Sunday’s Food for Thought
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Posted by Blake the Megalomaniac (Follow Me)- Blake the Megalomaniac is a graduate of Virginia Tech and now lives the Adams Morgan section of Washington DC. - To see more posts by this author click here |
The only time we hear a mention of Washington DC is when politics is the topic of contention. Otherwise the conversation usually centers around how DC doesn’t stack up to its counterparts, LA and NY. While the allure of those cities is unparalleled, many of the things that make cities in general more attractive than other situations are the things that make DC the place to be on the east coast. Those three things are as follows…
- The ‘Mom & Pop Shop’: The ‘mom & pop’ shop, the definition of the American experience is disappearing. Independent grocers are bought out by large corporations and smaller locally owned restaurants aren’t able to make ends meet making room for chain eateries that suffocate independent thought and make the usually unique urban setting a replica of the sub-urban landscape. The small breakfast shop, the Metro K market, or Martin’s Wine and Spirits are all welcome sites for me considering the alternative, Starbucks, Safeway, and the ABC store. You just can’t beat the type of service you get from business owners who value your patronage. My liquor store delivers, don’t you know (Martins Wines and Spirits: 1919 Florida Ave NW, Washington, DC€Ž – (202) 986-1700).
- Accessibility: We have the worst traffic in the nation. It’s so bad that the major 8-lane interstates are backed up on Saturdays and Sundays. Normal trips to the mall or the cleaners take 45-minutes and the daily commute to work is dreadful enough to make people go loco and play the real life version of bumper cars. Now that I live in the city, I can walk everywhere I need to go. It sucks in the winter but it cuts down on wasted time sitting in traffic. I can justify spending a little bit more money on groceries because I’m making that up in time and time is money, as they say. Albeit, parking in the city sucks but unless you have a real necessity for one, then why have it? The city, any city, isn’t built to cater to automobiles, and DC is no different. Suburbanites complain that DC needs more parking garages but on the contrary, DC needs less parking to force people to utilize mass transit. Next time you’re complaining about traffic going home to your 4,000 sq foot home, just think about the reverse commute J.Mal and I have on our way to our 1,000 sq foot or less condos.
- Too cool for school: Living in DC isn’t the cool thing to do, well at least for people inside and outside my sphere of influence. Even if they were born in the city, the 20-somethings who come home upon graduation see Arlington, Shirlington, and the like as more desirable. 30-somethings, usually ready for a family, see Bethesda, Chantilly, or Ashburn as more practical for child rearing. For world travelers, it’s apparent that LA or NY City is more livable. New York’s inertia and allure and Los Angelos’s glitz and glamour are well-documented and over publicized but millions of people can’t be wrong (I won’t hate on NY but it’s not that great). Washington D.C. isn’t sexy. A lot of people call it boring; most people work for the federal government. It’s not the hub for fashion, music, or sports — it doesn’t boast loads of actors or people famous for being famous (or for their parents money) but it has just as much flavor as anywhere. Washington D.C. is lacking in pride and that goes back to the federal government. People that live in this area either don’t live in the city and are transplants from somewhere else and that’s why across the US, they aren’t advocates for the city like we see for New York (plus NY is more populated). Well, I’m on the short list of advocates for Washington D.C.’s and with you’re help we can up its Q-rating.
udothedishes…
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DC is so sick..it shits on NY, in my opinion. Especially since Gilbert is BACK
Gilbert is garbage if he won’t play both sides of the ball. Unless he averages 35 a night then it won’t make up for his man scoring at will.
Blake,
Good stuff, and D.C. cant even vote.
Mikey,
I’m not even going to justify that first part of your comment with a response, and Gilbert is pretty sick hope he can keep it up for the rest of the season.
Joe
D.C. needs a renaissance. A rebirth. For too long the old way of doing things has cemented itself into the dynamic of what this city is. If we lack a fashion / music / sports culture here, it’s up to us, the youths of this city, the young and the dreamers to turn this city into everything we know it’s capable of being.
If you ask me, the D.C. Night-life is where you can look to see this trend making waves. Far from the best in the nation to party, but we are making a move as a city at providing patrons with more quality options to spend a night on the town than most cities will ever claim to have.
From McFaddens and Tatttoo, to Equinox and Oceanair, if you’ve got an itch to make a night on the town D.C. has got you covered.
Let’s take back this city and give it the boost of youthful life that it needs.