Get Outta My (Adopted) City, Tourist!

[FLHoya]

Here's a thought question (or few) for a summer day:

Something that has always fascinated me about Washington, DC and its surrounding suburbs is their schizophrenic opinion of and attitude towards "outsiders".

Here is a city that is a virtual museum to the American experience--ice cream sandwiches, food court pizza and all--and as such attracts tourists from around the country. Its educational opportunities, ample federal jobs, and even more ample access to power likewise bring some of the best and brightest folks from around the country looking for employment, a studio apartment, and a happy hour with cheap drink specials. Arguably the most famous group of DC workers? The 535 Congressmen who represent constituencies that aren't Washington, DC (yes I know, delegates are people too ).

But the tourists return home with digital photos of the Washington Monument, college students graduate, Congressmen cheat on their wives and...well, anyways...and the cycle begins anew.

It's a transient region--really, even many of the RESIDENTS are tourists in a way.

Yet strangely, it's a region at times seemingly hostile to the outsider.

This is usually the time of year when I ponder these sorts of things. It's the height of the tourist season in the DC area--the Fourth of July having just recently passed. As I live in a neighborhood with many hotels, I notice more out of state license plates on the side streets and sandle-sock combos on dads at Chipotle.

Heaven help Mr. and Mrs. Fanny Pack if they stand on the left side of the Metro escalator.

This summer--despite its unseasonal not-hotness--has provided plenty of fuel to the DC area residents vs. non-residents fire.

Take as an example two DC-themed blogs that have gained quick popularity during the summer of 2009:

--Spotted: DC Summer Interns dcinterns.blogspot.com/, a blog dedicated to chronicling the faux pas of the (mostly Capitol Hill) interns who "swarm in like the Eighth Plague of Egypt" during the summer months. Never fails to amuse me--darn neared died of laughter at the poor girl who tried an entire row of Metro gates not understanding why her Hill intern ID badge wouldn't scan on the SmarTrip circles.

--Anti-Real World DC www.antirealworld.com/, a blog dedicated to chronicling the faux pas of...well...the 24th cast of MTV's "The Real World," (which started filming at 20th and S street a few weeks ago)...with a heavy dash of NIMBY angst thrown in.

These are just a few of the prominent salvos in the "us vs. them" turf battle; examples abound from all over. I even wrote about one case earlier the summer, in which The Express and the ironically-named (b/c the author turned out to be from Arlington) We Love DC blog went all tag-team in dissing the mouth-breathing GU students and summer interns that prevent Thirds from becoming the rightful Cougar bar it should be, gosh darnit: hoyatalk2.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=offtopic&action=display&thread=19659

And for the foodies, of course, there was the considerable angst that President Obama had "ruined" Ben's Chili Bowl and Ray's Hell Burger, which quickly became overrun with gawkers and hungry tourists in the aftermath of his food runs.

We get it--DC has kind of a hang-up about outsiders cramping its style.

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut wait a minute there, Mr. Petty Parochial. Here come the thought questions from a DC-area resident:

1. Are we all just sophomores hating on the freshmen?

Well, let me cop to a few things first (with maximum tongue in cheek). First, I ain't about to stand in a 20 person line at Hell Burger at any normal person meal time b/c a bunch of fangirls and tourists saw a clip on CNN. Screw that, I'm going to Five Guys. Second, if Jim Bob from Pensacola won't budge from the left side of the Rosslyn escalator, I ain't gonna have any of my Sudoku left by the time I make it to the platform in time to not make a train. Third, living in Foggy Bottom during two summers with all the interns in the neighborhood sucked like Devendorf.

Okay, but let's be fair here. Aren't many of us DC-area "residents" really just out-of-town transplants who only by age happen to have lived in the region for an extra few years more than the folks we criticize?

