There are many great things about living in the DC metro area. For starters, you're at the epicenter of the most powerful country in the world. That's pretty cool. There's a ton of history in the city, from monuments and memorials to government buildings and museums (the Smithsonian museums are open every day of the year except Christmas). There are also lots of good restaurants (I really haven't gotten a chance to sample very many of them, at least the higher profile ones, but I've heard lots of good things). It's also a relatively young city - as far as the age of people living in the area - and as such, it can be a lot of fun on the weekends. I'll get into that more another time. I'm also not going to talk about being a sports fan in DC (not that it's necessarily a good or bad thing about living in DC) because that would be (and will be) and entire post in itself.
DC is not a perfect city by any means. For evidence of this, you'd have to look no further than the metro system. It's a decent system, but it seems like there are always delays, it doesn't have as complete coverage as it could (but they're supposedly working on an expansion), and I would bet anyone, anywhere, any time, any amount of money that there will never be a day when EVERY SINGLE escalator at EVERY SINGLE metro station is working without difficulty. It's just not going to happen. Ever. But that's not even the worst thing about living/working in DC.
The weather, for the most part, isn't too bad. It doesn't ever get too unbearably cold in the winter, and it's pretty nice in the fall and in the spring. Yeah, the weather is actually pretty nice. Oh yeah, summer... Summer is terrible. Hot. Humid. Uncomfortable. You know, the kind of weather where you go outside for a short walk and end up dripping with sweat within minutes. It's just not pleasant. Heat I can deal with, humidity is bearable to a point, but combine them together and you get the monster that is summertime in DC. But this is also not the worst thing about living/working in DC.
See, the problem with living amongst all the landmarks and history, and the fact that it's the most powerful city in the most powerful country in the world, is that it creates a hot-bed for tourists. It's ridiculous. You know how certain attractions around the world talk about "tourist season"? Well, in DC, there is no such thing, because there's NEVER any down-time. It's also unbelievable how every. single. week. there are bus loads full of children on a class field trip driving around the National Mall. I thought spring break was only one or two weeks out of a two month period. Clearly DC is the exception to the rule.
Walk past the White House, Lincoln Memorial, or any other major landmark in the city during the middle of the day and you better be prepared to help take a few group photos. I don't really even care about this, it's just amazing to me how many people are ALWAYS on the Mall. Year-round.
What's the worst thing that you could possibly do to make tourists in DC even worse? Send them on the metro. Tourists should never, ever be allowed to ride on the metro. It's like trying to force a million square pegs through round holes, all at once. It just doesn't work. It's not that the metro is too confusing, because, compared to other major cities, it really isn't that bad. It's just that it's already pretty crowded as it is, and then you throw a bunch of lost, complaining, loud, confused, annoying (I could go on and on) tourists, it creates such a gigantic mess that it makes it nearly impossible to get anywhere even close to on time.
I could go on and on, and on about all the problems associated with tourists in DC, but I think I've already exhausted the topic, and in the process completely tired myself out (no seriously, I'm almost falling asleep at this point), so I'll save you time and the pain. Goodnight.
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