Welcome to overpriced metro rides, preppy college students, high priced rent, unlimited interns and stricter security than Israel (yes Rebecca I'm talking about not getting into the Capitol building with an empty water bottle). DC is a city so overridden with business casual attire that H & M only keeps that style in stock.
Now there are many good qualities of DC too. First, the people. I have found the east coast stereotype to be only partially true in DC. While people are constantly in a hurry, rushing to get on and off the metro (don't you dare interrupt their line of travel when they, along with a rush of fifty people, are walking towards you) they are also willing to talk with you in a coffee shop.
Case and point, today I was writing an essay in Starbucks before work and this guy sitting next to me started talking to me. Of course I only found out later he was trying to sell me something, but still so nice! Then the woman sitting next to him overheard our conversation that I was new in town and she gave me her business card. Her business being helping people find jobs, always a good company to know. While these people may have had ulterior motives it shows me that people in DC are made for this networking thing I hear I'm suppose to start doing. Whether it be in your internship, with friends, or in a coffee shop people aren't afraid to connect. It's like a real life linkedin. Not so easily accessible in the Midwest.
So far DC has been an uphill battle tackling apartment searching, metro navigating, and getting accustomed to my new internship. But my interactions with the people in my internship, a coffee shop, or someone who I know through a friend or a friend of a friend allows me to have faith in what this wonderous city filled with opportunity has to offer me.
So as I begin my journey into the District of Columbia (literally I am moving into my new apartment on Sunday) I will see what other positive and negative opportunities this city has to offer.
