# Dopers afraid of DC **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 8, 2009, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759 "2009-11-08T03:17:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/81 "2009-11-10T07:17:02Z")
I did name some of them. And as I am from Nothern Virginia (FFV to boot), I feel entitled. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/82 "2009-11-10T08:32:34Z")
Actually, I came back to say you’re right. It is not everyone in NoVa, but a type from NoVa that I am pitting. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/83 "2009-11-10T11:14:30Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I linked to your post because I think it perfectly made my point. People are claiming that it’s not a race thing, but you had the courage of your convictions to say what you really thought. > > One thing that really bothers me is when people try to be cute and talk in code with statements like “stay out of SE” and then when you call them on it, they try to pretend that I’ve misinterpreted their comments. > > Anytime someone makes a comment about the south being racist or backwards, peole jump on the statement immediately and call them out on it, but people who don’t even live in DC feel perfectly comfortable writing off an entire quadrant without demostrating that they have ever even set foot in that quadrant. Yeah, I hate code, too. That’s why I said what I said, not because I’m racist or squeamish. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/84 "2009-11-10T14:29:48Z")
I’m not afraid of DC. I just don’t want to live there. I like where I am, in, God forbid, Northern Virginia. I like my lower taxes. I like having a yard. I like being able to keep my rifle at home. There’s no reason that I would want to move into the city, to be honest. And that to me applies to NE, SE or NW DC. I guess personal preference makes me a scaredy cat. I can live with that. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/85 "2009-11-10T14:51:18Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Anothe joke from my childhood: What do the Key Bridge and Jimmy Carter have in common? They both go in and out of Rosslyn. Nonsense! Key Bridge doesn’t go anywhere; it stays right where it is! Besides, it’s the _Blue Line_, not Key Bridge, in that joke. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/86 "2009-11-10T16:20:27Z")
> [@villa](#): > > I’m not afraid of DC. I just don’t want to live there. I like where I am, in, God forbid, Northern Virginia. I like my lower taxes. I like having a yard. I like being able to keep my rifle at home. There’s no reason that I would want to move into the city, to be honest. And that to me applies to NE, SE or NW DC. > > I guess personal preference makes me a scaredy cat. I can live with that. Except you aren’t telling people to avoid SE DC at all costs. The part that I find galling about those comments is that they are obviously made by someone who doesn’t live in DC, hasn’t lived in DC for a long time, and potentially has never lived in DC or spent any amount of time there. Seeing as the majority of Capitol Hill is located in SE, I can’t imagine telling someone to avoid that area. Those are all pretty good reasons for not wanting to live in DC. Hell, in the ongoing thread in IMHO, I suggested that that furt check out Greenbelt as it seemed to be a good compromise for what he was looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/87 "2009-11-11T01:24:28Z")
DC isn’t so bad. I’ve probably been to more places in the District than most since I’ve worked for the power company there for the past 20 years. There are bad neighborhoods, just like in any urban area, but the city is getting better. I lived in Baltimore City for a number of years, and to hear people talk about it, it’s amazing I survived. My brother drove past my house and decided that it was too dangerous to stop for a visit. And for the 6 years I lived there, he never came back. ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/88 "2009-11-11T02:42:54Z")
> [@Who\_me\_1](#): > > DC isn’t so bad. I’ve probably been to more places in the District than most since I’ve worked for the power company there for the past 20 years. There are bad neighborhoods, just like in any urban area, but the city is getting better. > > I lived in Baltimore City for a number of years, and to hear people talk about it, it’s amazing I survived. My brother drove past my house and decided that it was too dangerous to stop for a visit. And for the 6 years I lived there, he never came back. Curious where you lived in Baltimore. I lived in a “dollar house” in Barre-Circle when they were first renovated, I had relatives in Mount Vernon and the NW suburbs who never once came to visit. I hear that area is reverting though… Still, I find this thread interesting about DC - If I ever get back there, it will be nice to have areas other than NW (Georgetown, Foggy Bottom, Mass Ave, etc. ) to “consider”. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/89 "2009-11-11T02:56:50Z")
And while were at it: DC dopers, Petworth is not the ghetto. I have a friend who lives in Columbia Heights who doesn’t want to come to my neighborhood. We have the largest Yes! Organic Market in the City for pete’s sake. How ghetto is organic fresh squeezed unfiltered apple cider? ---
