We Live Here.
An open letter to the DC-bound horde
Visiting D.C. this weekend? Welcome!
Perhaps you thought the inauguration would be the perfect excuse to finally visit our nation’s capitol. Spring for a hotel, watch the big event, hit the obligatory museums and monuments, and roll on out of town.
Or maybe you’re making the pilgrimage for a stiff shot of peaceful protest, with a chaser of Bao Bao. Either way, we hope you like it here.
Because we know you may have heard some bad things about our town, let us clear up some misconceptions: D.C. is not a swamp — it’s actually quite hilly. Nor is it particularly dangerous (you’re more likely to be the victim of a violent crime in Rockford, Ill). Nor is it teeming with do-nothing bureaucrats and career politicians. The majority of D.C. residents do not work for the government.
In reality, the District is a diverse, and vibrant community of people from all over the economic spectrum. And while a lot of people do work here, it is also a place where more than 675,000 of us live.
This concept can be tough for people. Lots of D.C. residents have had conversations with out-of-town friends and relatives that go something like this:
“I live in D.C.”
“Oh wow! Where? Arlington, Fairfax, Alexandria…?”
“Right in D.C.”
“Like, downtown D.C.?”
“Um, Deanwood.”
“?”
Washingtonians have perplexed many a tourist, who laugh nervously as if not in on the joke, when we tell them we live here. In fact, many people seem genuinely unaware of the fact that Washington, D.C. is not just a federal district with some office buildings and nice statues, but a living, breathing town.
As a matter of geography, the hub of government and industry labeled “downtown” D.C. is quite small. The District boundaries stretch far east beyond the blocks of federal buildings, past Union Station to the Anacostia river. From there, you can travel through neighborhoods for five miles before hitting Maryland. Travel north on 16th Street past the White House, and you’ll pass six miles of homes, businesses, schools and hospitals, plus one of the country’s largest(and most beautiful) city parks.
Sure, the Air and Space museum is fun, but if you’re in town on inauguration weekend, you would do well to go investigate these lesser traveled parts of the city. Go to the neighborhoods where your uber drivers, servers, tour guides, hotel staff, and event planners live, eat, shop, and hang out.
Conservatives, don’t be scared to venture out. It’s true — we’re a pretty blue bunch. But we’re used to meeting a lot of different people.
The D.C. area gets 21 million visitors a year from all over the world, and not all of them agree with us politically. We want you to have a nice time.
We want you to return home and tell your friends that you were pleasantly surprised to find that Washington isn’t the slimy disaster that Scandal and cable news would have you believe.
Admittedly, D.C. is not without its issues. As more than a thousand people move here each month, rapid gentrification is causing displacement of long-time residents. Housing is stupid expensive. Our schools have made progress, but there’s a long way to go. Inequality is growing. But like any other town in America, we’re working to make our city a better place to live.
So, before you deride D.C. as cesspool of overpaid corporate lawyers, spin-doctors, and out-of-touch elitists, remember that generations of people have made their homes, families, and livelihoods here. And we’re proud of where we come from. Just like Real America.
