Doesn’t Matter Who Wins the K Race; We’re All the Same

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

I don't get this.

If I could live anywhere, DC would be about 590th on my list, maybe lower.

The list would go something like this:

1 Boston area (obv.)
2 Other Massachusetts
3 Montreal
4 Shanghai
5 London
6 Toronto
7 Copenhagen
8 Athens
9 Istanbul
10 Hong Kong
....

50 Beirut
51 Lisbon

.....

385 Ho Chi Minh City
395 Jersey City
396 Tijuana
.....

590 DC
591 Florida

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

I love where you lived. I visit family there frequently. I spent most of my time there in the late 90s in Foxhall. Walk down Exorcist steps, bar hop through Georgetown. It was really great back in the day when it was less pricey. More charming.

Now it's NY/SF prices, and a different vibe, but still great. Loads of different cultures blending, lots of great food (albeit $$$$ rather than $$ and $$$). Better conversation than most towns (if you avoid the lobbyists and career govt types who can be a bit narrow in terms of conversation topics).

I really thought of Georgetown as a different world, one I didn't visit often. Our 'hood was like a small town in the city. Very diverse -- lots of embassy and World Bank workers. And the food? $$$$ was good, but we didn't do that much and the $ and $$ options were not great. Much better to drive to Fairfax and Rockville and find interesting places in the strip malls.

But unlike the rest of the expanse between DC and NY, DC has a future. It's growing generally and has a vibrant tech sector running north toward Baltimore (unfortunately for Baltimore, not reaching anywhere near Baltimore). True, the reliance on govt narrows the focus, and everybody still talks about the beltway as an ozone layer outside of which nothing matters, but is that much worse than everybody talking about finance, or the most boring of all things - pharma? I'm as bored by lobbyists as the next guy, but they beat the "meds and eds" industry crowd you get in Philly and Baltimore. Please, tell me more about how the university is expanding, or about the grant financing for your hospital's new annex... riveting stuff.

DC has a bright future, but it's a government future. Tech? I keep hearing that from people who talk about DC, but I don't see it working in tech.

Where you are now is of course better, but it's also the extreme outlier. You can't compare that area to any East Coast city (or any other city anywhere, really). You're very lucky, or very smart, or both. And yes, I'm jealous.

Not long ago you were saying I don't live in a city....

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

I don't get this.

If I could live anywhere, DC would be about 590th on my list, maybe lower.

The list would go something like this:

1 Boston area (obv.)
2 Other Massachusetts
3 Montreal
4 Shanghai
5 London
6 Toronto
7 Copenhagen
8 Athens
9 Istanbul
10 Hong Kong
....

50 Beirut
51 Lisbon

.....

385 Ho Chi Minh City
395 Jersey City
396 Tijuana
.....

590 DC
591 Florida

Dissent: The just-graduated from college girls working on the Hill. DC's female to male ratio is still insanely favorable to men.

And most of the dudes there dress like funeral home attendants. You can spot the foreigners in a heartbeat because they're the only men who don't look like they go exclusively to Brooks Brothers. If you're a half decent looking cat, it's a great town.

Even at this age, it's got possibilities in that regard. If my better half died, I'd move in with family down there and start over.

There's an "other Massachusetts"? I always thought that state was kind of like PA: Do Not Travel More than 100 Miles from the Eastern Border (well, except as to Pittsburgh [which is really super nice now as a result of all the Google cash] and State College [for an Ohio State or Michigan game]).

[sebastian_dangerfield]

I really thought of Georgetown as a different world, one I didn't visit often. Our 'hood was like a small town in the city. Very diverse -- lots of embassy and World Bank workers.

Your old hood is still filled with Wolrd Bankers. Why is that? Is the WB HQ nearby? I love your hood. Manageable, unlike Gtown, which is a traffic disaster.

DC has a bright future, but it's a government future. Tech? I keep hearing that from people who talk about DC, but I don't see it working in tech.

Going South: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...?noredirect=on

North: https://www.ggchamber.org/wp-content...ech-Report.pdf

Not long ago you were saying I don't live in a city....

I think I might be confused about your location.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

Your old hood is still filled with Wolrd Bankers. Why is that? Is the WB HQ nearby? I love your hood. Manageable, unlike Gtown, which is a traffic disaster.

People who work for governments or like-paying NGOs can afford to live there, unlike Georgetown or much of the rest of NW.

