Welcome to D.C.

I am just about 24-hours into my at least year-long residence in our nation's capital, and my curiosity about what it will be like to live here has brought be back to a blog I stumbled upon a couple of years ago. This blog has the provocative title, Why I Hate D.C., and it has me wondering about what I will like and dislike about living here.

As someone who knows D.C. somewhat well from having a lot of family here and from visiting a lot of the museums, monuments, and just walking around, I don't feel tremendously frightened--yet. At the same time, the tourist/visiting relative's impression of a city is different from the worker's impression.

One of the guest-bloggers sums up what he doesn't like in D.C. in strong words:

And finally, I just want to say that there are lots of things to hate about this city. They come in all shapes and sizes, all creeds and colors, all philosophies and theologies. But the one thing that unites them all is a soul-crushing lack of respect for other human beings, the elevation of status above all else.

It's an interesting monologue that might be worth reading, though it is also rather depressing. This is definitely different from Chicago where I came from and which I find a generally friendly city (save the driving) where jobs are often thought of as more a burden than a source of bragging rights. We'll see though, it should be an exciting year either way!