I spent 3 days in DC at the Duo Housing Hostel. I had high expectations for DC, and the place still met almost all of them.
Below is the ranking criteria I made to compare each city. May modify it later on, but these are the most important factors to me.
My Very Official Review List
Car Independence: 10 / 10
The metro system in DC is fantastic. It is frequent, on time, has many stops, and is relatively clean. The airport and train station are easily accessible. Bike paths are surprisingly good in DC, but can get sparse away from the center. Walking is spectacular, it feels very safe since cars are always stuck in gridlock. The architecture and history everywhere will never get old to look at. I even got giddy looking up at the sky when I spotted Air Force One. A solid 10 out of 10.
Public Spaces: 9 / 10
Libraries had nice hours and there is access to anything you could imagine since it is the nation’s capitol. I really enjoyed the churches I went to. I found that they actually had young people going to the daily mass. It was really refreshing to see people close to my age who were serious about their religion.
There are plenty of free museums and activities. I am docking a point because the homeless and drugees can put a damper on otherwise-nice areas. Sadly, every city has this now so it is relatively not too bad. They also have some fat rats.
Job Opportunity: 9 / 10
I talked to the fire department and saw decent opportunities. There is a lot of growth due to the younger population. Also, the transportation makes it so I can access a wider area of jobs without being miserable. 30 minutes of driving is much worse than 30 minutes of biking or taking the metro. Every imaginable government job is located in Washington DC as well.
Arlington also has impressive growth in this area, with Amazon planning to hire 25,000 people (someone just told me that, don’t fact check). Many industries are gravitating to Arlington, so there is plenty to do outside of becoming a politician or CIA agent.
People & Culture: 10 / 10
For a city, I really enjoyed the people and culture. I found DC had really nice diversity. It became common to hear French, Russian, Italian, Spanish, and really any other language. None were overwhelming, it was actually quite refreshing. I enjoy exposure to these other cultures and want to have access to a French community. Even political stuff didn’t seem to be too common, but I think that is just because everybody is assumed to be a democrat there. People were friendly and I really didn’t feel on guard walking around the city.
Outdoors & Weather: 10 / 10
I don’t think any city on the east coast will be competing with DC’s weather. Snow is minimal in the winter, with the ocean acting as a buffer against extreme temperature swings. The summers are perfect, the winters are mild, and all the seasons exist. The latitude is low enough where the days aren’t too short in the winter. Parks and bike paths make it easy to get some space. Beaches are easily accessible by metro or bike.
Price & Value: 8 / 10
For some reason, I am one of the few freaks gravitated to DC. Prices for apartments are at least $2000, but the city provides enough to justify it. No need for a car makes this even more palatable. It would actually be cheaper than living in Cary, NC for me. My rent is only a few hundred lower in Cary and a car is a must.
Something critical is that Arlington, VA exists. It has almost all of the perks of DC, while only maintaining a few of the negatives. Rent is somewhat cheaper, public transportation is just as good, still plenty of cuties and churches. I feel like living in Arlington would be ideal and provides the most value. It also has less touristy crap which leads to less homeless and annoying stuff.
Overall: 56 / 60
Washington DC gets way more crap than it deserves. It is such a well-rounded, international city, offering something for everybody. I really do not see any glaring faults, I have always had a great time here. I love history and sadly have an interest in politics too, so it just fits like a glove. Arlington is also really enjoyable to me, having a more laid-back feel while being 10 minutes away from DC. I may have found the winner right off the bat.
Ended up also talking to some great people too. I met some frenchies named Gary, Miles, and Hugo at the hostel. They were all very friendly and we practiced speaking each other’s language. I went to a Washington Nationals game with Gary and Miles and had a lot of fun walking around the city with them as well. I also met a man named Paul on my bike ride. He was a super interesting guy who showed me around DC and Arlington. It was a pleasure meeting these people.