Living in the nation's capital

A dozen things I've learned while living in the nation's capital

It hasn't quite been a culture shock for me, but it sure has been an adjustment. I no longer have the life, the friends or the car I had in St. Pete. I can no longer wear flip-flops outside, nor can I pop around the corner to my neighborhood Starbucks and cozy up with a nice book in a warm atmosphere.

All of those things (and more) are trade-offs for my new, amazing job in an unbeatable location. I can even see the White House from my bus stop near work! I'm hoping that all the rest (the friends and the "life") falls into place at some point in the near future.

Here are a dozen things I've learned so far while living in D.C.:

1. Walking more slowly than 4 miles per hour on a busy street will not effect dirty looks, and possibly pain.
2. People make physical activity a part of their routine; taking a 3-mile walk home from work is not unusual.
3. No one is single; everyone has a significant other or a rebound.
4. Everyone has a BlackBerry.
5. Brunch is the most celebrated meal of the day, especially on weekends.
6. Good customer service is almost never a priority, not even at Starbucks.
7. People are nicer than you might assume, once you approach them first.
8. Buses and metros are actually sardine cans where no one talks to anyone else, but instead listens to an iPod or plucks forcefully away at a BlackBerry.
9. Everyone takes public transportation, even (and especially) "regular" people.
10. People are usually quite dressy and fashion-forward.
11. There is a grocery chain that is as good as (but by no means better than) Publix; who would have known?
12. Supermarket food isn't ridiculously expensive.


More to come, if I'm ever up to it. ;-)