Just moved back to the city, what’s changed?

Submitted by Hydrogen10101 t3_11b4zgw in washingtondc

Hi everyone, long story short I grew up in DC and lived in NW until I was 18, then moved away for 6 years and now I’m moving back for work reasons and because I loved this city growing up. My roommate and I are living in Columbia Heights for the next year.

I’ve browsed this sub a bit and have seen a lot of sentiment that DC is having more violent crime, and that there are other problems on top of that, etc.

I decided to make this post to ask what I should know about how the city may have changed and what I should know, if anything in particular, about living in the city these days. Thanks.

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GenericReditAccount t1_j9w1bzc wrote

It’s only been 6 years. You haven’t missed that much. The Wharf redo is just about done, The Old Post Office finally had the Trump smell washed off, and there are a lot fewer red hats walking around the Mall.

Welcome home.

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oxtailplanning t1_j9ybpki wrote

Union Market? That's a massive redo

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GenericReditAccount t1_j9ycwjf wrote

That’s true. OP prob won’t recognize Union Market area. I am surprised every time I’m over that way.

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EastoftheCap t1_j9wmdos wrote

We all wear our sweatshirts inside out and backwards on the third Tuesdays of each month.

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AlienBeach t1_j9w73ud wrote

Crime is up nationwide since the pandemic. Nothing is DC specific, and the people naysaying that crime is worse than the 90s are absolutely delusional or more likely they are republicans who want to spread online the idea that cities are dangerous and dirty

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International_Act834 t1_j9x5qir wrote

No way it’s worse than the 90s lmao what are they smoking ? 😂

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AlienBeach t1_j9ybaty wrote

Some people on this sub are delusional or have bad intentions to make crime seem out of control. Reality is DC is still a very safe large city

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DCGinkgo t1_ja1nvpa wrote

Not given to hysteria DC is better than points north, but very safe is debatable.

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DCGinkgo t1_ja1no01 wrote

This. Crime is worse since the pandemic as it is in most of the NE Corridor ex Boston (though inching up there also now). You have to be alert, practice city smarts 101. 90s level? Don't think it's that bad yet, but those who can compare can chime in.

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layzie77 t1_j9wuw5e wrote

We won the Stanley Cup 2018, WNBA, Worlds Series in 2019.

I forgot what our Football team is called now

No Trump (thank god)

The food trucks are gone in downtown

Welcome back home!

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mkwise13 t1_j9yd0ws wrote

I've been wondering about the food truck situation. I've been gone for about 4 years. I had to come in to the office recently and was excited to see the food truck selection at Farragut/McPherson but there was nothing there! What happened to them all?

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layzie77 t1_j9z307g wrote

Yeah! There used to be so many but since COVID, they haven't been back. Not really sure what happen to them. I guess many went out of business,but I was hoping to see some come back.

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RealPrinceJay t1_j9zhsr5 wrote

I might be totally wrong on this, but wasn't there some controversy regarding people's ability to get vendor licenses?

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DCGinkgo t1_ja1mbg7 wrote

Office workers haven't really come back. It is somewhat busier, but def not pre-pandemic levels.

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tshontikidis t1_j9whocm wrote

Definitely still crime but I have been here last 10 and it’s better than it was from my perspective. Crime is amplified because of social media. I have fallen to the bike DC cult in the last 3 years, we are now a bike 1st family. Infra is getting better and better, we live near the beautiful new C ST lanes.

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pomegranatecloud t1_j9w2oab wrote

6 years? Not much. Restaurants, bars, and stores have come and gone. The office space areas of downtown are generally emptier with people not working in the office 5 days a week but it's def not a ghost town as some people suggest. McPherson and Franklin Squares have been cleaned up. That's about it.

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Culper1776 t1_j9wwz28 wrote

Thursday night was packed with folks out about due to the good weather. It was great to see.

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Not_Cleaver t1_j9wrrqn wrote

I moved to the burbs in June after living in DC for over a decade. I don’t think anything has changed much. I’m skeptical of many of the posts about the violent crime wave. Especially since many of them don’t have any flairs indicating their neighborhood/community.

