Washington, D.C.

Have you ever just known that a city was somewhere you wanted to live, and then you moved there? Or have you always stayed in the same town, moving only to a larger (or smaller) home or a different school district? Or maybe you changed location when your job or family said you must?

Most of us can’t pull up a map and throw a dart to see where it lands in search of a place to live. Our family is different, I guess, as I’ve done that several times. When we moved from Turkey to Key West, Florida, my spousal unit selected that location from a photo he saw in a book. Our requirements? Be close to a body of water, have decent internet access, and an above-average school system. Other than that, the state or country hasn’t mattered because we've worked remotely for years.

This last time, I didn’t want to throw that dart. I wanted to go, and see, and live. Test drive the city. Interact with the people and make sure it was a good fit. Finding our home is something I have to “feel.” It may look good on paper, but if the vibe isn’t right, it will be a definite “no.” (I do this with cars also. I rented a Tesla for six weeks once with a plan to buy one. Nope. It’s not the car for me.)

Capitol Hill

The lovely front porch in the photo above is the home where we stayed for a month in Washington, DC, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. A month, in my opinion, was sufficient for a test drive. Our front door was down the stairs and to the left. This Airbnb was the perfect place to test drive the city. Having traveled across the United States for several months to visit places where I thought I might like to live, we ended the summer in Washington, D.C. I would have preferred more windows and natural light (this was in the basement), but given the location, I was glad we stayed here. It was clean and quiet, and the hosts were lovely. If you need to be in DC for an extended period of time, try out this apartment.

One block from the Eastern Market, the central point I had selected on an earlier planning trip, I was looking for a neighborhood, not just a city. I wanted diversity, trees, houses, and apartments with restaurants and business necessities scattered throughout. It wasn’t too far from the river, but maybe we needed a change this time.

Mass transit was a plus for this move since I didn’t really want to buy a car. I thought Capitol Hill might be THE place, given my criteria. However, I quickly learned that the houses were all row houses, narrow, with light only in the front and back rooms. In each row house, the middle has no light unless you install skylights in rooms on the top floor. Ugh.

But I enjoyed my stay. Capitol Hill is very eclectic, and my favorite place was The Eastern, a wine bar several blocks down from the apartment. I sat the first night at the end of the bar by myself, requested something similar to my favorite wine, and was brought both food and wine that paired exceptionally well. It’s a great neighborhood place.

Georgetown? Ah, no. No, thank you.

The Eastern Market metro station is in Market Park, again, only a block or so from the apartment. From there, I caught the metro to anywhere in the city I wanted to go. Except for Georgetown. I had to walk into Georgetown and Uber (after a thirty-minute wait) out. It’s really an inconveniently inaccessible place for someone without a car. For most Americans, it’s not a big deal, but in house hunting, a neighborhood with extremely limited parking and poorly accessible mass transit gets ripped right off the list.

The good part of visiting Georgetown? The Uber driver in the Audi A7 who retrieved me agreed to be my driver over the next few days. His knowledge of real estate inside the Beltway was invaluable, and we covered my entire list of possibilities in two days rather than the planned two weeks. He provided me with another investment-type brain to bounce ideas around with and not have to walk or rent a car and find parking for those areas where the subway did not go.

There is information on the internet about the museums, and government buildings, etc., so I won’t bore you with that, although I would be remiss in not including several classic photos. We have a cool capital, and if you haven’t been, it’s time you went.

The Hirshhorn

I’m a modern art person, and I had never been to the Hirshhorn. Jackson Pollock’s action painting is my thing, and I’m always in search of an artist who throws paint at a canvas but with vibrant color. I took a break one day to search for an artist who would give me inspiration. Thrust into color and words far from my daily environment, this visit did my soul a lot of good, even though I didn’t find an artist that really tweaked it for me.

The Yayoi Kusama exhibit (above) was a definite experience. Given the stress of just selling our house, the words below were timely.

The Department of Justice Has My Sympathy

One day, I explored for miles on foot and found myself standing in front of the door below at the Department of Justice, reading the words. As a lawyer, this was meaningful, especially due to the constant division between us all. I could feel the stress every lawyer and staff member inside was feeling over the circumstances of our nation at the moment. I would not want to be in their shoes last year or now. I know that stress, and I no longer want that life. I wish them good luck.

A Month of House Hunting

A month provided the right amount of time for me to both learn about the city and house hunt in all areas inside and outside the city. For a real estate junkie like myself, this was my ultimate vacation.

So, where did I look for houses? Almost every part of the city. The areas I liked the most, such as Foggy Bottom, Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, Capitol Hill, and Logan Circle, were either out of my price range, had very little natural light, or required more renovation work than I was willing to do. (I’m not afraid of renovation work. The last four houses we’ve owned needed work, but at this point, I wanted something a little more move-in ready.)

Unfortunately, this was during the height of the real estate insanity. I continued to look for a suitable townhouse with enough light but found only one inside the beltway that I could afford. When I returned after getting a cup of coffee to take a photo of the sign for my realtor, it had already gone under contract. You know this story. So many people had the same experience.

Time for a Realtor

Outside the city, I looked at Arlington briefly and then seriously at Alexandria. Given that I had another trip planned for a writing event in Alexandria in another two months, I left that town for a different day and contacted a local realtor for the outlying areas.

We’re Going Where?

We took a trip to look at an apartment at Tysons and another at Reston, both areas closer to Dulles yet still near the metro when I wanted to go into the city. Both these areas were missing the vibe and neighborhood appeal I wanted. And what happened to all the trees? These areas looked as if a developer had waved his or her magic wand, creating a concrete world with extremely large streets and a walkability score of zero. (Well, yes, you can walk. But do you want to?)

Our next appointment was to look at an apartment in Ashburn.

“Where?” I asked. (Go look at a map—it’s far from the city and way beyond Dulles.) But I must admit the apartment was huge, had spectacular windows (Yay! Light!), and a great layout. However, the relatively new building was already structurally falling apart on the front. Yeah, I left that appointment shaking my head, as the price point was way over budget for a poorly constructed building in such a new neighborhood.

Throwing in the Towel

In filling the drive from neighborhood to neighborhood with casual conversation, when the realtor began telling me of gunfights at the Waterfront and motorcycle gangs coming across from Anticostia, I threw in the towel. This insanity wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.

I’ll Be Back

Leaving Washington, DC, felt like the photo above from the museum—colorful but chaotic—and with no real understanding of the end goal or purpose.

Thank you, Washington, for the visit. When I return, I’ll know my way around. But I think I’ll wait until after the 2024 election.