# Ever been to the capitol of your country? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 2, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639 "2015-02-02T21:28:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/41 "2015-02-03T16:11:08Z")
I went to DC a couple of years ago. I also went when I was a child, but I don’t remember that. I had a great time in DC. Everything is free! We flew into Baltimore and took the train (like an $80 savings) and the weather was perfect. I was stunned at how large the mall is. I mean, I knew it was bigger than I expected, but it is really huge. There is no way you can cover all of the museums in one trip, you’ll be exhausted (as I was). And the Lincoln Memorial is waaaaaaay over there. I liked it. I know the Second Stone has a different take on it. he is right about the grassy lawn, though; it’s not maintained. I don’t know why. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/42 "2015-02-03T16:23:35Z")
I’ve been to Washington DC once. I’ve been to London many times as I live somewhat close to it for 4 years. Been to Edinburgh, Scotland twice back in the 1990s. All were fun to visit and drink in some of the history and sites. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/43 "2015-02-03T16:26:30Z")
Been to Washington DC numerous times. As for other capital cities, only Ottawa and Jerusalem, ignoring airport stopovers. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/44 "2015-02-03T16:30:02Z")
Spain doesn’t have a capitol, does the Senate count? I went there with a bunch of other women from my region, one of our regional senators showed us around and we had lunch there. Another of her colleagues (from a different party and region) happened to come around while we were in the hemicycle and jokingly asked if we’d voted for him. While nobody yelled, the chorus of “um… no?” came out quite loud :smack: As for capitals, I’ve also been to London, DC, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Copenhague, Athens and San José; I’ve flown to/from the airports of Mexico DF and Buenos Aires, but not been to the cities themselves. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/45 "2015-02-03T16:32:53Z")
National capitals that I’ve been to are Washington DC (home country) and Ottawa. State capitals, I’d need to think about. > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > … > > Only two I’m missing are Charlottetown, PEI,… I’ve been to Charlottetown. Quickest and easiest comparison is Cape May, New Jersey with fewer Italians and more French people. Touristy shops by the shore, seafood restaurants, quaint Victoriana, and an overall laid-back atmosphere. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/46 "2015-02-03T16:37:31Z")
I’ve been to Washington, DC once. Two of us were escorting a package to be delivered there. We had a couple of hours, so we walked around the Mall a little before catching the flight back to L.A. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/47 "2015-02-03T16:46:27Z")
Drafting off others’ lists… St John’s NL - maritimes car trip Halifax NS - maritimes car trip; excellent steakhouse meal Fredericton NB - maritimes car trip Charlottetown, PEI - maritimes car trip Washington, DC - lived there for a couple of years Paris - a week during HS Athens - for a couple of days before getting on the boat for the Cyclades cruise Vienna - bus trip with Grandma! Brussels - stop-over on the way to Paris, but we saw the peeing boy ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/48 "2015-02-03T16:50:39Z")
Yep, went to Washington DC when I was 10 or so. Rounded a corner near the Washington Monument and saw a bunch of homeless people sleeping on some air vents. Shocked me, had never seen homeless before. Other than that it was a great experience, the museums were neat. Traffic was not, we wound up on an expressway to Maryland when we wanted to go South. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/49 "2015-02-03T16:51:46Z")
I have skirted DC many times, but have never left the beltway. In St Martin, it is not uncommon for us to go to market day in Marigot (French side capital) then drive twenty minutes to Philipsburg (Dutch side capital) for drinks at the Blue Bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/50 "2015-02-03T17:12:15Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > I have twice been to Washington D.C. Once when I was 10 and then a few years back. The vibe is that of unspeakable corruption, the gray and white buildings of the most powerful government the world has ever seen interspersed with a grassy mall with such lousy upkeep that would embarrass any American male homeowner and dangerous slums less than a mile away. The thought that the locus of the nation’s bureaucratic inertia of unstoppable gooey force is run by an officer corps of 525 of the biggest idiots from around the country and their own personal staff of hand chosen brown-nosing rumor junkies who would otherwise be on the dole makes me appreciate that they set the premise for The Daily Show every night. It makes my state capitol, Sacramento, seem like a pantheon of elder statesmen by comparison. (And I don’t think highly of them either.) D.C. is like the pervading evil of Las Vegas unleavened by high morality of Vegas’ over-the-top consumerism. > > Virtually ever other powerful government in world history was much worse, so D.C. does have that going for them. Plus the Smithsonian is cool. Rising sea levels should take care of all of this. The irony will be lost on them. Well, the Mall is in rough shape (as your lawn would be, with that level of traffic), which is why it’s presently under renovation. But if you’re claiming that there were “dangerous slums” within a mile of the Mall when you visited a few years ago, I’d love for you to point them out. I’ve lived in Southwest DC for four years, less than a mile south of the Mall, and I certainly don’t live in a slum; hell, I’m right next to the Arena Stage, and I live across from a duck park. This is actually a pretty expensive place to live. There are public housing projects southeast of me, but I’d be hard-pressed to call them a slum, let alone dangerous; they’re well-maintained low-rises, mostly on tree-lined streets, well-served by public transit; I walk and bike through them often. So, that’s south of the Mall’s central portion sorted. West of the Mall is the Potomac, with Foggy Bottom north of that end; much as I like to rag on undergrads, I wouldn’t call Foggy Bottom a slum, and I don’t know anyone who would. 