It’s safe to say people who live in DC are a bit strange. But there’s nothing with having a few quirks and Washingtonian’s quirks are quite lovable. Here are 11 strange habits that every Washingtonian has and defends!
1. Ask "So what do you do?"
It’s the famous DC question and we usually ask it within the first few minutes of meeting someone. We don’t do it to be rude but the majority of people come to DC for a job or career so asking about our jobs is a natural ice breaker.
2. Ask "But where are you originally from?"
After we’ve asked what you do for a living, we ask where you are from, almost immediately. Because in DC almost everyone is a transplant.
3. Excuse long commutes
Whether it’s sitting in traffic for hours to switching to three different metro trains and a bus, we’re used to commuting in DC. It doesn’t even bother us too much when we think about the amount of time we spend in transit.
4. Support all the food trends
Whether it’s brunch, tapas or ramen, people in DC are all about food trends. We eagerly follow them and have no problem making reservations weeks in advance or waiting in line to try them.
5. Complain about going out of DC
Even if it’s just to Arlington or Silver Spring, we don’t love having to leave the District. And we are always trying to convince our suburban friends to come into the city to visit us.
6. Name drop
DC is a name dropping city. Except most of the names are politicians or diplomats and people who are not from DC or don’t follow politics don’t usually get it when we name drop. That doesn’t stop us.
7. Dress well
DC is a well dressed city. You won’t find many people out and about at restaurants in their yoga pants. We are experts at keeping business casual alive.
8. Park in no parking zones
Yes, we know the sign says 20 minute parking. Yes, we know we will be there longer than 20 minutes but with the limited amount of parking in this city and the excessive amount of tourists, we are going to grab any place we can get.
9. Respect Metro etiquette
Unspoken Metro etiquette is a big deal in the city. We know to stand on the right and walk on the left. We don’t eat or drink on the Metro and we keep our conversations quiet (or non-existent).
10. Supporting our local sports teams
They break our hearts every year but we will never ever stop loving our sports team. And every year at the beginning of the season we will carry the absurd belief that this year we will be better.
11. Love DC, no matter what.
Even with all it’s problems, we will always defend DC to those who speak out against it or dislike it. Because at the end of the day, it’s home.
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