There always seems to be a distinct sniff of hating on what we once were in the criticism. It would seem a good 75% of the posts on the DC Interns blog are written by either (a) confessed former interns bemoaning the ignorance of the newbies; (b) obvious low-level staffers not far removed from interning who find themselves intern coordinators; (c) self-important staffers criticizing self-important interns (these are by far the funniest, as the double whammy of condescension and feigned outrage is comic gold). NOBODY just stumbles by Ben's or Ray's--you go the first time b/c their both trendy places, and you read about it in the paper or heard about it from breathless friends. And sonofagun, everyone stood on the left side of the escalator once in their life until they got yelled at.

If not hating, then it's secretly loving--which may be worse in a way. One of the Anti-Real World posters who had helped lead the NIMBY crusade (the house is literally across the street), raged against the vapid cast members, and even cheered the DC bars who came out against allowing RW to film in their locations, recently wrote a post chronicling his chance encounter with several cast members at The Big Hunt. Turns out...he found them to be not so bad, and even seemed excited at having met them. Predictably, this did not go over great with the commenters.

In the end, maybe we're all fame whores.

No fronting--tourists can be annoying and clueless, crowded restaurants in summer are a bummer, and d-bag interns are worse than Syracuse fans.

But do the DC folks lay it on too thick?

2. Who the heck is a DC area "resident" anyway?

Hence the title of the post. Pretty simple question:

When does one earn the right to say: this is MY city?

Does showing up and paying rent seal the deal? Was I a DC resident the moment I moved boxes into Village C? Or when I signed my first lease off-campus in Foggy Bottom just before grad school? Or does it only count when I moved to Crystal City and started commuting to DC as a full-blown Arlingtonian?

Well heck, nobody in my building seems to have very strong roots here...sure are a lot of NY and PA license plates. Maybe a trip to the DMV to register your car and get those DC/VA/MD plates? Or voting--how 'bout that? Goodness knows tons of GU students and young alums who can still pull it off like to keep their votes in the home district...so checking the box at your local fire station in Arlington, say, is a good start, right?

Is a time period? Do you have some kind of Capital Probation period? 2 years? 5? 10?

Or...here's a crazy thought...maybe you actually have to be a DC NATIVE to claim the privilege.

Wait...there are born and raised DC Natives? Can't be.

Unless...

wait...

...they don't all live in neighborhoods off the green line do they?

Cause if the Arlington Rap is to be believed, we don't play that.

Unless we're going to Ben's Chili Bowl.


So what's the Hoyatalk nation think about our little parochial problem?

[RusskyHoya]

"Things FLHoya does with his spare time when Kenner League gets delayed by a month"

Correct! Congratulations, you've won the $100,000 Pyramid!!!

[Boz]

When you have a few days off and go to visit, say, your parents or old high school buddies....do you say, "I'm going home for the weekend?"

If so, you are still just a tourist.

I will try to write more later.


(BTW, the first time I went to Ben's I did, in fact, just happen to stumble by it......lo these many, many years ago. Because, when I'm in that neighborhood, stumblin' is what I used to do and what I still do. And yes, it's nice to know that nothing is changed since I was underage; the place still causes violent gastrointestinal disruptions).

[theexorcist]

This is overblown.

1. If I ever decide to run against Jim Moran, the sole plank in my platform will be ensuring that people who stand on the left of escalators get the death penalty.

Other than that, tourists are fine.

2. Interns who show up and think that they're going to change the world are cute. It keeps D.C. young for a month each June - right before the interns realize that getting coffee for someone isn't going to stop global warming and may in fact make it worse.

3. I hate the Real World in principle, not because it's in D.C. I never liked it when people on my dorm floor crowded in to watch it in the fall of 1994, and now it's become even more fake and edited with people who want to become famous.

[Cambridge]

How about this, while I grew up in Richmond, VA and my parents still live there, I haven't been back there in several years...because all family gatherings happen in DC. Why? Because all three of the kids went to college there, we all lived there for a spell, we have season tickets to the Hoyas, my dad has an office there and my youngest brother still lives there. We all consider it our home. I know we aren't natives or even locals, but we are a strange anomaly, especially considering I live in NYC and my middle brother lives in Austin TX now.

