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.

5

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

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.

77

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.

11

rightupyourali t1_j9w33hh wrote

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

0

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

39

DharmaDivine t1_j9wc4we wrote

Everything, everywhere, and all at once🤷🏽‍♀️.

3

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.

15

EastoftheCap t1_j9wmdos wrote

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

64

Content-County-9327 t1_j9wqpbh wrote

Weed is now legal and now part of the personality of Columbia Heights on 14th Street

4

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.

11

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.

8

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!

5

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!

18

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

10

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!

6

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....)

8

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.”

1

mkwise13 t1_j9yd0ws wrote

Replying to layzie77 (#1,984,620)

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?

5

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.

0

layzie77 t1_j9z307g wrote

Replying to mkwise13 (#1,993,379)

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.

3

CanaKitty t1_j9zxrh8 wrote

The annoying school groups all wear bucket hats now.

2

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...

2

DCGinkgo t1_ja1no01 wrote

Replying to AlienBeach (#1,980,594)

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.

1

schmillischnede_dad t1_jabicse wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#2,002,986)

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.

1