Moving To Washington DC? WATCH THIS FIRST! Honest Review of the DMV | Pros, Cons & Overall Rating

are you thinking about moving the DC or the surrounding areas otherwise known as the DMV so I've been here for about 3 and 1/2 years and in this video I'm going to give you the most honest review of Washington DC so we'll have a good list of cons and we'll have a great list of pros and at the end of the video I'll give a overall rating so let's get started I say we stir up the pot first and we introduce the cons and I should probably brace for the push back I'll get on this Con but con number one is the food scene is lacking somebody had to say it look DC food leaves much to be desired especially compared to other large Metro regions in the US don't get me wrong you could definitely find a variety of Cuisines while living in Washington DC but very rarely have I been blown away by the food like when I was living or traveling in other cities so I'm saying Dallas Houston Philly Austin La New York and the list goes on but they all have better food mhm and I mean look think about it there is a reason that DC doesn't make the list of top food cities in the US right when I tell you DC has beautiful restaurants Nice Instagram worthy spots for dates but often times they lack on the food a lot of places are becoming more and more instagrammable and less returnable they'll sacrifice The Taste value for the face value so because of that DCA food is in it's better than most but worse than many con number two is the allergies pollen and bugs look I was born in Philly but I spent a good share of my childhood in the South surrounded by the spring pollen never have I had an allergy problem it was not long ago that I found out allergies can be developed later in life depending on the region and area the US you are living in so the expats that have moved to DC will agree that they have developed a sniffy nose over the spring and summer allergy your car will be covered in it and for for some reason it feels like I have a sniffy nose year long but look maybe just maybe you build different on the other hand DC is one of the worst cities for bugs and nobody likes Bugs you got mosquitoes pics rats roaches and I know they not a bug but we got them over here too over the summer it's like you will walk around and often times you ducking and dodging Nats like you boxing we know we all no mosquitoes so you going to suffer from those hours after getting bit I believe every 14 years these bugs here that's called cadas they come out of the ground they fly around they die everywhere it's truly like a scary movie and it only happens in this area but then con number three is the crime the crime in DC is getting out of hand so 2023 saw an increase in certain crime categories compared to the year before murders homicides are sexual abuse the highest sadly enough is robbery cases and car jackets so I'll say this DC is truly getting ridiculous when it comes to Crime but DC is also one of the most densely populated there are a ton of people here so although things are up becoming a victim crime is still a pretty low chance however I I will say this you know keep your head on the swivel try to travel in groups or two or more and when I started typing out the bullets of this video I I was saying that you know over three years I hadn't been a victim of violence but my car was broken into too recently G number four is the High Cost of Living so DC is dumb expensive right it's 34% higher than the national average and most people are renting because truly who can afford to buy a home when the small ones cost 600,000 and above now look the median income is higher than the national average so you will make good money moving here however it's the small things you know the price spike on drinks the slightly more expensive dinner the price of your groceries the expensive gas like all of this stuff add up I swear it cost like $150 leave the house in DC and your rent is so expensive that you don't want to leave the house anyway you can live significantly below your means of course but we all know sometimes that come with a whole different set of cons like truly why can't the nice stuff just be less expensive and I will say it is less expensive in neighborhoods right outside of DC so the further you get away the lower the cost in many cases you can actually have a nice home for a decent price near a train station or a public transportation Hub but honestly it's like the closer you get the DC the closer you are to the soul the heart and the excitement of the area con number four is the harsh Winters and the muggy Summers look this weather is weird you know what you going to get but then you also don't so the summers are very humid it gets really muggy and sweaty it's mad uncomfortable and I'm someone who loves warm weather but sometimes the humidity here really ruins it I mean the weather is unpredictable throughout most of the year it's like when you want it to be warm it'll be cold and when you want it to be a little cooler it'll be hot as Satan's toenails and it does get rainy cloudy with more rainfall than the national average and look I I got to say this I got to say this don't be fooled it gets really cold you know people from northern cities for some reason want to convince themselves that DC is not cold look it may be warmer than Boston and places like Michigan but don't be coming down here thinking you can ditch your winter coats because while we may only get one or two snowstorms a year and sometimes truly we get none but there will be weeks where temperatures are well below freezing so think about that con number six is uh the bad drivers in traffic look DC to me has the worst drivers in the nation that don't even have DC license plates you're probably like how Rob how that's because y'all I say this and I say this angrily these Maryland drivers are trying to run us off the road every time I witness reckless driving which is multiple times every time I drive I peep the Maryland license plates like truly there is a beef in this area about who is the worst drivers Maryland DC or Virginia and all answers are so different however Maryland drivers will say the others are worse because we drive the speed limit when you can go faster so us following the laws of the road makes us worse I've actually started driving my car less I bought an electric bike but pray for me because six times in the first n months of having my bike I have come very close to almost being hit by a Maryland driver like look they have no chill dis me in the comments Maryland drivers I want the smoke and to make it worse it's complicated to drive here from the traffic flows from the entryways to the highways they're short and quick and the Maryland drivers they won't let you over anyway exit ramps are complicated the speed circles are massive and multi-lane wide which makes them very confusing Whenever there is a festival or event like truly or something political you know you might as well bring some popcorn