There are times where I love and hate about where I live. This sentence just said by me may *just* surprise some of y’all. I could sit here ALL DAY LONG and go over how I hate certain things about living in the Washington, DC area and similarly for things that I love about it. Not going to lie, I have considered moving to another city here and there to be closer to my college friends, even though I don’t see it as the best option for me one bit. I will say that, through it all, living in the Washington, DC area is where I am meant to be, so, needless to say, I am striving to focus on falling in love with where I am living today and my own city.
Currently, I live about 25-30 minutes outside of Washington, DC in Fairfax Station, Virginia. I live with my Papa and our dog Rosie and I love EVERY minute of it! Papa and Rosie and I do A LOT in the Washington, DC area, especially in Virginia. It’s been special. At the same time, I have also explored Washington, DC with my friends and even family a bit, too. I have EVEN gone on solo adventures in Washington, DC and Virginia and even Maryland, too. Being within a 90 minute travel time radius of SO many cool towns, a major city, a national park, several state parks, and much more is something that I haven’t and will never take for granted. It’s all been fun and I love every minute that I get to spend exploring the vast array of things to do in the Washington, DC area.
On the flip side, I live 4+ hours away from most of my best friends who happen to be from my Raleigh, North Carolina alma mater: Meredith College. They live all across North Carolina. It’s been a major blessing in the fact that I can visit a lot of their North Carolina cities, some of which I hadn’t had the opportunity to see before, including Asheville, North Carolina and Charlotte, North Carolina. I also have some best friends from my childhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Pennington, New Jersey which allows me to explore their gorgeous cities/towns too. Technology has made it such a BLESSING to be able to keep in touch with my best friends from college whom I’ve managed to keep in touch with. I miss my friends and wish I had them at my fingertips the way that I did in college. It sucks that we’re all so far away from one another and it’s never easy.
While it is rough to be living far apart from some of my best friends, I am also trying to love where I live, just like they love where they live. I’ve said this on my Instagram (follow me @_thepinkchickadee) and I’ll say it again: learn to LOVE where you live. I say this all the time and I find it vital for myself to live up to my own words. I elaborate more on being a tourist in my own city here: https://pinkchickadee.com/2022/06/14/why-you-should-play-tourist-in-your-own-city/#/
So, that all being said, here are some reasons why I LOVE living in the Washington, DC area:
- The opportunity to make new connections, whether it be professionally or personally
- ALL the places to go see within an easy day trip’s reach as there’s SO MUCH TO EXPLORE
- I can go to downtown Washington, DC for the day and then fall asleep in my own bed in the suburbs
- Most of my family is here
- Metro – Washington, DC’s transit system is GREAT and super reliable. I feel pretty safe on Metro for the most part, too
- The time that I get to spend and make memories with my Papa and dog Rosie
- SO MUCH diversity which is a beautiful thing!
- The opportunity to see several performances live, including Hamilton on tour, read more about that here: https://pinkchickadee.com/2022/10/15/i-saw-hamilton-at-the-kennedy-center/#/
- The many many many Instagrammable restaurants and cafes and bars
- The free parks, trails, Tidal Basin, gardens, and more to explore
- ALL the free monuments and museums and events, including at the Smithsonian’s National Gallery of Art, read more about my experience here: https://pinkchickadee.com/2022/04/26/the-free-smithsonian-after-hours-parties-you-dont-want-to-miss/
- Being a ~4-5 hour drive from North Carolina and a ~3-4 hour drive from Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania where many of my family and friends live
- SO. MANY. OPPORTUNITIES in ALL aspects of life!
I am also LOVING SCOUT Bags’s Washington, DC print which you can shop here: https://scoutbags.com/collections/20007
With so much to do and see, the Washington, DC area is a pretty GREAT place to live AND falling in love with Washington, DC is so so so easy to do.
XOXO – Katie <3