**Author:** ![AnnaLucretia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e95f7d/32.png) [@AnnaLucretia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnnaLucretia)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/90 "2009-11-11T17:49:19Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > I’ve read The Washington Post every day for the past 10+ years – I know where the violent crime in the city is, and no, you won’t find me strolling down the streets of SE Washington DC. That is where the most gun crime is, so naturally I will stay away. Besides, unless you live there, there is really no reason you would want to be in those neighborhoods anyway. I don’t mean to pick on a single poster, so apologies in advance - but it’s this kind of statement that, if people really lived by it, would insure you (for instance): never went to a DC United home game, never saw the Marine Corps Silent Drill Team, never had a drink at one of literally hundreds of upscale yuppy watering holes (never mind the Tune Inn), never browsed through the flea market on Saturday, sipping your Marvelous Market hand-ground espresso and carrying your organic produce in your hemp tote…not to mention never seeing a free show at the Library of Congress, or just scoping out Main Reading Room in the Jefferson Building. Oh yeah, and Congressional Cemetery would be out of bounds too. Gun crime? Shootings? Not so much. I agree with the OP (and I have a sneaking suspicion he’s a neighbor, too) - what people mean by “SE” is “Anacostia”, or maybe “Ward 8” (all black parts of town, natch) - not Capitol Hill, Eastern Market, Barney Circle, Lincoln Park, or any of the other beautiful, high-rent, safe (and yes, diverse - we’re not all white, by a very long shot) neighborhoods in SE. Oh, and as for the schools? My son started in the DC Public Schools at age 4, and will go right on through to the end. They are gutting and restructuring Eastern High, so it’s likely that he - and all of his (multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, economically diverse) friends - will go there, too. I’m a white, upper-middle-class, socially liberal, academic product of private schools and I am very happy with the quality of his education to date. All that said, we’re all quite happy for those of you who are scared of our part of the city to stay where you’re most comfortable - to each their own, and all that. AL ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/91 "2009-11-11T17:57:01Z")
> [@not\_alice](#): > > Curious where you lived in Baltimore. I lived in a “dollar house” in Barre-Circle when they were first renovated, I had relatives in Mount Vernon and the NW suburbs who never once came to visit. I lived on Patterson Park Avenue, almost directly across from the Pagoda. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/92 "2009-11-11T18:36:39Z")
> [@Caffeine.addict](#): > > Except you aren’t telling people to avoid SE DC at all costs. The part that I find galling about those comments is that they are obviously made by someone who doesn’t live in DC, hasn’t lived in DC for a long time, and potentially has never lived in DC or spent any amount of time there. Seeing as the majority of Capitol Hill is located in SE, I can’t imagine telling someone to avoid that area. > > Those are all pretty good reasons for not wanting to live in DC. Hell, in the ongoing thread in IMHO, I suggested that that furt check out Greenbelt as it seemed to be a good compromise for what he was looking for. Probably was somewhat of an overreaction for me. I just get this the other way - my friends who live in DC fail to see any reason why I would live in Alexandria. There’s only so many times I can tell them that I am ten years older than them, think U street and Adam’s Morgan sucks donkey balls, and don’t want bars on my downstairs windows. ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/93 "2009-11-12T01:54:05Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t mean to pick on a single poster, so apologies in advance - but it’s this kind of statement that, if people really lived by it, would insure you (for instance): never went to a DC United home game, never saw the Marine Corps Silent Drill Team, never had a drink at one of literally hundreds of upscale yuppy watering holes (never mind the Tune Inn), never browsed through the flea market on Saturday, sipping your Marvelous Market hand-ground espresso and carrying your organic produce in your hemp tote…not to mention never seeing a free show at the Library of Congress, or just scoping out Main Reading Room in the Jefferson Building. Oh yeah, and Congressional Cemetery would be out of bounds too. Gun crime? Shootings? Not so much. > > I agree with the OP (and I have a sneaking suspicion he’s a neighbor, too) - what people mean by “SE” is “Anacostia”, or maybe “Ward 8” (all black parts of town, natch) - not Capitol Hill, Eastern Market, Barney Circle, Lincoln Park, or any of the other beautiful, high-rent, safe (and yes, diverse - we’re not all white, by a very long shot) neighborhoods in SE. > > Oh, and as for the schools? My son started in the DC Public Schools at age 4, and will go right on through to the end. They are gutting