Submitted by FreemanCantJump t3_11dino4 in washingtondc
dcsnarkington t1_ja94omj wrote
DC, and noted by the stats, has it worse than most places.
The city has a long tradition of being a temporary career way point and people come with the intention of leaving after a stint.
I don't think DC has the staying power of larger cities as it has neither the culinary and cultural appeal of ATL, Austin, NYC, Philly, nor the nearby outdoorsy benefits and general prettiness of say Denver, SF, Seattle, or Portland.
It has a tough combination of very high standard of living without a lot of the baked in benefits of other American cities. Unless you work in a specialized industry based here (NGO, Government) it's hard to keep people around.
It also has good, but not great wages like you see in tech centers like the Bay Area. (Lawyers excluded).
vtsandtrooper t1_ja9jvod wrote
Ah yes the culinary mastery of Atlanta with its absolutely gorgeous highways of Buckhead.
roflgoat t1_jaccncy wrote
Atlanta has an excellent food scene. Until a few years ago it was clearly better than DC's
vtsandtrooper t1_jacejk0 wrote
Ok.
dcsnarkington t1_ja9kj6w wrote
Why yes I certainly prefer the culinary mastery of Zatinya and the beautiful vistas of the Beltway.
... Or the rich cultural history of Bethesda and the hip young vibe of Arlington. Who doesn't love the vibrant urban scene of H and 14th street all built in the last 15 years.
vtsandtrooper t1_ja9r3qd wrote
If you think the center of atlanta isnt a mess of highway disgust, you are alone on that theory. Its by far the ugliest city on the east coast
dcsnarkington t1_ja9vet0 wrote
I can't disagree with you there.
I would say however Atlanta is much more of a leading city for White Southern and African American culture and society, art and music relative to DC.
People are going to come on here and say some shit about Howard, Wale, and Duke Ellington, lol ok.
moosedogmonkey12 t1_ja9lshl wrote
Denver actually has a similar reputation to DC regarding transplants/transient-ness. It’s the only other place I’ve really ever even been where someone saying they’re from “here” gets a “wow, really?” response.
dcsnarkington t1_ja9pccv wrote
That might be true, at least Denver you have world class skiing and rock climbing nearby.
I guess if you really like museums, and find the Blue Ridge mtns to be better than the Rockies maybe DC gets the nod. Edit: you have shit for taste if you think any mtns this side of the Mississippi are better than anything out west.
Denver ain't my style. I could not live in CO, way too many hicks for my taste. Frankly even VA has too many hicks for my taste so there you have it.
celj1234 t1_ja9zmp1 wrote
You’re really acting like DC has nothing appealing to it? Just tell us you hate it here and stop spewing on this nonsense brah
dcsnarkington t1_jaa11uj wrote
I like the cheap symphony tickets, hockey and baseball teams.
I like the decent selection of traditional French restaurants, and the Asian food is minimally acceptable with the exception of Vietnamese which is good.
I like the 3 intl airports within an hour.
The rest of it is average, overpriced, and most of all the people who think it's great simply can't tell the fucking difference.
I hear the kayaking is good but that's not my sport. The skiing minimally acceptable, and the general outdoors is just ok, but is also infested with Lyme disease.
celj1234 t1_jaa1oi4 wrote
Then leave homie lol
dcsnarkington t1_jaa9fl2 wrote
Or I can shit all over it. Which is also fun.
ngfdsa t1_jab3y86 wrote
Username definitely checks out
celj1234 t1_jab2y9a wrote
You have a weird definition of fun. Maybe now I get why you don’t like DC
dcsnarkington t1_jab3iz1 wrote
Well congratulations you can go to your grave defending the honor of this city, symbol of gentrification and nouveau riche mediocrity.
The city can drink. I would be proud of its highest in the nation alcohol consumption, it's impressive.
celj1234 t1_jab829x wrote
You seem miserable lil homie. Go outside and smile bud. 👌🏾👌🏾
roflgoat t1_jaccvih wrote
Based on your opinions on DC food I don't think you get out enough
dcsnarkington t1_jacrn6n wrote
Haha I probably spend more money on restaurants than 99% of the residents here. My own money too, not expense account. I dined at Paul Bocuse last year. My favorite overall restaurant in DC is Marcels for food alone.
The restaurants here are ok. Largely overpriced and concept over substance. A good example of how DCs restaurants are not as good as comparing a place like Le Bernadin in NYC to well any restaurant in the city for price ambiance and food.
You can say well there Little Inn. That place is a nearly an hour away from city. It's literally the same distance as Baltimore and you want to tell me that's a DC restaurant?
roflgoat t1_jacxfbb wrote
So your gauge on a city's dining scene is restaurants in the tier of Le Bernadin? Very relatable. I don't think about Little Inn or any of the overpriced chef-of-the-moment spots. I just noticed you called out the Asian food scenes in DC and it seemed like maybe you hadn't explored the suburbs much — for me, the close suburbs may as well be in the city since DC will never be able to expand its borders like other cities.
dcsnarkington t1_jacyx28 wrote
If you think Rockville / silver Spring Chinese or any of the Japanese food period in this city is anything other than average relative to Philly, NYC, SF, LA.
