I've lived in DC for nearly five years and I run a software company here. Here are my thoughts:
1. The quality of life here is very high. I believe this is probably one of the best places in the US for young professionals (its reputation hasn't caught up with it yet).
* We have a strong bike sharing program and decent biking infrastructure. I'm not a biker and I use this most days now.
* I recently got rid of my car. I simply didn't need it. I can walk in four directions to neighborhoods with great restaurants. I also have several grocery stores within walking distance.
* The North West part of the city is very clean.
* I don't own a car. So long as I live here--I will not need a car.
* When I want to go running, Rock Creek Park is nearby. Same for the National Mall. If I want to go Kayaking on the Potomac, it's a longer walk, but I can hit a Dept. of Parks and Recreation boathouse and get a kayak.
* DC has a short-ish winter. We get one and it gets cold. Some days we get snow the city doesn't know what to do with. Overall though, January and February are the worst of it. Sometimes we get hints of Spring in March. April, Spring is usually here full bore. Spring and Fall here are beautiful. I'm from MI and I lived in Syracuse, NY. I judge weather through this lens.
2. DC is very expensive. I incorporated in DC and I suspect the city took a cue from the Spanish government in terms of forms and prerequisite forms and licenses one must acquire to start a business. They claim they're pro-startup. I don't see it. I just see a bureaucracy that nickels and dimes small businesses. Taxes are high too.
3. For my sector (cyber security) and the types of customers I have; DC is the perfect home base. I'm close to my customers and potential strategic partners. We even have a cyber security related accelerator in Northern Virginia. I see the concentration of folks and businesses in my industry as a big plus.
4. I travel a lot for my business. If I need to go to NYC--I take the Accela and I'm there in three hours. If I need to get into the suburbs of MD, I use the MARC train. If I need to fly, I have three airports to choose from. The closest airport (Reagan) is a 15-20 minute cab ride.
5. We have had a massive growth of startup and coworking spaces in the past two years. I don't know where they all came from--but it's insane. If you're looking for semi-affordable office space co-located around other startups--you'll find something here, probably walking distance from where you live.
6. DC benefits from a flood of ambitious folks who want to change the world and start their career here. When I moved here, I expected a scene of lawyers, lobbyists, politicians, and their hanger-ons. It's not like that at all here. This is a very ambitious city with people who work very hard to make things happen. I like its energy and this is probably where I will stay.
Im a 29 year old. Moved to DC 5 years ago and if your job doesn't pay well, you won't have the means to buy a house. Housing is the biggest downfall here. They are just vastly too expensive.
My reply (I've lived in and next to DC for 8 years):
I like a lot about DC, but my thoughts on why I'm moving away within a year:
Vastly inflated real estate prices. Silicon Valley prices but with god-awful weather. (Look here http://weather-explorer.com/compare?USAF=745090&WBAN=23244&U...)
The house price to median annual income exceeds a factor of 5 in any neighborhood without an hour plus commute.
The coolest place to live is DC, but it has an AWFUL, CORRUPT, INCOMPETENT city government and horrifically bad public schools. Violent crime is a problem too, but the residents don't like to admit it. My good friend was shot in the back walking through his neighborhood. He didn't die, so it didn't even make the news. The police, naturally, never caught the perpetrator. He is currently walking around DC and likely feeling very empowered to commit more violence. My other buddy has been mugged 3 times at gunpoint. He moved to Maryland. My brother's wife was punched in the face and had her purse snatched. As she lay on the ground sobbing, the local racist asshole kids crowded around her laughing and calling her a "stupid white bitch." She had a broken jaw and it took 15 minutes for someone to actually help. This was the "up and coming" neighborhood of Columbia Heights.
The suburbs here are AWFUL. Overpriced, congested on all days, even weekends. The culture in the suburbs is not like in other places I've lived. Unlike in the city of DC, the people in the suburbs here are rude and keep to themselves. Its a notoriously hard place to meet people. Perhaps they are all angry and miserable because of the traffic, which is horrific. Expect an hour plus commute each way.
Or you can take the Metro. The Metro is awesome, until you factor in the fact that the union here prioritizes employees benefits and pay over the integrity of the system. I won't even go into how this contributes to the decay of the infrastructure, but trust me when I say that if you bring a person in a wheelchair to DC, do not count on any elevator at the metro stations actually being operational. Also, expect significant delays one day out of 5.
Your developers will be constantly being tempted with high-paying job offers by government consulting gigs. Due to the extremely high cost of living, they might take it. The fact that these jobs are awful, mind-numbing bullshit with strict 9 to 5 schedules doesn't mean anything when they have a kid on the way and can't afford the rent in Arlington.
That being said, I do love the tech community here. It is my refuge. The only downfall is you run into a lot of so-called developers who are just .NET recipe corporate drones who can't do FizzBuzz when you interview them. But then you meet the brilliant amazing but bored kid leaving a consulting firm.... and all is salvaged.... But I can't handle the rest of it. I'm done.
1. The quality of life here is very high. I believe this is probably one of the best places in the US for young professionals (its reputation hasn't caught up with it yet).
* We have a strong bike sharing program and decent biking infrastructure. I'm not a biker and I use this most days now.
* I recently got rid of my car. I simply didn't need it. I can walk in four directions to neighborhoods with great restaurants. I also have several grocery stores within walking distance.
* The North West part of the city is very clean.
* I don't own a car. So long as I live here--I will not need a car.
* When I want to go running, Rock Creek Park is nearby. Same for the National Mall. If I want to go Kayaking on the Potomac, it's a longer walk, but I can hit a Dept. of Parks and Recreation boathouse and get a kayak.
* DC has a short-ish winter. We get one and it gets cold. Some days we get snow the city doesn't know what to do with. Overall though, January and February are the worst of it. Sometimes we get hints of Spring in March. April, Spring is usually here full bore. Spring and Fall here are beautiful. I'm from MI and I lived in Syracuse, NY. I judge weather through this lens.
2. DC is very expensive. I incorporated in DC and I suspect the city took a cue from the Spanish government in terms of forms and prerequisite forms and licenses one must acquire to start a business. They claim they're pro-startup. I don't see it. I just see a bureaucracy that nickels and dimes small businesses. Taxes are high too.
3. For my sector (cyber security) and the types of customers I have; DC is the perfect home base. I'm close to my customers and potential strategic partners. We even have a cyber security related accelerator in Northern Virginia. I see the concentration of folks and businesses in my industry as a big plus.
4. I travel a lot for my business. If I need to go to NYC--I take the Accela and I'm there in three hours. If I need to get into the suburbs of MD, I use the MARC train. If I need to fly, I have three airports to choose from. The closest airport (Reagan) is a 15-20 minute cab ride.
5. We have had a massive growth of startup and coworking spaces in the past two years. I don't know where they all came from--but it's insane. If you're looking for semi-affordable office space co-located around other startups--you'll find something here, probably walking distance from where you live.
6. DC benefits from a flood of ambitious folks who want to change the world and start their career here. When I moved here, I expected a scene of lawyers, lobbyists, politicians, and their hanger-ons. It's not like that at all here. This is a very ambitious city with people who work very hard to make things happen. I like its energy and this is probably where I will stay.