Comment by JPKab | Hacker News Reader

Comment by JPKab | Hacker News Reader

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"Once you've got the coveted federal job you're happy to live in a basement 20 miles from the city on your entry-level pay tier because if you can just grin and bear it long enough you'll be almost guaranteed employment for life. Those employees can, do, and will continue to use Metro despite every problem it has because sitting in their car on I66 for an hour is not a viable alternative."

This is completely true. Let's also not forget that these employees quickly become unemployable in any other sector. They are literally trapped in the region, because most of these jobs are simply a part-time task for a single worker in the private sector, or completely automated. This further drives up home prices, because even if you hate the area, you're going to buy whatever you can afford since you know you aren't going anywhere.

DC: The weather of Philadelphia, the home prices of the Bay Area, the traffic congestion of Honolulu, the hostile to newcomers attitude of Seattle, and the not-so-bright but got rich off the system anyway culture of Wall Street.

What a place.

I've heard DC described as "Northern hospitality meets southern efficiency", which probably sums up Metro as well.

Wait a second, the south is known for its hospitality, and the north is known for its effi... ha, excellent!

>the not-so-bright but got rich off the system anyway culture of Wall Street

Even if one puts a less cynical spin on it, it's absolutely true that a lot of the accumulated experience and human capital of an inside the beltway career is associated with working within and around a very specific system. Transplant a lot of people who work in DC elsewhere to an industry unrelated to the federal government and their skills just won't be as valued.

I just want to pipe up that there is a small-but-growing cohort of us folks here who are specifically not taking the safe path of the government job. DC has a very friendly--albeit young and inexperienced--start up culture, and I'm pretty proud to call myself a part of it.

Yep. I'm aware of it, and glad it exists. In fact, I did some work with a few different folks on projects out of 1776.

Of course, you end up having to pay the inflated cost of living driven by the Government/Contractor drones.

"Let's also not forget that these employees quickly become unemployable in any other sector."

That also happens to people who get sucked into defense industries. The security is false for many, though, because they are expendable if contract issues arise. Even if the company has a civilian arm, the guys on the defense side get pink slipped.

I'm just wondering if there's any bad/good connotation about Philly weather in general. The way you wrote above make it sounds like it's bad(?), but from my college years studying a few miles outside of Philly, I never thought it was bad.

Philly is pretty typical mid-Atlantic weather. Summers are a bit hotter/muggier (especially in the city) than some might like and winters have more snow than some would like. Personally, I prefer the weather in New England on balance but it comes down to your tolerance for winter.

I'd actually have said Philly had better weather than DC though. It's enough further south that summers are starting to get more southeastern in temperature/humidity (which I personally hate) and, while winters are milder, snow storms still happen but they're infrequent enough that chaos ensues.

Thanks for chiming in your opinion about the Philly weather. I personally prefer Philly or DC's weather than Boston's, but these are all subjective. :)

Any recommendations on housing locations for someone who might be working in the DC area (<2 miles from Lafayette Square) for a year?

Look for immigrant neighborhoods in the area that are near outlying metro stations, or on bus routes which are within 10 driving minutes to a metro station.

We are all complaining about metro on here, but going into the city it's the only option. Rent is sky high in the city, and you want to avoid these kinds of places:

Hip places like Dupont or Columbia Heights. Hip is expensive

Places with the new and upscale appearance that appeals to young professional women who tend to be very non-price sensitive, like Ballston or Rosslyn. Rents are insane there.

Places to check out:

Crystal City is less hip and less pricey, but going up fast.

Huntington is a great bet. It's an immigrant neighborhood, which scares away the yuppie white people who pretend to be multi-cultural but really are closet racists according to any realtor or apartment manager in the area. Rents are affordable, and the neighborhoods near there are walkable, but decidedly not hip or party places. Plus you have quick access to the Mt. Vernon Bike Trail, which will zip you up into DC in 30 minutes or even across the bridge into Maryland. Plus, Old Town Alexandria is a quick bike ride up the trail for bars.

Arlandria used to be super cheap. Again, look for the immigrant areas.

I don't know the Maryland neighborhoods as well, but there are a ton of good ones. They tend to be pricier.

Thank you!

If they can even afford any home in the area.

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