Going South: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...?noredirect=on

North: https://www.ggchamber.org/wp-content...ech-Report.pdf

No one is so impressed by the Dulles Tech Corridor that they forget Silicon Valley.

I think I might be confused about your location.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

No one is so impressed by the Dulles Tech Corridor that they forget Silicon Valley.

Of course not. That'd be absurd. But DC does have growth that MD, NJ, and Eastern PA most decidedly Do Not. DC and NY prop up the MidAtlantic. What goes on between them? Meds, Eds, a bit of Pharma. No serious growth industry wants to do anything in Baltimore or Philly. They're unfriendly to business.

SF is the "city." I guess one can consider the Valley an extension of it. But yes, I remain married to the idea of cities as dense collections of people and large buildings. But when I was talking about a county presenting itself as a city, incorrectly IMO, I was referring to LA. Downtown is a city. But anywhere in which I can drive for over and hour and a half in one direction without leaving is not really a city. Call me old fashioned.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

I don't get this.

If I could live anywhere, DC would be about 590th on my list, maybe lower.

The list would go something like this:

1 Boston area (obv.)
2 Other Massachusetts
3 Montreal
4 Shanghai
5 London
6 Toronto
7 Copenhagen
8 Athens
9 Istanbul
10 Hong Kong
....

50 Beirut
51 Lisbon

.....

385 Ho Chi Minh City
395 Jersey City
396 Tijuana
.....

590 DC
591 Florida

When I was young and single DC was about it. The thing is they flush out a million people with each election and bring in new ones, so there are all these newbers looking towards their futures- and partying like nuts- all these young people w/o any roots- it was heady.


I had one Congressional aide in my crew. Lots of boring gov functionaries of course, but we weren't really tied to the gov. And you have got to go to at least one CIA party in your life.

You know how work parties are always "I ain't talking about work..." They 4 drinks in you're bitching that you can't seem to get that GS-13? Well CIA parties start the same way, except when it gets time to talk about work, they can't, so they turn on TV.

But I wouldn't even think of living there with a family- way too crowded.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

Dissent: The just-graduated from college girls working on the Hill. DC's female to male ratio is still insanely favorable to men.

And most of the dudes there dress like funeral home attendants. You can spot the foreigners in a heartbeat because they're the only men who don't look like they go exclusively to Brooks Brothers. If you're a half decent looking cat, it's a great town.

If your goal is young women who don't have high standards, maybe try Thailand?

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

If your goal is young women who don't have high standards, maybe try Thailand?

Umm, Adder, better or worse than Sbby’s China comments?

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

If your goal is young women who don't have high standards, maybe try Thailand?

I’d be seeking high standards I could diminish.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

That was a takeaway I had after reading Diangelo. White people don't understand what it's like to live as a black person because they never listen and black people are exhausted. But a black person writing a book just coldly outlining his or her everyday experience and where racism occurs in the most mundane of circumstances struck me as a really good device. This was meant constructively.

I've seen countless accounts like these on various platforms. They don't seem to have much of an impact outside of confirming what most of the people who read them already knew or suspected.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

SF is the "city." I guess one can consider the Valley an extension of it. But yes, I remain married to the idea of cities as dense collections of people and large buildings. But when I was talking about a county presenting itself as a city, incorrectly IMO, I was referring to LA. Downtown is a city. But anywhere in which I can drive for over and hour and a half in one direction without leaving is not really a city. Call me old fashioned.

I like density as much as the next guy, probably more, but you need to expand your horizons. LA is one of the great cities of the world.

[Icky Thump]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

I don't get this.

If I could live anywhere, DC would be about 590th on my list, maybe lower.

The list would go something like this:

1 Boston area (obv.)
2 Other Massachusetts
3 Montreal
4 Shanghai
5 London
6 Toronto
7 Copenhagen
8 Athens
9 Istanbul
10 Hong Kong
....

50 Beirut
51 Lisbon

.....

385 Ho Chi Minh City
395 Jersey City
396 Tijuana
.....

590 DC
591 Florida

Slip Rome, Singapore and Tokyo in top 10.

[Icky Thump]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

If your goal is young women who don't have high standards, maybe try Thailand?

Not high standards but may get a wee surprise. I’d live in BKK before I lived in DC NJ or FL.

[Icky Thump]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

I like density as much as the next guy, probably more, but you need to expand your horizons. LA is one of the great cities of the world.

My first time in LA I got laid in like 60 seconds after walking into the Rainbow.