Exactly. I live in Silver Spring and almost exclusively take the Metro into DC when I'm going to be social in a neighborhood.

I really hope this is sarcasm.

No. Parking sucks ass and outdoor dining is a better use of the space. Take the Metro like a normal person.

My family always goes to the zoo! The one year they weren't around for the holiday and I had to be, I went to the zoo by myself and had a lot of fun.

Probably on average about 50k in the house. Unsure on the Senate. And you are on call almost 24/7.

Not enough for how absolutely insane and demanding the job is.

Mostly because folks with degrees from Georgetown are already making way more money off the hill.

I feel like "reasonably competitive" is underselling it a bit. An average staff assistant job opening on the hill can get hundreds of applications, including from folks with advanced degrees, folks who went to an ivy league, and folks who have multiple Congressional internships under their belt.

Unless you have a parent whose best friend is a congressman it's wildly competitive.

Source: I work with Congressional staff everyday and thought I wanted to work on the hill enough to submit over 100 applications over the course of a year after finishing grad school.