Amazon is still building HQ2 across the river, aren't they? If you're not in defense or government why would you want to live in DC?
It's built, at least mostly. I just visited.
Ask HN: Moving to DC in 2023?
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Re: Ask HN: Moving to DC in 2023?
#32Startup Scene is quite vibrant. I've spent most of my career here in startups or private companies.
I highly recommend Northern Virginia (Ballston/Rosslyn) near the metro or Bethesda just across the border in Maryland.
Re: Ask HN: Moving to DC in 2023?
#33I lived there 4 years in Dupont Circle. It's a weird city. I personally didn't vibe with it so take what I say with a huge grain of salt. It's clean, people are intelligent, and there's a lot of stuff that's free and the architecture is gorgeous. That said, it doesn't have much of a culture since it's very transient. They way I describe it is the culture is very 'safe'. It's not gonna push the boundaries of anything.…
What neighborhood did you move to in NYC? I'm in NYC now and considering signing a 1 bedroom lease here, but the avg price in Manhattan/Brooklyn seems to be $3500 a month which is pushing me toward living in DC instead.
DC is way more lame than NYC, if that matters. DC is also overflowing with lawyers, apparatchiks, their groupies, and the permanently subsidized. NYC is much more random, diverse, corrupt, fun, and chaotic.
Re: Ask HN: Moving to DC in 2023?
#34I lived there 4 years in Dupont Circle. It's a weird city. I personally didn't vibe with it so take what I say with a huge grain of salt. It's clean, people are intelligent, and there's a lot of stuff that's free and the architecture is gorgeous. That said, it doesn't have much of a culture since it's very transient. They way I describe it is the culture is very 'safe'. It's not gonna push the boundaries of anything.…
> They way I describe it is the culture is very 'safe'
I grew up in the DC suburbs and my go-to example of this is the prevalence of chain restaurants in relation to the affluence of the population. The family from Michigan that’s here for four years along with some political administration isn’t going to take the time to sort through unfamiliar local places. They’re going to reach for familiar names. It’s the exact opposite of Philly, where a distinctly middle class, but permanent and stable, population keeps a thriving local restaurant scene in business.
Re: Ask HN: Moving to DC in 2023?
#35‘Schrooms are 100% legal. You can stock up 3 blocks from the Whitehouse. Micro dosing seems to be big. Lots of Red, and Blue ties grabbing their prepackaged monthly supply on my last visit to DC.
Seems both political parties can agree on something.
:-)
Re: Ask HN: Moving to DC in 2023?
#36Tech/startup work probably is going to have to do with government or electoral stuff. I can't tell you much about that end of things. You might want to look at meetup.com for technologies that interest you and have Washington meetings. The techiest stuff is probably out toward and beyond Dulles Airport, say Reston to Ashburn. Trust me when I say that you do not want to commute from Washington to Reston, let alone Ash…
Meetup.com is a great place to meet other technical people in the area!
Re: Ask HN: Moving to DC in 2023?
#37DuPont Circle is a nice place if you don't mind getting stabbed by homeless people from time to time.
Re: Ask HN: Moving to DC in 2023?
#38I've lived in the area my entire life, and DC proper for around the past 7 years. I love living here and am without question biased but I'll do my best to give you some objective advice.
- As others have said, it's a very transient city. A lot of people live here for 5 years then move. Most of my friends/family live here so this isn't an issue for me but take this into consideration.
- There is definitely a tech presence outside of the defense industry, especially in the suburbs as others have mentioned. The scene is not nearly as big as San Francisco or NYC though. That said, if you are able to get a security clearance - do it. Without question do it. It opens a ton of doors around here and you can have an extremely lucrative career with one. DC also has the highest rate of remote workers out of any city in America, so you really don't need to work for a company around here if you don't want to.
- Not sure what you're into for fun, but it's very much a "drinking" city. A lot of socializing revolves around going to bars, breweries, concerts, brunch, etc.
- Despite what some may tell you, the suburbs right outside DC (Arlington and Montgomery County) are not cheaper than DC proper by any means. In recent years rent in Arlington on average is more expensive than DC. Parts of these suburbs though are highly developed, and if you didn't know better you'd probably think you were in the city anyway.
- The whole area is expensive. No way around that unless you move to Baltimore.
- DuPont and Logan Circle have a ton of transit and are very walkable. Two of the best neighborhoods in DC. Consider ditching your car. I haven't had one for 10 years and I can't think of many places I'd need to get to that aren't accessible by transit/walking/biking. If I do need a car, we have something called ZipCar which is a car rental service that charges by the hour for quick trips.
- Traffic is absolutely absurd. To me, it's worth it to pay more than commute from the further out suburbs. Anything beyond Reston, VA will be a miserable commute.
- DC is actually a pretty small city relative to other major US cities. I like this about it, but I've heard this come as a surprise to people that have moved here.
- Certain parts are pretty dangerous. The city is gentrifying quickly (for better or worse), but have some awareness and you'll be fine.
- If you do end up moving here. Venture out to the neighborhoods away from the mall and downtown. This is where the fun stuff happens.
Hope this helps. Happy to answer any questions if you have any as well.
Re: Ask HN: Moving to DC in 2023?
#39One mistake almost everybody in tech makes when they move to DC from somewhere else in the country is that they move to DC proper. DC, despite being a fairly walkable city with a decent subway by US standards and a lot of diverse food choices, is not where action outside of government or government related is. Nearly all of the tech scene is outside of the city in two areas. Either in the stretch of MD north of DC an…
Contra this, I recommend that folks live in DC and commute to those areas if/when needed.
I lived in the Columbia Heights area for two years and I found it lovely. Dense, full of amenities, and within walking distance of Rock Creek Park which, IMO, is as good for running/walking/biking as any urban park I've been in.
By contrast, I find the suburbs around DC painfully bland and car-centric. Crystal City and Silver Springs in particular are places I can barely stand.
YMMV :)
Re: Ask HN: Moving to DC in 2023?
#40I lived there 4 years in Dupont Circle. It's a weird city. I personally didn't vibe with it so take what I say with a huge grain of salt. It's clean, people are intelligent, and there's a lot of stuff that's free and the architecture is gorgeous. That said, it doesn't have much of a culture since it's very transient. They way I describe it is the culture is very 'safe'. It's not gonna push the boundaries of anything.…
What neighborhood did you move to in NYC? I'm in NYC now and considering signing a 1 bedroom lease here, but the avg price in Manhattan/Brooklyn seems to be $3500 a month which is pushing me toward living in DC instead.
Moved from NOVA to Union City, NJ. My commute to Midtown is shorter than it would be if I were living in Brooklyn via Port Authority Buses. Rent is cheaper, and don't need to pay city tax.