in your car because you can truly watch a whole movie like to get 10 miles it's really tough it's really tough now we going to flip to the other end and go with the pros and pro number one is diversity so DC is one of the most diverse areas in the US I'm ashamed to say that before moving here I was naive to the various nationalities of black people in the DC area area there are people from various countries in Africa Europe Latin speaking countries and Asia it seems like everywhere I walk I hear a different language or see someone as like absolutely from a different background and honestly I love it I think we should all embrace the differences we have learning from one another is pivotal to the evolution of life so if you are planning to move from a different place and you are a minority where you are you can rest assure knowing that you will fit in here no matter where you are from Pro number two is is um the jobs and economy so this area of the US is Recession Proof the government is always renting since most of the jobs here are government jobs that means the city is always buzzing companies don't have to shut down because people aren't coming through the doors on top of it all because the government is here every single industry has some type of office location in this area because think about it who wouldn't want to get close enough to get to these easily bought out politicians and look you can be confident that if you are moving from a place with a 725 minimum wage and you feel underpaid you can come here and still feel underpaid but you know you will make more money and if you have large career aspirations and you're looking to break into a new industry this area is truly topnotch networking events are frequent and a large amount of industries make breaking into these places like a little bit more easier Pro number two is the night life if you like the party DC has most places beat mhm there are so many neighborhoods in DC that are relatively close to each other but the neighborhoods offer like a very different party Vibe than the other ones so the warf is different from dupon and dupon is different from UST Street just know you will not get tired of the night life in this area because things are always open and they are always a good time on the downside drinks are expensive but if you pregame at home and go out for fun after it's a easy fix like truly on top of it all DC is where most people like party but if you want a slighter slower Vibe uh surrounding cities have their own NTI options so many people go to Silver Spring Maryland for afro poop parties claran Boston Arlington uh for hipster Rave type parties and National Harvard to go gamble like honestly there's truly something for everyone here and I promise you will enjoy it pro number four is construction and development this is a double-edged SW why because you deal with construction nobody likes that it's slows up traffic slows things down however when the projects are complete you are amazed like truly these new apartment buildings have the latest tech they are higher discounted with promotions to fill up the building and it overall just looks cooler like the second phase of a new Warf open not too long ago and it's one of the most beautiful parts of DC Arlington is under heavy construction with the new Amazon headquarters which bought a ton of different food options and activities for residents of the neighborhood honestly it's sucks while it's going on but it's nice when it's over so think about it this way Rome wasn't built in the day and after living in the city where there was never any construction and seeing it makes me happy now so yeah Pro number five is the cleanliness most expats will agree that DC is one of the cleanest cities in the US so for this to be one of the biggest Metro areas it's truly shockingly nice I think the people here just care more about how the city looks and because of it DC has this curb appeal that's stunning it's a beautiful area you don't have to worry about pee and nasty trash on the public transportation I've traveled a ton around the country and I stand on this Pro hard I promise Pro number six is the location and terrain so DC it sits in a nice area so it's at the edge of a mount range and it's close to water ideal for all activities you could drive to the beach in 2 to three hours you can drive to the mountain in two to three hours you can do almost everything and overall like it's decently Central too so a flight to Toronto is 1 hour flight to NC 1 hour NYC 1 hour Philly 45 minutes Miami 2.5 pittsbur and Chicago are very short flights it only takes 2 and 1 half hours to fly to Texas like the downfall is that it does take a long time to fly to California but look on the other end Europe is only a 5 to 7 hour flight away way like this area in the US is truly underrated an actual like location you know this isn't counting the short round trips by taking the train and honestly speaking of the train Pro number seven is public transportation I'll just say this it's superb and to all my New Yorkers it's nothing like yours it's not like yours it's a lot worse however it's cleaner than every other transportation system and you can use your phones in the subway which is a perk and if you you lived in southern states your entire life having DC's transportation system will feel like a breath of fresh air like truly honestly if you live anywhere outside of New York City you will be appreciative of the public transportation system the only people in this area who thinks it's bad is the locals who are originally from the city and that's because they've seen the ups and downs through the life of the Metro however I think about it like with new stations opening and the Metro expanding even more it's becoming golden and convenient after all it is ranked the second best public Metro system in the US behind New York so last but not least we are going to give the city a overall rating so in my opinion I'm going to give the city a grade in terms of livability so drum roll please we're going to say a a just a a not a A+ not a a minus look things could be better but honestly this area is the most underrated areas in the US I really think I think a lot more people should consider moving here like honestly we only hear about people moving to four places Texas Florida California and New York personally I love this area however I don't know if it's my home forever like just being honest with y'all it may be an area I settle down in but I could see myself living in NYC or La just to test out those places for a little while but you let me know are you considering moving here and has my video helped you at all if so help me out please help a brother out like subscribe hit that Bell notification and I appreciate y'all for tuning in I'm signing out peace

Channel: MakingBigMoves

Views: 10,471

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Id: 7ly2htQF2tk

Length: 14min 7sec (847 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 18 2024