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BansheeLoveTriangle t1_j9xxljy wrote

It’s now stand on the left walk on the right - trying to even out some of that wear on the escalators

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DCGreatDane t1_j9ws19p wrote

Weed is legal, many cults in the area, cars vs bicyclist vs walkers, vegans vs furries fights on weekends, flying cars are still not here. Lots has changed for the good and bad.

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fakecoffeesnob t1_j9wzpt9 wrote

Cults???

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DCGreatDane t1_j9x0f39 wrote

Ahh you haven’t been invited to their parties. And yes cults.

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Ok_Culture_3621 t1_j9x6wim wrote

Oh do tell. And here I was starting to think this sub was getting repetitive.

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[deleted] t1_j9ztw9a wrote

Yes curious about the cults too🙋🏻‍♂️

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schmillischnede_dad t1_jabicse wrote

There's a weird Korean Christian "sect" (cult) in SE that will give you free food if you listen to some sermons and give them a fake address. Highly recommend. I was drunk so I let them baptize me lol. IIRC they think god is an old lady in South Korea and their girls have to wear veils.

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oxtailplanning t1_j9ybe6c wrote

Union market, navy yard, buzzard point and the wharf will all be nearly unrecognizable to you likely. (Though I doubt you went there before. You will go there now.) the Anthem will be the best place to catch bigish acts. It's a great venue that DC sorely needed.

More bike lanes. Bus lanes. Soon to be bike lanes in Connecticut Ave.

The dome on the Jefferson is white again lol.

Generally speaking, a lot of empty lots are now buildings. And some of your favorite businesses might be something new.

NW got a Wegmans which is cool I guess.

There's an Eisenhower memorial that you'll barely notice, and a WWI memorial that's almost just as forgettable.

Oh and anywhere near the white house, congress, or supreme court will have more fencing/security than you remember.

Edit: oh and silver line to dulles. Plus purple line is coming (2030 probably....)

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Deep_Stick8786 t1_j9y3xh3 wrote

Depends on where you lived as a child. If it was crestwood or chevy chase, somewhere along those lines, Columbia Heights can be a bit scary at times. But its a good location near things someone your age may enjoy. If you lived in say petworth or shaw, then maybe slightly a more noticeable air of crime and def more bike lanes, but mostly the same DC. Navy yard, the waterfront and Shaw have more things now. DC has grown into more of a food city now then it was back then I think, which is good!

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MrMoustachio55 t1_j9wtmmk wrote

I moved to SW waterfront close to when you left. Some of the physical changes are the Wharf development’s effect. It’s a different neighborhood from Maine Ave to P street, and you also run into Audi field now. Also Navy yards area has grown exponentially in apartment buildings and restaurants.

I think that DC culture changed somewhat during COVID. It has the same markers, but the pace has slowed down. Downtown areas are busy, but not frenetic like they used to be. That might charge the further we get from COVID years.

Welcome back!

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[deleted] t1_j9w600t wrote

[deleted]

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Hydrogen10101 OP t1_j9w9gey wrote

I’ll have to check out the Wharf one of these days! And the silver line is awesome, I can easily see my relatives now. Thanks for the reply.

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way2gimpy t1_j9wir07 wrote

It’s an overpriced tourist trap. This is coming from someone who lived in navy yard.

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CanaKitty t1_j9zxrh8 wrote

The annoying school groups all wear bucket hats now.

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DCGinkgo t1_ja1mxzy wrote

Metro is a bit dicier and inching back to pre-pan frequency but not quite there yet....

Restos are meh generally (covid impacts), lots of sneaky new fees, so beware.

Downtown is dead-ish...

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Karkarkan t1_j9yc8ed wrote

“In short, ladies and gentlemen of Washington D.C, costs are down, revenues are up, and our stock has never been higher.”

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rightupyourali t1_j9w33hh wrote

Uptown is cool on the DL now. Come to Jackie Lee’s, Anxo, and La Coop!

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ClusterFugazi t1_j9ywa5k wrote

Crime is way worse and Metro feels unsafe. Ignore the crowd that compares the crime in city to the 90’s. You’ll feel it for yourself, believe me. Also, H street and Union Market have changed A LOT.

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