[HoyaSinceBirth]

lived in the area my whole life. I don't really have a problem with transplants except for the fact that they usually hold on to their home sports teams rather than fully adopting the area. It doesn't really bother me that much though.

Tourists however are annoying. The standing on the left thing Editedes the crap out of me as it does everyone else. Groups of gawking tourists clogging up down town in I Heart DC shirts and FBI hoodies are obnoxious albeit relatively harmless.

[washingtonhoya]

Here's my pithy criterion for determining how legitimately native a DC resident is.

Ask them what the foremost civic institution in town is.

Hating tourists? Still a transplant.
Redskins? Native.

[Coast2CoastHoya]

Thank you, FLHoya, for bringing up one of my favorite summertime topics!

As someone who has only really ever lived in tourist destinations (Orange County, CA; DC; NYC; Denver; Auckland, NZ), I humbly offer my thoughts.

1. Sophomores hating on frosh?

While I think there's some of the ol' frat-style "I just figured out how NOT to screw up this local cultural moree, so now I'm going to haze YOU for screwing it up in hopes that you will ascend to my level of enlightenment", I genuinely believe that a lot of the discord stems from the fact that a lot of tourists -- interns, mom-dad-&-kids from Peoria, folks from overseas, high school groups -- simply don't pay attention to their surroundings.

It almost as if they think they've stepped off the train/plane/minivan and into America Disneyland for how oblivious they can be, and there's so often this undercurrent of entitlement that no local should be in the way of their DC experience. It goes farther than standing left on Metro (which a polite "please stand to your right so people can get by" will easily cure ... or those nifty signs Metro used last summer).

It's clogging street corners and sidewalks while trying to read a map (stand out of the way of people working!), it's driving 5MPH on Consitution Ave trying to figure out where to turn (it's a grid! Though I will give a pass for people trying to figure out circles, 395, and anything in VA for the first time), and it's being generally unaware of the movement of other pedestrians/cars/bikes.

That said, I think there is an element of NIMBYism, so I think it goes both ways. And in my many interactions with tourists, most are good folks looking for a good time.

CONCLUSION: I think we locals can be a little more forgiving and offer help rather than condescention, and tourists can be a lot more aware of local customs. For myself and most residents, I think it comes down to a basic respect thing. If you're in someone else's town, realize that they live, work, play, and pay taxes there and try to not to inconvenience them.

POST SCRIPT: I will say, I LOVE INTERNS. They're so cute with their little suits and big dreams of doing something important in DC for 6 weeks because they go to a top 25 school or they're from a member's home district. They are SO FUN to have on the softball/kickball field and at the bars afterward because of their youth and energy, and they get especially fun when they learn that the field they've been squatting on in the hot sun for 3 hours was actually already permitted to someone else months ago and they have to pack up and leave (hello kickball! Way to Edited off both the Congressional League and the CAN League! See: hillsoftball.blogspot.com/2009/07/managers-unite-prepare-to-send-kickball.html, and: www.politico.com/blogs/anneschroeder/0609/More_softball_vs_kickball_drama.html).

In contrast, summer legal associates generally have no such delusions. They know they're there to eat well, schmooze with partners, do 50 state surveys, and smile. They know how to have a great time, though, because they're not worried about billables yet.

Ah, summer in DC. Truly magical!!

2. Who's a DC resident?
This is a great question.

There are so many factors to consider; I won't relist what FL already listed, but I'll use myself as an example.

Went to college in DC, went to law school in DC, lived here ever since (with a one year hiatus after college). I vote here, pay taxes here, work here, play and throw parties here, bike to work, was in a band here, and yes!---I even live on the green line. I go to Ben's Chili Bowl because it's delicious and it's 3 blocks away. Fair to say that I'm a resident?

But, I didn't really consider myself a "resident of DC" until after law school, when I decided to take a job here. It was always "I live in DC but I'm from CA." I can't even remember the reason. Was it because I never intended to stay here long term? Was it because I'm not "from here" in the sense that I have a family connection? Who knows.

