Washington DC/Maryland/Virginia your experiences ?

[ExpandMindset]

The Peter Principle

The Peter Principle is stated in chapter 1 of the book with the same title: "In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence".

[Asia Outback]

I would be curious to know how many posters here live far from the city or burbs. At one time of course, the population was rural. Now the USA is highly urbanized and becoming more so. For those of you who have not experienced it, there are still places in the USA where people rarely lock their doors. Places were approaching cars (On gravel roads!) stop as they approach and chat for a minute, or at least slow and give a wave. There are towns where there is no homelessness. Sure there are folks who do not have their own home at some time- friends or family just put them up. Its no big deal. There are places where the neighbor brings over a box of home grown tomatoes while he is coming over to help you put a new clutch in your truck. There are still, places of the heart to be found, and it may be that going back to find what was lost is the gate to the road forward.

I have been such places this week- places in the highlands of the Southwest where a man will plow the snow from his neighbors drive just because, and take in Mrs. Elliot's mail for her because she is not getting around too well these days.

It is sometimes with melancholy notes that I see such places. Perhaps I would have been happy living in such a place- it is the "what if", the road not taken. A restless soul drove me out and away. Finally it seems my storm-tossed soul seems to have found a rest in the Philippines, in Mindanao. It really has become home to me, but sitting here tonight watching the neighbor's car wind up the drive along the pines, I wonder what I missed here that might have been. It's a long ways from Mindanao to a small town in northern Arizona, and perhaps the two places are nothing I can ever reconcile.

Jake

[TRADER1972]

White America has completely privatized itself -- people have gone inside to their private spaces and hooked themselves up to machines. It is a dying culture, if ever there was one.

How true! I live in a nice middle class almost all white neigborhood and have lived here over three years now and NOBODY knows who their neighbors are!

Everybody hides in their houses and doesn't talk to anyone. Very anti-social behavior and closed off to the idea of being friendly to their neighbors.

Welcome to life in modern day America!

Beware though. In the white areas, let some uptight, nosy, old white ass bitch look out the window and see a black male in the neighborhood, and immediately shes calling the cops. I friggin hate those uptight nosy ass bitches!

[TRADER1972]

I was born in DC and raised in Northern Virginia, in a bedroom community near the Pentagon. The area was not bad and very livable up until the early 80s, then the population just exploded, it got very crowded, expensive and people got very uptight. I spent most of my teen years trying to figure out how to get out of the DC area, since I hate the mentality there. The DC area has what I call the "beltway mentality". The beltway is the ring road around DC and the mentality I speak of is the "we're number 1"/"the world can't function without us"/"we're the center of the universe" mentality. My the rest of my family falls for that BS hook, line, and sinker. Needless to say, they think I'm a freak for not liking it there.

Yes, there are benefits to living in the DC area: low unemployment and rare gaps between employment. But it comes at a price. In DC, you do 2 things: work like a maniac (16-18 hours/day is typical, unless you're a govvie, who work 9-5 and that's it) and sit in traffic (3-4 hours/day is typical). After LA, it's the worst traffic in the country, by far. You get so caught up in a never ending rat-race of work and commute that literally months fly by and you can't remember what you accomplished, let alone if you did anything fun (not usually). Just to give you an idea how much I loathe living there: I've been unemployed for 15 months (I was never unemployed in DC in 20 years), and my family is begging me and my family to come live in DC again, but we refuse. I'd rather sell everything and move overseas, than live in DC again. It wasn't always like this, but it has become an area with no soul, no nightlife, the people are ice cold and calculating and everyone thinks they're "important". I learned early on, that in DC, only about 10% of the people actually have any real power; the rest of the people are just trying to ride on their coattails and get rich or impress their friends. It's a dead-end existence there. Vacation in DC is great (Smithsonian, monuments, etc.), but you need no more than a week there to see all you need to see. Just don't go during the summer: extreme heat and humidity.

Red Dog, you nailed it about the DC area. My favorite quote about the area is this:

"No other part of the country has ever embraced rudeness as a sign of strength the way DC/noVA does."



http://www.city-data.com/forum/northern ... -nova.html

[TRADER1972]

[

Yeah, I remember Fort Hunt, but I went to West Springfield...the worst football team in the area. I spent most of my time doing IT contracting to the military, but after my lay-off in 2009, I doubt I'll be able to get back into the field. We'll see what I can dream up, while living in Italy come this spring.

Yeah, but West Springfield was pretty damn good in basketball, maybe a little before your time. In 1974 they had a team that played Moses Malone a one-point game in the state championship, and W.S. didn't start anybody over 6-2. One of the most enjoyable teams to watch I've ever seen.

West Springfield had the most obnoxious players and parents when I played ball against them. We lost a playoff game by a point or 2 about 25 years ago and I swear the refs were bought off. They called 3 times the number of fouls on my team than WS. The parents were so obnoxious in the bleachers after their win that I gave them the finger while I was on center court. Damn I am glad I did not hold that back. My best friends father told me later that I made his day when I flipped them off.

[TRADER1972]

So true GS. How can people spout off that BS that merit matters at work? Sucks ups, idiots and other useless ones are chosen at the expense of hardworking, intelligent, experienced, etc.

[TRADER1972]

I would be curious to know how many posters here live far from the city or burbs. At one time of course, the population was rural. Now the USA is highly urbanized and becoming more so. For those of you who have not experienced it, there are still places in the USA where people rarely lock their doors. Places were approaching cars (On gravel roads!) stop as they approach and chat for a minute, or at least slow and give a wave. There are towns where there is no homelessness. Sure there are folks who do not have their own home at some time- friends or family just put them up. Its no big deal. There are places where the neighbor brings over a box of home grown tomatoes while he is coming over to help you put a new clutch in your truck. There are still, places of the heart to be found, and it may be that going back to find what was lost is the gate to the road forward.

I have been such places this week- places in the highlands of the Southwest where a man will plow the snow from his neighbors drive just because, and take in Mrs. Elliot's mail for her because she is not getting around too well these days.

It is sometimes with melancholy notes that I see such places. Perhaps I would have been happy living in such a place- it is the "what if", the road not taken. A restless soul drove me out and away. Finally it seems my storm-tossed soul seems to have found a rest in the Philippines, in Mindanao. It really has become home to me, but sitting here tonight watching the neighbor's car wind up the drive along the pines, I wonder what I missed here that might have been. It's a long ways from Mindanao to a small town in northern Arizona, and perhaps the two places are nothing I can ever reconcile.

Jake

I have lived in a small town 2 years and small city 3 years for the last 5 years. Some of what you say is true, but in this area, everyone is from here so an outsider who knows no one has almost no chance to get anywhere. At least in a metro area there are enough jobs where you can be evaluated on qualifications at least some or most of the time. This is why I call this area backwards.

The other thing about places like this is even though some people are very nice and not assholes like metro area, still people are generally blissfully ignorant of any life or anything going on outside the US which is pathetic to me.

And too many people want to live in the old days and not adapt to the 21st century. Basically America has got too many dammed stupid, ignorant people and most are brainwashed about how great the US is, especially so the older they are.

[TRADER1972]

Just heard on the news that Virginia has the most vanity plates of any state.

Doesn't surprise me.