DC DU'ers: What's it like to live there?

[Taverner]

Seriously

I am thinking about a move...but I really need something really cool to move me from my beloved Bear Flag State

[TZ]

1. Well I like it BUT...

Its not for everyone. Expensive as hell to live here and traffic is a nightmare. On the plus side there is so much to do in the area and even in a recession jobs are fairly available (my company is looking to hire 800 or so people in the immediate future).
What do you consider cool?
Oh--btw, I live outside of DC but near a Dogfish Head Ale Brewery. There are a LOT of microbreweries here as well...

[Shakespeare]

2. I loved every second I lived there.

Four years, from 1996-2000, and lived on Capitol Hill (rent is just as reasonably priced as the suburbs, but you have to look a little more for it). I adore that city.

I lived on the corner of Constitution and 6th St (NE)--about four blocks behind the supreme court building. Walking distance to just about everything, including the subway.

It's a great food town (with as many international residents as it has, that shouldn't come as a surprise), the people are pretty great, there's ALWAYS something going on to feed your brain, and all of the Smithsonian museums are free to visit (but it's worth paying to go to the Corcoran and Phillips Collection). Great place to raise kids, too.

And it's beautiful. Really beautiful.

AND AND just a quick train ride to NYC and Philly, which are cultural wonderlands in their own right.

I'm happy in LA right now, but it certainly wouldn't break my heart to move back to DC.

My favorite microbrew (that we can't get out here, sadly): Foggy Bottom Ale. Delish.