In Defense of DC
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| Also listed in: 2007 Social Capital |
As the summer winds down, DC begins to empty out. The metro is a little less crowded and the streets of Adams Morgan are starting to clear up. Meanwhile, I’m losing friends like flies as they embark on their regular migration up to New York City. Yet, as I resist the magnetic pull towards NYC I remind myself of all that DC has over New York’s glimmering island:
The Metro vs. the Subway
Looking at the at the NYC subway map is like staring into a bowl of noodle soup. No matter where I go, I always plan on either accidentally getting on the wrong train or boarding an unmarked express train into my time schedule. What makes the NYC subway even more maddening is the absence of a time screen advising commuters when their train will arrive. A certain peace of mind comes with knowing and accepting the fact that my train won’t be arriving for another 20 minutes, as opposed to the mental and physical agony of standing in the un-air-conditioned and poorly ventilated NYC metro and drowning in my own sweat for what seems like an eternity.
Snow Days
DC is hot in the summer—but NYC is hardly ever more than a few degrees behind us. However, in the winter a few degrees can be the difference between freezing temperatures and an Indian summer. Not to mention, half of DC shuts down with even the slightest forecast of wintry weather—instilling a child-like optimism in the hopeful hearts of office space workers all winter long.
Wasting Space
Many of my NYC friends are packed into sardine tin apartments with Craig’s List strangers. Meanwhile, I pay about $200 less to live in a hefty three-story row house with four of my closest friends
Fine Art for Free
The Whitney Museum currently has a great exhibit in ode to the psychedelic sixties and the Summer of Love. However, it’ll cost you $15 whether you held on to your trusty student ID or not. Even the museums in DC that aren’t free—like the Corcoran Gallery of Art—still offer student rates for special exhibitions and don’t charge more than $6 for general admission.
Fewer Fishes Make a Friendlier Pond
DC can’t be over-romanticized the same way NYC often is. Nevertheless, the absence of NYC’s cinematic moments is filled by equally random and usually gratifying circumstances, which involve frequent encounters with familiar faces and never being more than a couple metro stops away from your favorite places and closest friends.
* This list is not comprehensive nor is it meant to suggest that either city is better than the other. I wouldn’t risk my life on the Chinatown bus if I didn’t think NYC has its own superior and redeeming qualities.
The Metro vs. the Subway
Looking at the at the NYC subway map is like staring into a bowl of noodle soup. No matter where I go, I always plan on either accidentally getting on the wrong train or boarding an unmarked express train into my time schedule. What makes the NYC subway even more maddening is the absence of a time screen advising commuters when their train will arrive. A certain peace of mind comes with knowing and accepting the fact that my train won’t be arriving for another 20 minutes, as opposed to the mental and physical agony of standing in the un-air-conditioned and poorly ventilated NYC metro and drowning in my own sweat for what seems like an eternity.
Snow Days
DC is hot in the summer—but NYC is hardly ever more than a few degrees behind us. However, in the winter a few degrees can be the difference between freezing temperatures and an Indian summer. Not to mention, half of DC shuts down with even the slightest forecast of wintry weather—instilling a child-like optimism in the hopeful hearts of office space workers all winter long.
Wasting Space
Many of my NYC friends are packed into sardine tin apartments with Craig’s List strangers. Meanwhile, I pay about $200 less to live in a hefty three-story row house with four of my closest friends
Fine Art for Free
The Whitney Museum currently has a great exhibit in ode to the psychedelic sixties and the Summer of Love. However, it’ll cost you $15 whether you held on to your trusty student ID or not. Even the museums in DC that aren’t free—like the Corcoran Gallery of Art—still offer student rates for special exhibitions and don’t charge more than $6 for general admission.
Fewer Fishes Make a Friendlier Pond
DC can’t be over-romanticized the same way NYC often is. Nevertheless, the absence of NYC’s cinematic moments is filled by equally random and usually gratifying circumstances, which involve frequent encounters with familiar faces and never being more than a couple metro stops away from your favorite places and closest friends.
* This list is not comprehensive nor is it meant to suggest that either city is better than the other. I wouldn’t risk my life on the Chinatown bus if I didn’t think NYC has its own superior and redeeming qualities.
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