Think about another case: I know a guy from Mt. Raininer who insists he's from DC. Technically he's over the line in PG Co., MD. But he's been there his whole life, and works in DC. Who's really going to tell him he's not from DC just because he lives a block east of Eastern Ave? Not me.

And a third: A friend from GU who, with no strong roots to "home" because she moved around a ton as a kid, knew she'd be in DC forever. Got her car registered, got her voter reg, etc. Would you tell her, at age 19, that she's not a resident? Not me.

And a fourth (this one's hypothetical): someone who's been in DC since freshman year, but always talks about "home" as being somewhere else, goes "home" for holidays and vacations, and always talk about leaving DC. Doesn't own a Nats hat. But he/she has been here 15 years. Resident?

CONCLUSION: I think with the uniquely transient nature of DC, it's a self-identification thing. The usual trapping of domicile/residency certainly come into play in making an objective determination: address, length of residency, cell phone area code, voter reg, car reg, connection to the community, etc.

POST SCRIPT: The folks from Real World are obviously not residents (unless one them actually is ... anyone know?). I couldn't care less about RW either way (I don't watch) but I think it's a little neat that DC has finally gotten its due as a place that has more to offer than filibusters and marble in terms of social scene.

Thanks again, FLHoya!

[Boz]

A few more notes:

1. What are the chances RWDC actually has an outspoken conservative or Republican? Anyone know? This would be the season to do that, no? (Then again, I haven't watched RW since Seattle when the Georgetown chick got slapped in the face, so who knows who's been on the show since then?). Or is this just another "let's see who has sex with whom when we ply them with alcohol," deal?

2. Interns. Again, I am going back to my younger days here, but I think there are interns and then there are interns, you know? (This probably has more to do with my Hoya affiliation than my residency here). It's been quite a while since I've spent a lot of time socializing with any interns, but I always thought there was a sharp distinction aomg them. The interns that came from places like California or Midwestern schools I always thought were a friendly and welcome addition to the city during the summer. The interns that came from the Ivys -- or especially from Duke -- seemed really to only want to be here to trash the city (verbally) and talk about how much better it was "back home." I have no use for those people and told them so at every opportunity.

3. If sports affiliations are any significant measure, then I guess I will never be a resident, other than my obsessive love for the Hoyas. Yes, I like the Caps and Wizards, but they will never be my favorite teams in their leagues. (Actually, the Wizards could be my favorite team if they add some Hoyas, which is all I really care about when it comes to the NBA). I have hated the Redskins since I was a child not living here, and all my time here has not changed that opinion in the least. And sorry, but the Nationals are a joke, in every sense of the word. I'll go to a game or two each summer for the fun of being at a ballpark, but I think the most interesting thing about the Nats these days is how much longer are they going to be around before DC loses its baseball team for the third time.

4. I generally consider myself pretty friendly to tourists, except when I am driving and then I curse them out. But I curse out pretty much anyone while I'm driving....in fact I get even MORE [EDITED] at local drivers because they should know better. The whole Metro escalator thing never really bothered me. But C2C's point about wandering aimlessly with no sense of your surroundings is a pretty good one though. It's hard not to want to grab those people, yank them over to an unobtrusive area and just say, "Stay here until you figure things out, OK?"

[Bando]

I think of myself as a DC resident. I vote here, pay taxes here, and have a DC license. When I visit my parents' house, I've recently started to say that I'm "going to my parents' house" rather than "going home". While I cheer for the Mets and Giants, I've converted to the Wizards, Capitals, and United.

Really, though, I don't think any of this is different than any other major city in this country. Large metropolitan areas are people magnets. I can assure you, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago (among others) are not full of natives.

[Bando]

1. What are the chances RWDC actually has an outspoken conservative or Republican? Anyone know? This would be the season to do that, no? (Then again, I haven't watched RW since Seattle when the Georgetown chick got slapped in the face, so who knows who's been on the show since then?). Or is this just another "let's see who has sex with whom when we ply them with alcohol," deal?

