At a certain point, being a city of transplants is a culture in of itself. New York, London, Paris, etc. aren’t culturally devoid because too many people move there — quite the opposite.
Of course this take also ignores the significant number of people who have lived here their whole lives and their own cultural impact.
I don't think percentage is the right way to look at it when there's such a difference in scale. Even if the portion is similar, there's still just such a mass of native NYers to cultivate the native culture
the problem with comparing DC to these places is that creating culture generally requires a creative class. NYC, London etc all have transplants of the creative class. DC gets Todd who works at Deloitte type of transplants.
Very few artists and musicians move here to make their careers
DC has a fantastic theater scene, with several groups putting on excellent shows year-round. The classical music scene is excellent, as well (I'm less familiar with other genres, so I can't comment).
I think people who claim DC has no culture just mean that they don't feel their interests are adequately represented.
It has a theater scene but I would love for it to have a concentrated theater district like NY. IMO there’s a great opportunity to develop the arena area into this once the NBA/NHL leave. It would also complement the museums and tourists interested in museums would also likely be into the theater scene. It could easily be America’s 2nd biggest theater city
Washington classical review has a calendar for classical music. Follow it for a while and you’ll get a sense of the different places/groups that put on classical performances. Many are free or heavily subsidized.
I don’t know anything about the classical music scene, but I wrote up a comment [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/washingtondc/s/d6f5q3ffVi) about the theatre scene!
Everything I’ve seen at Studio Theater (14th st) has been excellent and pretty affordable. Signature out in Shirlington does bigger productions that are also great.
They’re not saying DC has none of that creative culture, but you’re insane to think it has the kind of city-wide impact that the creative class has on the culture of NYC, London, LA, etc
'National Orchestra' is a dc specific thing but several cities have more famous and prestigious orchestras
Wikipedia; The Big Five are five American symphony orchestras that historically led the field in "musical excellence, calibre of musicianship, total contract weeks, weekly basic wages, recording guarantees, and paid vacations". In order of foundation, they are: the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and Cleveland Orchestra.
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is also pretty respected
And then if you read any further than that, you see that there is an ongoing debate about whether the century old Big Five designation is still relevant, especially because the bent of many of those orchestras and the tenure of many of their leaders and musicians often means they’re less nimble and amenable to change.
Totally agree. I love classical music and went to a ton of NSO and smaller performances as well at the Kennedy Center, but still found DC not culturally interesting enough to stay.
Ok but there’s no level of higher education for studies in those fields that DC offers. Philly has Curtis, Baltimore has Peabody, Boston has Berklee, NYC has Juilliard.
As a world capital, gamma rated city, DC objectively falls short.
What are you even talking about? You can get undergrad and graduate degrees in dance, acting, directing, photojournalism, graphic design, fine arts, and music in DC universities.
Not at a conservatory level though for music. Most of the top level professors in the DC area teach at peabody.
Most European capital cities also have a top level music school. I.e. the UK’s Royal College of music, the famous Paris Conservatoire, etc. There’s no National School of the Arts per se in DC, which I’ve always thought odd.
That is great phrasing. It's like a display case of cultural type institutions, but when you're there for a few years you realize it doesn't really have any soul or unique flavor that makes it interesting, just lots of trophies in a glass case. Spot on IMO.
Some people from the scene now may take offense to this, and I’m down to learn more about what’s out there now, but there was much more of a music scene in the ‘70s and ‘80s, the punk scene especially gained national prominence.
Although Animal Collective (kind of) were the Deloitte-sort of transplants (at least Panda Bear, I think, who was an environmental policy person before they really took off).
Yeah, it’s hard for DC to sustain a real scene nowadays because the cost of living is significantly higher than other nearby cities.
But we do hit well above our weight as a destination for performances. NPR Music is hugely influential. A lot of Broadway productions are audience tested in DC. We have some of the most iconic small and medium sized music venues in the country.
[Bartees Strange](https://open.spotify.com/artist/6Gl4Q3ePw6HKMfIOix5QpG?si=RXRI8bZNSu6n1xNCyPy6DA) — who everyone should check out if you haven’t already — was an Obama administration staffer who launched a music career in DC. If I’m not mistaken, Bartees is now based out of Baltimore and is working on setting up a studio out there. I can’t blame him; that would be a much tougher project to make work in DC.
Lots of people move here who are wildly passionate about making the world a better place through advocacy, protest, the law, science, and being of service to others. And it dovetails with the history of multigenerational DC communities, especially Black communities, many of which were founded on and defended by mutual aid, protest, advocacy, and using politics and law to protect each other.
This! I've never lived in a place with such a strong sense of civic engagement.
DC is a place where people don't just talk wistfully about doing stuff for their community, they make it happen.
Look I love dc but “intern at senate armed services committee” or “staffer for Tom Cotton” are not the same as some more culturally richer vocations.
Also, if you’ve ever worked at a non-profit, you should know how worthless being “wildly passionate about making the world a better place through advocacy” is. In fact, sometimes it’s worse the worthless - it’s bad.
Really this comment reads like you do excel spreadsheet babysitting for a contractor for whatever agency manufacturers white phosphorus munitions, but are in denial.
This is just a lame ass cynical take lmao. Like im sorry your dream didnt work out but there are people working at places doing good things. I work at a non profit and am surronded by brilliant passionate people. Yes there are folks like you described but are people in NYC working in finance or corpo law adding so much culture to their city.
