That's kind of the whole aesthetic though. If you think NYC is too overwhelming, Nashville is too tryhard, Austin is too Texas (and too hot), SF is too grey, Chicago is too flyover and Toronto is too Canadian - DC kind of falls right in the middle of all that. It's well connected, on the proper coast, isn't called Boston, has a diverse food scene (esp if you include the suburbs), diverse neighborhoods, reasonable transit, and is one of the most educated cities in the US.