I'm pretty sure they've had conservatives on the show before, even going back to the beginning. They need to maximize conflict, so adding people of different political persuasions makes sense.

[TC]

Jul 15, 2009 10:13:47 GMT -5 Boz said:

Or is this just another "let's see who has sex with whom when we ply them with alcohol," deal?

DING DING DING

Last week on the current season the two Hooters waitresses hooked up with each other and drama ensued.

[afirth]

Sure, hating on tourists is cliche (and blogging about it certainly overdone). But it's not unique to DC - people who live in any major tourist destination are always going to bitch about/be mean to the tourists (just try asking a New Yorker for directions and see what kind of response you get).

As for what is needed to consider yourself a resident/native....well, I never considered myself a DC resident during my 4 years at Georgetown. But now, I've signed a lease in DC and am registered to vote here. I also have a DC license and DC plates on my car. I suppose anyone could have done those last two things just for having the benefit of being able to park their car in the District - so I will add that I also have no intention of ever moving back to California. As far as I can see into the future, this is my permanent home. I think the fact that I have no intention of ever leaving makes me feel like more of a permanent resident.

EDIT: Much of the standing on the left problem could be ameliorated if WMATA would do what TfL and plenty of other transport systems have done - bolt huge signs every 10 feet going all the way down the escalator which say "Stand Right, Walk Left." (After all, if you've never traveled to a major city, it's not your fault you don't know the rule, right?) It actually worked for the most part in London - when I lived there the tourists caught on after the first 3 blaring signs pretty quickly.

But alas, WMATA would do something useful like that when hell freezes over (although obviously, WMATA does have better things to worry about at the moment). So I guess we quasi-DC natives/locals/transplants will be yelling at unwitting tourists forever.

[Boz]

WMATA used to have those signs.

They got rid of them because they couldn't afford them.



(actually, I don't remember the reason they got rid of them, but that's a good guess; anyone remember the reason?)

[afirth]

Jul 15, 2009 18:25:43 GMT -5 Boz said:

WMATA used to have those signs.

They got rid of them because they couldn't afford them.



(actually, I don't remember the reason they got rid of them, but that's a good guess; anyone remember the reason?)

Well maybe this is proof that I can't call myself a DC resident yet - I haven't lived here long enough to remember that!

Someone at work told me that WMATA took them down because people complained they were "rude" and "uninviting"....but I don't really believe that for a second.

[EasyEd]

I guess the lack of anything of importance in this thread only shows how starved we are for some basketball action.

[Nevada Hoya]

Jul 15, 2009 8:48:31 GMT -5 theexorcist said:

This is overblown.

1. If I ever decide to run against Jim Moran, the sole plank in my platform will be ensuring that people who stand on the left of escalators get the death penalty.

Darn Brits!

[njhoya06]

I judge people in Syracuse jerseys less harshly than I do people that stand on the left of escalators. I'm in year seven of my being a tourist in DC, but that has ticked me off from day one.

[jgalt]

Jul 15, 2009 9:37:29 GMT -5 Coast2CoastHoya said:

2. Who's a DC resident?
This is a great question....


Think about another case: I know a guy from Mt. Raininer who insists he's from DC. Technically he's over the line in PG Co., MD. But he's been there his whole life, and works in DC. Who's really going to tell him he's not from DC just because he lives a block east of Eastern Ave? Not me.

This is me (not literally, i have never met C2C), im the same way but from MoCo not PG. But i am literally a quarter mile from the boarder; both my partents have worked in DC for over 30 years each and so i have been dragged down there all my life; i went to preschool at the congressional daycare center; and i have JUST about figured out all the one way streets and those that change during rush hour . I consider my self a DC resident and i as i want to stay in the city for a long time after i graduate i have no qualms about it.

I agree with all of C2Cs characterizations about who is and who is not a resident. I would also add that what ever city you have lived in the most years in your life you are by default a resident whether you like it or not.

And a third: A friend from GU who, with no strong roots to "home" because she moved around a ton as a kid, knew she'd be in DC forever. Got her car registered, got her voter reg, etc. Would you tell her, at age 19, that she's not a resident? Not me.

