Perhaps Moving to DC in June!

[RumpusCat]

DC-DUers, do you think I can make it? I'm currently having a bit of a panic attack, imagining myself homeless and jobless in our capital city! I'm looking to break into policy wonkery; I'm a qualified 25-year old with four years high-end legal experience and so on. I want to move because I'm feeling burnt out on my current situation and have decided that I don't like law--also, I'm tired of living 4 hours away from my girlfriend.

So guys... am I nuts? Can I make it? I made it in NYC, so I should be able to make it anywhere... or so I've been lead to believe. :D

PS- HIRE ME.

[Skinner]

1. You are not nuts.

If you've made it in NYC, you can make it in DC. If you've paid for housing in New York, then you won't be shocked by housing costs in DC.

Here's a hint: If you don't have a job when you come to DC, consider grabbing an unpaid internship while you look for a real job. This will give you an opportunity to get experience and make some contacts in whatever type of work you are hoping to do, and it might even turn into a paid job. Lots of people in DC get their start by interning -- it helps to be in the right place at the right time.

[RumpusCat]

2. Thanks for the encouragement!

:hi: And yeah, I'm keeping internships and volunteer work in mind, especially as I'll be moving to DC the summer right before the elections. I'm thinking this is probably a volatile time in the DC job market and that always leads to a lot of openings.

Are there any areas I should absolutely avoid living in? I live in Jersey City, NJ now so it's not like I'm used to doormen and luxury highrises or anything.

[dcfirefighter]

5. DC neighborhoods

I can only speak geographically, in order to avoid shootings, stabbings, and assaults:
(you can walk around most parts of DC during the day - if not, the police will probably ask you to leave - the areas listed are largely free of EMS calls for shootings stabbings and assaults)
There are 'Nice' areas listed here where assaults occur, generally any area with a high concentration of bars will have it's share of assaults.

Stay west of the anacostia river
on capital hill NE, stay south of H st NE and west of 13th st NE
on capital hill SE, stay north of 395 and west of 15th st SE
on capital hill SW, stay north of 395 OR west of 3rd st SW
on capital hill NW, stay along the Pennsylvania Ave corridor
anything west of 16th st NW (The White House) is OK, though you're close in Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights (I'd love to live in either of these places)
In Brookland, near Catholic U., stay a few blocks north of Rhode Island Ave NE and East of 10th St NE
In the northern tip, stay north of Van Buren St.

If I were 25, living without my girlfriend, in DC, I'd look for something w/in walking distance of Work or on the Metro Line to work. Since you don't know yet, I'd look tactically in a few neighborhoods:
The immediate capital hill neighborhood
The dupont circle neighborhood (used to be gay, now it's just expensive)
The adams morgan, kalorama, & columbia heights neighborhoods.
The U St corridor, west of 9th st
The logan circle neighborhood
The cleveland park neighborhood
Anywhere downtown (generally south of Mass Ave NW)

Arlington, VA; but I don't know the neighborhoods there. Take a walk and look, most are very nice.

[RumpusCat]

7. Thank you for the tips!

I understand that DC is less safe than NYC now but I haven't exactly been living IN the city proper--I live just outside in Jersey City. They found a body down the street from my apartment a few months ago, so... yeah. I'm definitely looking to live near a train line because I don't have a car right now and I don't really want one. I currently have a train commute and I walk about 3 miles a day so I'm used to being a straphanger.

I haven't found a job yet, but ::gulps:: I've still got some time! :scared:

[spooky3]

12. adding Arlington neighborhoods to your list

Most are fine but expensive--can you get a roommate? Crime is lower in Arlington than in most parts of the district and police respond quickly. The main problem is with gangs in some neighborhoods. The old rule of thumb was to avoid neighborhoods that were both south of Route 50 and west of 395; since you won't have a car and need to be near Metro, you would avoid them anyway because of no metro stops in that area. The problem is that costs of renting and buying are very high near all Metro stops in the District and Arlington and Alexandria.

[northzax]

6. how cool are you?

and I mean by that, do you want to be in the middle of everything with all the indie kids, or with the yuppies, or the hill rats, or the trustafarian?

indie kid: go to Mount Pleasant/upper Shaw (I live there)/Columbia Heights.
Yuppie: go to Arlington/Alexandria in VA, or Dupont Circle or Logan Circle
Hillie: Check out Barracks Row, 8th and E, SE.
trustafarian: Georgetown.

but do live in the City, it really is the best place to live in the US (except for the rent, but it'll seem cheap compared to the City) it is incredibly culturally diverse, if you look for it, and completely international. plus, everyone is overeducated and ambitious, except for those of us who are overeducated and not ambitious.

[RumpusCat]

8. Just please: not the trustafarians!

Dear god, they're the reason I couldn't live in Hoboken! I can deal with the indie kids--tell me, are they as irritating as the hipster kids in New York? I'm so over the Williamsburg kids here that I'm starting to think I could deal with Young Republicans easier. :D

I love overeducated and ambitious! My problem with NYC is that I never found where the word geeks and the policy wonks hang out--this city is too pretty. I want to hang out with the kids who did Model UN in high school!

[northzax]

9. everyone did MUN in high school

everyone has a graduate degree, everyone's lived somewhere exotic, everyone does a job that people outside DC don't even realize exist.