😃 North of the Mall’s central portion drops you in DC’s central business district (Metro Center, Archives, Gallery Place, etc - also the White House, if you head north on 15th or 17th). East of the Mall, and also north and south of the eastern end, drops you in/around Capitol Hill; yet again, a very expensive place to live, and very safe. If you trudged perhaps a mile and a half southeast of the Mall, you’d find yourself in some lower-income neighborhoods (though generously interspersed with gentrifying bits). With a bit of luck. But the suggestion that DC is some vast slumland is badly outdated, and has been since the 90s. And frankly, it’s rather offensive. I’ll grant you that the area in/around the Mall proper can be grey and stodgy - but if that’s all you chose to see, that’s on you. ETA: Also, I should point out that I’ve only lived in my current apartment for four years - I’ve been in DC for over 8 years. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/51 "2015-02-03T22:02:10Z")
You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. And that’s just Congress. I can’t tell you exactly where I was, as I was lost on foot, but it was near the railway station near the capitol. [http://search.mywebsearch.com/mywebsearch/maps.jhtml?searchfor=maps+capitol+building+d.c.&p2=^UX^xdm423^S09175^us&n=780bd92a&ss=sub&st=hp&ptb=A4EA4A42-2FDE-4420-974F-B212CFB7C73F&si=245051&tpr=sbt](http://search.mywebsearch.com/mywebsearch/maps.jhtml?searchfor=maps+capitol+building+d.c.&p2=%5EUX%5Exdm423%5ES09175%5Eus&n=780bd92a&ss=sub&st=hp&ptb=A4EA4A42-2FDE-4420-974F-B212CFB7C73F&si=245051&tpr=sbt) ---
**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:** [February 3, 2015, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/52 "2015-02-03T22:23:04Z")
It sounds like you were over by Union Station, the average cost of homes in that neighborhood is a $1.1 million. I don’t know where you’re from, but that’s not my idea of a slum. Is it possible that you were anxious because you were lost and maybe unfamiliar with urban settings? Culture shock can cause people to see things through a more negative filter. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/53 "2015-02-03T22:24:28Z")
I remember what I saw. Row houses and public housing that were run down. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/54 "2015-02-05T15:08:12Z")
I was born in, and have lived most of my life in, Australia, and I’ve been to the capital (Canberra) many times. I lived in England for much of my childhood, and I’ve been to Westminster many times. I lived in the U.S. for about 12 years, and although I never actually resided in Washington, my social security number starts with digits indicating that it was issued in DC. That’s because, when I applied for the SSN, I used as an address an office that I was working in temporarily, which was a stone’s throw away from the U.S. Capitol. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/55 "2015-02-05T17:20:50Z")
Saw all the major highlights of Washington, D.C. on a family vacation when I was about 10-11. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/56 "2015-02-06T00:55:24Z")
Washington, DC many times, starting in 1957 when my brother lived there, then several times as a tourist or attending conventions, worked there for 6 weeks in 1971. Visited the Wall & its related statue, the Capitol, JFKs grave, major monument and the Smithsonian. Ottawa, Lisbon, Madrid, London, Gibraltar (if that might qualify), Andorra La Vella, Luxembourg, Paris, Monaco, Bern, Vaduz, Rome, Vatican City, Athens, Beirut, Jerusalem, Amman (changed planes by walking on the tarmac), (Istanbul) but not Ankara. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/57 "2015-02-06T02:33:59Z")
American here, never been to D.C. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/58 "2015-02-06T14:16:00Z")
Been to DC once, when I was 9 on our way back from visiting my sister in Norfolk, VA. We did the White House tour. The main thing I remember about the drive was how frustrated my dad was with all the roundabouts, something he had never dealt with. Oh, he hated driving in DC. I’ve also been to Oslo, Norway. That’s it. No, I don’t get out much. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/59 "2015-02-06T15:01:35Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > … > If you trudged perhaps a mile and a half southeast of the Mall, you’d find yourself in some lower-income neighborhoods (though generously interspersed with gentrifying bits). With a bit of luck. But the suggestion that DC is some vast slumland is badly outdated, and has been since the 90s. And frankly, it’s rather offensive… Southeast, and especially Anacostia (which is further southeast, across the river) was a much worse place about 20 years ago at the height of the crack cocaine epidemic. Now, it’s basically just a lower income, working class, predominantly African-American area. Probably more street crime than, say, The Hamptons, but not really “da hood” anymore. Street beggars? Yeah. Storefront Pentecostal churches? Yeah. Occasional homeless people wheeling “borrowed” shopping carts? Yeah. Daily muggings in broad daylight? Hardly. If you go at 2 PM with a friend or two and don’t flash cash or jewelry, nothing is likely to happen to you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639.md?page=2)