worst traffic in the United States. Part of the problem is that there are pitifully few bridges crossing the Potomac River between Northern Virginia and Washington and Maryland, which creates horrendous bottlenecks on the
Beltway,
I95, and
I66. Part of the problem is that suburban development exploded during the 1990s and 2000s without concurrent expansion of infrastructure to handle the increased population. But whatever the reason, my 18-mile commute regularly takes me between 1 and 1.5 hours each way. After four years of her 40-minute commute to and from school, my daughter has made me swear that we will never buy another car.
Outsiders: There is a large transient subgroup of the population in Washington that thinks the city is entirely populated by transients. These are usually the political staffers who sweep into town following an election, and who then skulk out of town a year or two later when their candidate is either voted out of office or resigns after a protracted ethical probe involving underage prostitutes, shaved rodents, and duct tape. In the meantime, these are the same people who believe that Washington should cater exclusively to their short-term parochial interests instead of meeting the needs to the people who were born here and who will still be here long after the next election cycle. Washingtonians are strongly in favor of good public schools, vigorous gun control, expanding public transportation infrastructure, and local control of the budget process. These Outsiders are not. Guess who
always wins?
Cost of Living: According to 2012 data, the
cost of living in the Washington area is 40% higher than the national average. In most parts of the country, $750,000 will buy you a spectacular house on a multi-acre plot of land, and it will probably include a pool and a master suite the size of your typical basketball arena. In the Washington region, $750,000 will get you a modest 3 bedroom house in a solidly middle class neighborhood. If you really want to impress your neighbors the way your cousins are able to do in the "fly over" states, you'd better be pulling in a salary in the high six-figures. A "normal" salary by national standards plants you solidly among the "working poor" in Washington.
The Weather: To put it succinctly, Washington weather sucks. In the summer - which lasts most of the year - temperatures range between hot and muggy and skin-meltingly broiling with air that is more liquid than actual breathable gas. In the winter, heavy snows are regularly predicted, but they seldom become anything more than a disappointing
cold drizzle. Of course, this lack of actual snow doesn't stop all of the Outsiders (see above) from sliding their cars sideways down major roads and then abandoning them so that they block traffic in both directions the moment the sky looks even vaguely threatening. If you think that I exaggerate, you have obviously never tried commuting in Washington.
Egos: One of the biggest disadvantages of living in arguably the most powerful city in the world is that everybody on your block is constantly competing to demonstrate that they are either more powerful than you, or that they have better access to powerful people than you (for a great example, follow any conversation
here). This - ahem - "tool swinging" contest manifests itself in other ways as well. My house is nicer than yours. My kids go to a better private school than yours do. My law firm is more prestigious than your law firm. My car is faster than your car. My private golf club excludes more minorities than your private golf club. Etc. ad nauseum. It's a competition that nobody can ever win. But it doesn't stop people from trying.
All things considered, we will be sad to leave Washington. But only parts of it. And somehow I think we'll get over it.
The answers to all of these questions were a little bit surprising. After all, I have lived overseas before, and was already acquainted with the feelings associated with being physically disconnected from "my people" for an extended period of time. Then again, that was over 20 years ago, when the world was a very different and less connected place. That was back before the Internet and e-mail were ubiquitous. That was back when "foreign cuisine" in many parts of Europe (and the U.S. for that matter) was merely a slightly spicier version of the local favorites That was back when international travel was still something of a novelty rather than an essential part of conducting everyday business.
And yet, as we spent the Christmas week in Washington visiting friends and family, and as we then moved on to Pittsburgh to do the same over New Year, we came to realize how little our motivations for moving had changed over our time away. To be certain, it was wonderful to see all of our loved-ones again. But everything else that had driven us away - the politics, the traffic, the horrible horrible prime time CBS television lineup - was still there. And with our experience of spectacular public transportation, walkable neighborhoods, and not knowing enough German to get sucked into politics or local television, the differences were even more stark in our minds now.
On the other hand, Skippy peanut butter really is the creamiest after all.
