5 Bad Things About Living in DC
I’m always so pro-DC. I’ve lived here a long time, it’s provided my family and I a good life and we’re generally happy. There’s a lot to really like and appreciate which I cover in so many other videos. But are there downsides? Of course there are! What are five of the worst things about living in Washington DC?
1) Mosquitoes
Spring is almost here. While I love our cherry blossoms, I cannot stand when the mosquitos arrive. These suckers are no joke. They show up early and they wear out their welcome well into the fall. We probably spend half the year dealing with mosquitos. These are not like the mosquitos I remember growing up in Connecticut. Those were so huge they could fly away with a small dog. But they are also not like the tiny “no-see-um” mosquitoes in Florida. Here in DC if you stop at all when you are outside they will swarm. Chatting with a neighbor will cost you. You’ll look down at your bare leg and there will be 20 just feeding off your blood. It’s probably the tiger mosquito.
2) Tourists
You may not view this as one of the worst things but trust me. When Cherry Blossoms are in peak bloom, which they are right now, it will take hours to go a few miles. Roads are gridlocked all over the place, all the non-DC drivers have no idea how to navigate the roads and it’s a general disaster. The good news is if you choose to stay home, everyone you know will be posting photos of the Cherry Blossoms on social media, so you won’t miss anything.
3) Most Branches of the DC Government Don’t GAF
Let me be crystal clear here - working with mostly any government agency of the District is infuriating. Many of these offices are drenched in incompetence, fraud or corruption. I met with a client today who used to work for a branch of the DC Government and he said “DC” stands for “Don’t Care.”
The rare times I’ve had to call 911 I actually thought I was being punked. I would say, “There’s a man with a gun in the 1900 block of J Street Northwest. (There is no J Street, this is just an example.) And they would say, “Did you say the woman has a knife in the 700 block of X Street Northeast?” What? No! How did they get that. The person’s going to be dead by the time they get the address right.
4) Politics With a Side of Big Law
It can get real old real quick living in a place where people live and breathe politics if you find it a snooze festival. Many people’s jobs here revolve around politics in some fashion, whether it’s working directly for the government, for a contractor, or as a lobbyist. Don’t get me wrong, living near the seat of where decisions are made and the home base of where our country was founded is pretty cool. But you have to endure many more political conversations here than in most other places.
5) Crime
The crime right now in some parts of the city is atrocious. There are crime bills and multiple missives from the DC Council to create drug free zones and get tougher on crime, but see item 3 above. I don’t trust the powers that be of DC to administer or execute anything properly. First, you have a large population of people in the city who feel the need to be apologists for the crime. They feel bad for the kids, or when there’s mass theft from a store like CVS they say they don’t feel bad because CVS is a huge corporation and they have insurance. Well joke’s on you. CVS will close up if they consistently have theft in some areas and that’s just bad for the whole neighborhood.
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Melissa Terzis
📲 (202) 253-9105
📩 Melissa@MelissaTerzis.com
🌐 www.dcrealesta...
TTR | Sotheby's International Realty
1515 14th St NW
Washington, DC 20005
Office: (202) 234.3344
- Melissa Terzis | DC Real Estate Mama
00:00 Introduction
00:42 Mosquitoes
02:27 Tourists
03:49 Most branches of DC Doesn't GAF
07:31 Politics with a side of big law
09:26 Crime