Then I don't know what to tell you foodie.
I spend a lot of time in Honolulu I suggest you go there if you want to know what good Japanese food is like in America.
Flushing NYC for Chinese. LA for Korean.
Our Vietnamese is not bad. I'll give DC that. I've lived here over 20 years with a car I've been to basically to every Japanese and Chinese place in the area worth going to.
roflgoat t1_jad6gtm wrote
Certainly DC doesn't have the options you could get in NYC, SF, or LA for Asian food. I'm not being unrealistic here. Just the original point that DC can't match the overall culinary scenes of Philly, Austin, or Atlanta feels a bit pessimistic to me. I'd say you can have opinions within that tier, but I really feel that DC's grown into that tier in the last decade.
Edit: Just to clarify where I'm coming from, I think DC punches above its size for the balance of variety and quality. You can get solid Vietnamese, Korean, Yemeni, Afghan, Thai, South Indian, Jamaican, Szechuan, Ethiopian, Salvadorian, and so on all within a pretty achievable distance in DC, as well as a handful of good fine dining options. So they don't have the best of everything and there's a nascently Miami-esque hype chef scene that falls flat and the bakeries and pizzarias are lacking, but it feels pretty on par to cities like Atlanta and Austin and Philly for the overall accessibility of good eats in a way most people would live. Plus Menya Hosaki is the best ramen on the east coast.
dcsnarkington t1_jadmo24 wrote
I don't disagree, general intl cuisine has excellent coverage. Like I said I am pleased with the traditional French options which is uncommonly good. I actively dislike the new high end dining scene in DC, as I think you can get away with quite a lot of high concept low quality with these customers here.
That said with japanese in particular I am deeply frustrated by the continual failure to maintain any standards or quality with places like dakaiya completely falling apart (change to frozen gyoza and dishwater for broth). This i believe is due to both a lack of genuine pride in their craft by ownership and the vast majority of diners having no standards. The constant stream new Asian fusion garbage and simulated Japanese cuisine is truly remarkable.
I need to try menya hosaki. Thanks for the tip.
roflgoat t1_jadpz7e wrote
I'd definitely share your cynicism on DCs high end scene. I stopped even bothering with it after a while. The customer base skews towards people who are fine throwing money away as long as they're at a hyped place or trying to impress their Hinge date and that leads to some totally worthless places with way too much concept. Hope you enjoy Menya Hosaki, it's legit.
jerolyoleo t1_jaeydu8 wrote
The Korean food in Annandale & environs is pretty good.
moosedogmonkey12 t1_ja9qnnp wrote
Denver is a terrible city. The draw is the outdoors, and frankly I think a lot of people move to Denver and find that that is overblown - it’s a plains city, you still have to drive to the mountains! Big controversial opinion here but I actually think the best city/outdoor activity ratio is actually Boston and its immediate suburbs like Cambridge.
I don’t live in Denver, I live in a much smaller city in Colorado now. I’d move back to DC in a heartbeat over moving to Denver proper, because the truth is that for a 9-5er most of the time you’re in the city anyway so that’s the place you really gotta like. I also would take DC type transient-ness (job based) over the Denver type (ski bros 🤮). Of course, DC is my home and I was the token local of the friend group there so I’m biased. Now I’m just another transplant.
dcsnarkington t1_ja9uoew wrote
I'm a skier, and I agree with you. I'd take a number of other cities if skiing and mountaineering were my thing over Denver. SLC or the Northwest mostly for cultural reasons, and the skiing is simply much closer. I also hate Vail Resorts as a business and refuse to ski at their resorts if I can help it.
You may have a different opinion but I personally would not be satisfied with the skiing in New England. I also am not a fan of ticks and Lyme disease.
moosedogmonkey12 t1_ja9wxfl wrote
I only recently found out that VR bought Liberty/Whitetail/Roundtop! I went to those as a child but didn’t ski past high school until I moved to Colorado. Can’t imagine paying Vail $ for… that… not that I ski Vail resorts out here either lol
dcsnarkington t1_ja9zfgv wrote
Yeah, also Snowshoe WV and Seven Springs, PA. All I can say is that those people and those resorts deserve each other.
If you do ski around DC again I recommend Wisp, MD or Timberline WV
FSOTFitzgerald t1_jaay0w7 wrote
> ATL, Austin, NYC, Philly, nor the nearby outdoorsy benefits and general prettiness of say Denver, SF, Seattle, or Portland.
None of those cities save NYC and SF can touch the walkability of DC’s urban core.
seanp8 t1_jadagz7 wrote
Philadelphia is as walkable as Washington, DC and has a way more vibrant downtown
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