and restructuring Eastern High, so it’s likely that he - and all of his (multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, economically diverse) friends - will go there, too. I’m a white, upper-middle-class, socially liberal, academic product of private schools and I am very happy with the quality of his education to date. > > All that said, we’re all quite happy for those of you who are scared of our part of the city to stay where you’re most comfortable - to each their own, and all that. When people say Southeast, I automatically think Anacostia too. Near Southeast is completely different, especially the areas around Capitol Hill, and the Navy Yard. But everything that’s changed in other parts of the city will change in Anacostia too. The irony is that folks like Anna Lucretia and her family will end the black political domination of the city. No small number of black folks are unhappy about that. ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/94 "2009-11-12T02:10:14Z")
> [@Who\_me\_1](#): > > I lived on Patterson Park Avenue, almost directly across from the Pagoda. When was that? I spend some time later in a house in a Fells Point alley off of Washington and Gough, mere blocks from there, but that was over by 1991 when I moved west. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/95 "2009-11-12T03:09:32Z")
> [@AnnaLucretia](#): > > …I agree with the OP (and I have a sneaking suspicion he’s a neighbor, too) - what people mean by “SE” is “Anacostia”, or maybe “Ward 8” (all black parts of town, natch) - not Capitol Hill, Eastern Market, Barney Circle, Lincoln Park, or any of the other beautiful, high-rent, safe (and yes, diverse - we’re not all white, by a very long shot) neighborhoods in SE… Hey, **AnnaLucretia** I actu’really live in Petworth, but I’m in Kabul these days. I think you said you live on the Hill? ---
**Author:** ![AnnaLucretia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e95f7d/32.png) [@AnnaLucretia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnnaLucretia)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/96 "2009-11-12T11:56:57Z")
MadMonk28 - yes, I live over by RFK (by “Spielberg Park”, if you remember Minority Report - my house is in the opening scenes, in fact) and before this house I lived in an apartment at 13th and Independence for 9 years. Oddly, one of my dear friends rents a room in Petworth when he’s not traveling to unsafe places - and he is currently based in Kabul, though he mostly “works” in the tribal lands. You aren’t Bruce, are you? 🙂 Stay safe. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/97 "2009-11-12T12:24:59Z")
No, I’m not Bruce, but I’d like to meet another Petworthian in Afghanistan. We’re not neighbors, but you sound like you would know my cousin who lived right where you are describing but rents out that house and is living over in NOMA. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/98 "2009-11-12T15:03:40Z")
> [@](#): > > Probably was somewhat of an overreaction for me. I just get this the other way - my friends who live in DC fail to see any reason why I would live in Alexandria. There’s only so many times I can tell them that I am ten years older than them, think U street and Adam’s Morgan sucks donkey balls, and don’t want bars on my downstairs windows. I’ve noticed bars on windows in Old Town as well, and I imagine that a few houses in Del Ray would still have them based on what it was like twenty years ago. That said, I wouldn’t want to live in Adams Morgan either. Its too noisy and too many people parking on the street. U Street, I could live with, especially if I was a few blocks North or South of U Street. > [@](#): > > MadMonk28 - yes, I live over by RFK (by “Spielberg Park”, if you remember Minority Report - my house is in the opening scenes, in fact) and before this house I lived in an apartment at 13th and Independence for 9 years. We looked at a bunch of houses and condominiums in your neighborhood before buying North of H near the Atlas District. We seriously considered a house on Burke Street, and a condo on 18th and A. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/99 "2009-11-12T15:09:39Z")
> [@Caffeine.addict](#): > > I’ve noticed bars on windows in Old Town as well, and I imagine that a few houses in Del Ray would still have them based on what it was like twenty years ago. That said, I wouldn’t want to live in Adams Morgan either. Its too noisy and too many people parking on the street. U Street, I could live with, especially if I was a few blocks North or South of U Street. No doubt. And I hope I am not coming across as an anti-DC person. I wouldn’t buy a house in Old Town that had bars on the windows either. As to Adam’s Morgan, I was referring to going out there not living there. Shivers actually ran down my spine at the idea of buying/renting near there. I guess I am a lot older than I thought. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759/100 "2009-11-12T15:10:50Z")
> [@not\_alice](#): > > When was that? I spend some time later in a house in a Fells Point alley off of Washington and Gough, mere blocks from there, but that was over by 1991 when I moved west. 1993 or so to 1999. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-afraid-of-dc/516759.md?page=6)