And a fourth (this one's hypothetical): someone who's been in DC since freshman year, but always talks about "home" as being somewhere else, goes "home" for holidays and vacations, and always talk about leaving DC. Doesn't own a Nats hat. But he/she has been here 15 years. Resident?

NOT a resident.

Jul 15, 2009 10:13:47 GMT -5 Boz said:

The interns that came from the Ivys -- or especially from Duke -- seemed really to only want to be here to trash the city (verbally) and talk about how much better it was "back home." I have no use for those people and told them so at every opportunity.

3. If sports affiliations are any significant measure, then I guess I will never be a resident, other than my obsessive love for the Hoyas.

I think these two things are closely related. I HATE the people who live in DC (and have for a long time), but only go to the sporting events when their "home" team is playing. That idea is actually fine by me, but what i hate is that they use this opportunity to completely disown the city they live in and talk about how much it sucks and how their "home" is so much better. It is probably not surprising that this occurs most often with Boston and NY fans.

If you consider yourself a resident of a city, you dont have to like that city's sports teams, you dont have to follow them or care about them on iota, but dont see sports as an opportunity to bash the CITY (the team is fine, yeah the Nats totally suck, but it doesnt mean its DC's fault!). When it goes beyond just hating the team (ive lived in DC my entire life but im a Cowboys fan--bandwagon? Yes!!) to hating the city it becomes too much.

As for the Real World:

I happen to be a fan of the Real World so am really happy they are in DC. As for the make up of the cast, well of course they are going to have an outspoken Republican in the cast! They have to cause drama, that is why people watch. As for the current season being all about sex...well it is in Cancun. Every so often they have a season devoted to only sex and partying (the last was in Vegas). These are usually the weakest seasons. But last season in Brooklyn, there was very little sex and hard partying, but the season was really good. They had Republicans and huge Liberals (who had fun when Obama was elected), a Mormon and a Transgender. They are really good at casting (and scripting if you like) drama. Scripted or not, it is still how people are reacting to situations they are put in and i find it interesting.

The final thing i want to say about this topic is that as a life long DC resident my moderate disdain for interlopers is that attitude towards DC that i perceive the country as having. Outside of the Fed. gov DC has never really gotten the respect it deserves for having good food, pretty good night life and being a very beautiful city. It is always second class to Philly or Atlanta or other cities like that (LA, NY, and Chicago are all in a different class). It always annoyed me that on the weather channel instead of giving the temperature in DC for the national weather it was always Philly; or how people never think of DC as having its own culture and traditions or local food. This is slowly starting to change but i think it has made me inherently antagonistic towards people who move to DC and havent been here as long as I have.

[SSHoya]

Remember Hot Shoppes and the Mighty Mo? Remember when the Cap City Brewery was the bus station? Remember when there was an "International Safeway" grocery story on 12th Street downtown? Remember when the Ellington School was Western High School? If you have memories of these prior to attending Georgetown, then you might be a DC native.

I was born at GU Hospital then immediately moved away, not returning to the DC area until a a couple of years prior to enrolling at GU. Didn't feel "native" until I spent more than half my life here. My grandfather owned a store at Florida Avenue & North Capitol Street, and two uncles own or owned grocery stores, one at 11 & S St, NW (prior to gentrification) and a store (still owned and operated) near the Old Soldier's and Sailor's Home in NE. My grandfather went from the only non-white family living in the 5000 block of 4th Street, NW to the only non-black family in the space of 35 years, so my family roots are fairly deep

I agree with jgalt. Can't stand people who move here then complain about DC traffic, DC manners, DC food. I always ask them why are you here, why don't you move back to, say, St. Louis? Answer always is better professional opportunities. Duh.

Especially hate politicians who move here on an anti-government agenda, and speak of their home districts as the "real" America, yet stay here as lobbyists and lawyers when they are out of office. Especially true for the staff weenies on the Hill who believe the same.