What are some positive things about post 2000 gentrified DC?

[Wes_Tiny_Abe_]

A friend of mine recently told me that instead of always being so negative about post 2000 gentrified Washington DC, to think of some of the positives.

What are some positive things about post 2000 gentrified DC?

So I stood there for a moment and thought real hard about it.

I couldnt think of anything.

So I thought to myself this would be an excellent topic to bring over to the Wasington Wizards board over at Real GM.

I will keep my opinions to myself for the most part.

However if you come with something ridiculous such as "Adults snowball fighting in the middle of U Street" or "Adults wearing No Pants while riding on the subway" or "Peak of the Peak Metrorail Fares" you had better believe I will shut you down.

So here we go...

What are some positive things about post 2000 gentrified DC?

[Wizards2Lottery]

Adult snowball fight in the middle of U street.

[fishercob]

Obviously the first thing that jumps to mind is adults wearing no pants on the subway.

[bulletproof_32]

^Since my first two choices are already taken, I'll go with Peak of the Peak Metrorail Fares.

[verbal8]

irritated posts on the RealGM Wiz board from Wes_Tiny_Abe_

[Wes_Tiny_Abe_]

Yeah those 2 things are great.

I also did those things myself.

I did those things when I was 5 years old.

If I remember correctly, my parent's rent back then (just off of 16th Street NW) was less than $100.00 a month (I could be mistaken though so I will have to check back with them)

So in other words, this current crop of ADULT gentrifiers are paying THOUSANDS of dollars in rent each month to participate in activities I did for FREE as a CHILD.

Gotta love these new so called "urban pioneers" of the new DC.

Keep on reinventing the wheel you guys.

[pancakes3]

irritated posts on the RealGM Wiz board from Wes_Tiny_Abe_

QFT

also,

in the gentrification decade of the 2000's, DC grew in population by about... 10k while the average household size dropped quite significantly from 2.75 to 2 flat so that's a direct result of the condominium construction and the yuppies that reside in them.

chinatown, though still not "nice" is a lot better than before.

they built some nifty new museums like the newseum, holocaust museum, and the WWII memorial.

sparked the nationwide cupcake craze?

ok, so it's not MUCH better, but i'd argue it's not noticeably worse either.

[REDardWIZskin]

I would have thought that more diversity would have lead to better cultural understanding among residents (at least a little bit) but the judging by the last mayoral election/Rhee saga the opposite seems to have happened.

I love the Lobster Truck tho!!!!

[Rafael122]

I can go out after the sun sets. I was raised on Newton Street, to my left would be 14th street and to my right would be 16th street. I saw some **** when I was a kid, people doing drugs right in front of you, people having sex on stairs. Some dude got shot in front of my apartment building once. There was a drive by about 10 years ago.

Say what you will about the yuppies, no pants, snowball fights on the Mall, but I think we could all agree that we would never want to see the city the way it was during the Barry years. The hell with grit, the hell with the mean streets, I feared for my life every time I went to school. The city is safer, still a little violent, but safer.

[pineappleheadindc]

I really like all of the yuppies.

Thousands and thousands of outsider yuppies.

[bulletproof_32]

Starbucks and CVS stores on every corner.

[Wes_Tiny_Abe_]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqkdKZHky2g[/youtube]

I completely forgot about the $20 cupcakes.

We also must not forget about the vibrant and exciting nightlife they have brought with them.

DC and its nightlife scene was completely dead until they arrived.

Nightlife in DC was nowhere near as exciting and vibrant back then as it is now.

The 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and the 1990s decades were all just a drop in the bucket compared to the 2000s decade.

[cwb3]

Positives:
1) Chinatown / Penn Quarter now thriving and hopping
2) New baseball team / stadium, nice for baseball fan expats like me, also promise of waterfront development
3) Neighborhoods like Brightwood and Petworth now mixed race residential neighborhoods. Really nice brownstones and row houses brought back up to shape. Also some 'hidden gem' resturants popping up in and around these neighborhoods, even along Georgia avenue.

Negatives:
Nightclubs / danceclubs once around waterfront now pushed way up on NY avenue and other woebegon neighborhoods
Neighborhoods like Capitol Hill, Columbia Heights now totally unaffordable
Can't get a cheap haircut outside of a DOD facility!

[DCZards]

We also must not forget about the vibrant and exciting nightlife they have brought with them.

DC and its nightlife scene was completely dead until they arrived.

Nightlife in DC was nowhere near as exciting and vibrant back then as it is now.

The 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and the 1990s decades were all just a drop in the bucket compared to the 2000s decade.

Not true! DC has always had happening nightlife...even in those decades you mentioned. You just have to know where to find it.

[Induveca]

My favorite part of it is the transients upsetting people like Wes_Tiny_Abe. He's the poster boy of why infusing a once downtrodden/bankrupt city with outside financing and an educated population is a good thing.

[Wes_Tiny_Abe_]

We also must not forget about the vibrant and exciting nightlife they have brought with them.

DC and its nightlife scene was completely dead until they arrived.

Nightlife in DC was nowhere near as exciting and vibrant back then as it is now.

The 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and the 1990s decades were all just a drop in the bucket compared to the 2000s decade.

Not true! DC has always had happening nightlife...even in those decades you mentioned. You just have to know where to find it.

Did you even watch the video I posted?

I can only imagine what it would be like to be part of such a unique and thriving scene such as the one featured in that video.

[daSwami]

con: it's more difficult to score crack and hookers on 14th street.

[jimij]

con: it's more difficult to score crack and hookers on 14th street.

I think Blatche would disagree with the latter.....

[BigA]

con: it's more difficult to score crack and hookers on 14th street.

I think Blatche would disagree with the latter.....

Nuh-uh. Blatche scored a cop.

[Wes_Tiny_Abe_]

My favorite part of it is the transients upsetting people like Wes_Tiny_Abe. He's the poster boy of why infusing a once downtrodden/bankrupt city with outside financing and an educated population is a good thing.

Not true at all.

A friend of mine who works with the elderly has many WHITE DC NATIVES under his care.

Many of them relocated to the Northern Virginia suburbs decades ago but were all born and raised in Washington DC and are graduates of George Washington and Georgetown University.

My friend told me they were all watching the news on the day of the NO PANTS SUBWAY RIDE and they all voiced their disgust toward the event and also toward the people who were taking part in it.

One of the elderly ladies even asked my friend... "What is the point of all of this foolishness?"

So I told him to tell her...

They are attention seekers. They seek out attention as a reward for the high rents they are all paying. They view DC and other cities as being one huge gigantic theme park. A theme park in which ugly glass condos and chain stores were built to accommodate and cater to their every need. They desperately want to be urban and will all pay top dollar for that label. They desperately want to be noticed. They want everybody out there to know that they are urban and are bringing fun and excitement back to urban areas. Basically they are the reason why our once great cities have become overpriced, boring and caricatures of what they once were. The very definition and essence of Pussification. Posers is what they are.