Being my first blog post, I feel like it’s only right to curate a listicle. I’m on trend! Or something.

I’m also an West Coaster recently picked up and plopped in a city where the north and south East Coast meet: Washington, D.C. I knew very little about this wonky city before moving here, but have quickly filled my blank canvas with wallflower-y observations and odd discoveries, all through Pacific Northwest-tinted glasses (I know what you’re thinking. Spoiler: I am not actually that guy). Here’s what I’ve found, thus far:
- There is always at least one airplane in the sky.
- Umbrellas > Raincoats (which is usually a quick way to lose street cred in the Pacific Northwest).
- The Metro is usually:
- On fire
- The scene of a grisly crime
- Broken
- Dramatically late
- Sophisticated salad bars are king.
- A light drizzle is sign that a colossal downpour is seconds away. Run for cover.
- Public pools are clean, free and oddly luxurious.
- Wearing running shoes with a fancy dress is a normal commuting outfit.
- There’s, at a minimum, at least one free interesting event each day.
- It’s deceptively easy to watching a Supreme Court Hearing—and sometimes it’s a very important one.
- Something is always being protested in front of the White House.
- It’s easy to find confused groups of humans wearing brightly-colored, identical shirts. Especially near monuments.
- Everyone is either frozen to the bone or drenched in sweat. Except maybe for one week in the spring.
- It’s easy to bike across multiple state lines in a day.
- There are no truly decent burritos. I may be a snob?
- There’s a tiny park in the middle of an intersection dedicated to Sonny Bono.
- Beards are out. Probably because they’re sweat palaces.
- Boat shoes exist. And are not exclusively worn while boating.
- “Dive bars” = Sports bars with $5 Bud Lights. Womp.
- The fight for D.C. statehood is real, and as alive as ever. “Taxation without Representation” is snarkily stamped on every license plate.
- Everyone who lives here is here to do something they are extremely passionate and excited about. It’s too expensive here to allow for anything but.