You want to live in a group house in Columbia Heights or Mt. Pleasant, I think. the beauty of the indie kids in DC is that while they try so hard to be hip, they spend their days working for international NGOs for peanuts, or they're corporate lawyers by day.

seriously, avoid the Hill. it's fun to go out there sometimes, but it's an insider game, if you don't work there, and don't want to spend your time watching 30 year old dorks (oh yes, this is the dork capital of the world, you'll be shocked, if you spend time on the Hill to learn that the country is actually run by 30 year old student council reps with drinking problems) drunk on power (and vodka) hit on 23 year olds fresh in from the farm (so to speak) it's not worth it for longer than a night or two a month.

[dcfirefighter]

10. I think you nailed it w/your first line

And everyone loves to talk about themselves.
If I lived in the city, I'd live in the Columbia Heights / Mt. Pleasant area. Nice Giant (Supemarket).

[northzax]

11. and they're getting a target, eventually!

been promising it for half a decade already.

[Recursion]

14. Eh... the luster is faded

I've lived in Columbia Heights off and on since 1999 (long before the Giant, the metro stop, or even the 7-11). It's a great neighborhood (props especially to the Wonderland Ballroom) but there's starting to be some tension there. People getting attacked on 11th st. apparently for no other reason than riding a bicycle while being white. People keep talking about "gentrification" but most of us rent, so I don't see what the problem is unless by "gentrification" they mean "calling the police when someone's knocking over trashcans and throwing empty liquor bottles and bricks at cars".

There are still some serious problems with Columbia Heights, though:
1. If you want to eat, your choices are one of the two bars, some sketchy faux-chinese takeout places, or schlepping south of Florida or west of 16th.
2. No cabs. Ever.
3. A lot of racial and class animosity just under the surface.
4. Construction noises. All. The. Damn. Time.
5. Rents are rising. So are prices if you want to buy.

Its pluses are certainly big, though:
1. Pretty much in the middle of everything. Close to Petworth, Shaw, U Street, Chinatown, Mt Pleasant, A-M, the Zoo, Woodley & Cleveland parks, Meridian Hill, and DuPont (all of those are walkable if you aren't against a hike, though Chinatown and Cleveland park are about at the extreme end of walkable).
2. Less insane rents than other neighborhoods
3. A Target and Best Buy should be going up Really Soon Now (tm), though they've just been a hole in the ground for about 3 years.

[displacedtexan]

3. Check out idealist.org for jobs in the DC area.

the District is a cool place to live, and the DU admins are very welcoming!

[faithnotgreed]

4. hi rumpus - welcome to dc. im about to post a couple job openings

in the dc and related state forums
likely nothing youre interested in but wanted to welcome you and say that yes absolutely you should be able to find employment and enjoy dc

aside from the obvious squatters (ha) its a pretty cool place

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

13. New York New York

All you need to make it in Washington D.C. is a very good pair of well worn shoes. It is essential that those shoes are well polished at all times.Thats the secret. If it appears that you know how to use those shoes ,than it may also appear that you are one who not only knows something,but also one who will come to know many things.It,s not just what you know in relation to what you do,it,s what you do to come to know what ever it is you do know.That is indeed all about what you will bring to the table.Standing potential,promising,exhilarating. We all make mistakes and are far from perfect or faultless, But this country cannot be what it can be and thats do ,not just for itself ,but for all, unless we make it happen. Sincere reguards- Hamilton Caldwell Davis.

[Recursion]

15. Some ideas:

I talked about Columbia Heights specifically in the other post, so here's some more general stuff:

1. Where to live. CH has been pretty well gone over already here because it's kind of the new trendy place to be. If you want to live in DC, look at Columbia Heights and its environs, along with Mt Pleasant, Adams Morgan, Capitol Hill, and parts of Southwest. Unfortunately, there's really only a pretty narrow strip that combines both a liveable neighborhood with affordable rent (where do people get all the money they pay for housing with? I still have no idea). Your best bet is to stay north of, say, Massachussetts avenue, west of Georgia avenue, east of the park, and south of... I don't know... the end of the two-syllable alphabet.

1a. However, if you're moving to the area, don't automatically discount the burbs. Some of the suburbs are absolute monstrosities (I'm looking at you, Reston and Bethesda), but there are some really nice places in parts of VA and MD. Particularly, Old Town and Del Ray in Alexandria (served by the King Street and Braddock Road metro stops respectively), and Rosslyn, Courthouse, and Clarendon in Arlington (served by eponymous metro stops). In Maryland, Silver Spring is actually quite nice. All of those areas are great examples of what public planning can do: developers didn't just do whatever they felt like, the cities made them build walkable communities with lots of public space (or at least space that appears public; it's probably privately owned).

2. DC isn't like NY. In NY they actually give a shit about whether you can do your job. I don't mean to discourage you, but if you're a 25-year-old hoping to break into policy wonkery without any contacts, be prepared to do really, really boring work for a while. I mean, really boring. I mean like, answering phones, making copies, teaching people how to "Respond to All" in Outlook, etc. This city is chock full of overachieving 20-somethings and really doesn't use them for much.

3. That said, there are some opportunities. I know some people who found small, 1-issue organizations and associations (and one thing we have more than enough of here is associations. We even have the National Association of Association Executives). Inflate the resume as much as your conscience allows you to, go find one somewhere in Dupont or Alexandria, and be their legislative affairs guy or something. You'll make almost no money, but you'll get some press time (and more importantly, press contacts), and you'll get a taste of whether or not this life is what you're into.

4. But beware! For every overachieving 20-something here (and like I said there are plenty of us), there are 3 useless, braindead 40-something middle managers who were dumped into an association or organization from whatever industry or concern the association works for. Nobody could figure out what to do with them so they "promoted" them to DC to keep them out of trouble. They will make you hate your job, the business, and the city. Consider yourself warned.