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2013, November: Things I won't miss about D.C. and Baltimore

Photo courtesy Flickr user ep_jhu (CC BY-NC 2.0)
I'm already feeling quite melancholy about my upcoming departure so I anticipate future emotional posts that highlight all the wonderful things I will miss about living and working here. Before that, however, I thought I'd write about the elements I WON'T miss. Get the crappy stuff out of the way. All the things that contributed to our decision to leave in the first place. (I realize that many of these are symptoms of cities in general, not these particular places. As I've been saying for two decades - I'm not a city girl). In no particular order...
  1. D.C. Metro. This doesn't need explaining. If you live here, you know. If you don't, you'd never believe me.
  2. Politics. I know that politics affect everyone, everywhere, but I'm convinced that discussion of them is more overt and offensive in the nation's capital. I was brought up under the strict instruction that you never ask anyone about his or her salary, religion, or politics. And if you want to stay friends with people, you avoid talking about these topics altogether. This is not the case here! I hear it on the train, on the street, and (most annoyingly of all) in the office and at meetings. The general arrogance of people (of all parties) who assume that they hold the only correct opinion and that everyone around them must feel the same way drives me crazy.
  3. Mean drivers. It took me 9.5 years to get my U.S. driving license. I had a license in the UK and was an okay driver, but good GRIEF the other drivers in Baltimore and D.C. are terrifying. They completely disregard any kind of rule about lane use, they yell and swear and honk at you (often for no apparent reason, or because you had the audacity to drive 5 mph above the speed limit instead of 20 mph above), and they are the most selfish example of horrible meanness I have experienced. Baltimore and D.C. drivers - you suck.
  4. My commute. It takes me 2 hours to get from my house to my office one way using three different types of public transportation. Enough said.
  5. I don't feel safe. When I first arrive in a new city or town, I like to explore. Usually alone and on foot. I did it in Glasgow, London, Toronto, Montreal, Shanghai, and many other places, most recently in Idaho Falls. When I arrived in Baltimore in 2003, Christian had to explain that I shouldn't do that here. Don't wander randomly alone, definitely not at night but probably not during the day either in certain areas. Don't ride the subway. Be careful on the lightrail. I carry pepper spray and we have crazy security features around and in our house. This is certainly not unique to Baltimore and D.C. and Christian can definitely be overly paranoid sometimes, but still. I don't like it.
  6. Too many people. On the trains, on the escalators, on the roads, hanging out in Chinatown after dark, in the grocery store, everywhere. Too. Many. People. D.C. has a population density of 10,298 people per square mile. Rigby, ID has 1,678. The state of Idaho has 19. Nineteen people per square mile. Awesome.
  7. Cost of living. D.C. is the ninth most expensive place to live in the U.S. Idaho Falls is the second least expensive (of ranking urban areas). The insane paycut I'll be taking with my new job feels a little better now.
  8. The humidity. Walking out of the house/office/whatever into a wall of heat. Makeup dripping and hair frizzing before I even reach the train in the morning. Having a husband who likes to put in 16-hour days of hard labor on the house, outside, in 110+F, 90+% humidity. UghIckBleurghGoAway.
  9. D.C. Metro. Counted twice. It's that bad.
Stay tuned for my list of things I love. I promise I don't hate everything.

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