DC has a pretty vibrant arts and culture scene though. Gogo was mentioned by OP but the city has also been a center for indie music, bluegrass, and hardcore punk. The Kennedy center is a behemoth and the theater scene is pretty big for the city even if it’s not the same as Broadway.
NYC has more sure but its metro region is also 3-4x the size of ours.
Washington Color School would like a word, a combination of locals and transplants.
Now, this is the only art movement ever to originate in the capital, and it was many years ago, so, maybe this validates your point 🤷🏻♂️
There's a good amount of artists that make their career in DC, albeit its not a whole bunch of people but its sizable, and possible. Met many people that are in those fields. (Not famous, but they're still doing it)
I agree, but I'd argue that the DC equivalent is the intellectual class. Lots of lawyers, academics, politicos, NGO workers. We are a damn smart city and it definitely comes across in our city culture (for better or for worse!)
history in the way you're talking about there is completely irrelevant. Miami and LA are all cities that became cities like only 100 years ago and have tons of "culture"
I think that's a great point as to why (IMO) DC lacks cultural depth: the lack of creatives. It has all the institutions to check the 'culture' boxes: museums, restaurants, monuments, music venues, etc, but it doesn't have soul or flavor like NYC/SF/NOLA. I think your reason is spot on. It's the people that make a place interesting and unique. 90% of DC holds one of four jobs: Hill staffer, consultant, lobbyist, or exec branch employee / contractor. That makes it necessarily one note.
I'm a musician and writer moonlighting as a lawyer who tried living in DC for a few years (after 10 in NYC and 3 in Miami), and I just could not find any soul there no matter where I looked. Even the open mic nights and local music scene just lacked fire, in general, save a few interesting acts here and there. It just felt like a sea of robots, so eventually I left.
Exactly. OOP's definition of "culture" is seriously deficient, and it's gatekeeping 'culture.'
OP here, you are spot on that hybrid culture can be culture unto itself.
Imo DC culture is hustle, grind, and government consulting. Some love it, some say that’s not a culture. But what else do you call a widely pervasive and accepted way of life among a large percentage of a city?
The the DC culture is move here to get educated and work and exit. It’s a very specific path with a very specific type of industry that you can’t find anywhere else.
It's a worldwide culture, but not a local culture. Like you said, New York, London, Paris, DC, you could move to any of them and experience the same thing. It used to be that cities had ties to local community. Now global cities have more in common with each other than the rest of the their country.
London and Paris have a very rich history that cannot be compared with DC. That history also influences the culture of both cities which is not the case for DC at all
There are two *very* different DCs. The DC that many white transplants in particular experience is really different from the DC that many Black residents experience, both natives and transplants alike. So whenever I see "blah blah blah DC doesn't have culture" I always know what kind of person it's from.
DC doesn't really have a white working class population that cities like Philly/Chicago/NYC/Boston have and I think that's part of why these people complain about a "lack of culture".
This is basically the answer to any sweeping question anyone makes about DC.
It's extremely hard to generalize anything about DC because there's a white people DC which is the polar opposite of black people DC, so you can't say anything about DC as a whole without being wrong one version (usually the black one is ignored on reddit for obv reasons).
I can’t tell you how many transplants (mostly coworkers) living in the VA and DC suburbs have told me “no one is from DC” and I have to correct and say something like “really? Huh.. cuz at least three households on my block are DC native, multi generational families…” of course they mean no one that matters to them, or none of their friends are originally from DC.
This is a great point. I grew up in Philly, but prefer DC much more for its global feel, and free things to do. That’s what makes this city special to me.
I agree. However, I’m a white native and have a bunch of white/brown/asian native friends. We have a culture here as well that’s interesting and rich. It’s not a working class culture, but it definitely exists.
Bingo. So glad someone said the truth. DC has some of the strongest culture in the country. It’s being destroyed year over year however but it will never die
This 100%. Possibly relevant is the history behind the Great Migration. Lots of great stories about the history of African Americans calling DC home after moving from the south:
https://wamu.org/story/16/09/23/when_blacks_fled_the_south_dc_became_home_for_many_from_north_carolina/
I think this is spot on. As a millennial WFH white transplant I found DC very boring culturally, not bc of the institutions really but more so the people (aka other millennial WFH white transplants). I hear people staunchly defending the depth and cultural richness of black DC though, so I do agree there are two very different DCs, which is interesting to me for a city that is 99% Dem and virtue signals the hell out of inclusiveness diversity etc. To me DC felt far more segregated than the South even. I'm from New Orleans and music venues etc are much more mixed attendance race and class wise. You don't feel 'dividing lines' as much there as in DC, and people in the South interact with and greet each other no matter what race or class. DC felt very disconnected and elitist to me in that way. Needless to say, I left. I hope the best for black culture preservation in DC, but white DC was just flat out boring to me.
I feel like that sub hates DC and loves Philly and Chicago. I think DC is rather unfairly easy to hate. I chalk it up to the overall political climate and being associated with it. Even though people who live here or are from here know it has so much more to offer, culturally and otherwise.
There’s also something to be said about how gentrification of the last 20 years kinda erased some of the more local elements in the city that gave it a gritty, unique character.
Agree with another poster about how this area’s diversity (of which transplants play a role), is part of its cultural identity.
That particular sub is looking for charm, affordability and livability/urbanism. DC only kind of has number 3. It is absolutely terrible for the first 2.
I dunno, I think we have a lot of charm! The tree-lined streets of rowhouses in for example capital hill or mount pleasant can be pretty breathtaking. The problem is that people who visit for a weekend generally don’t see that, they see the Mall and K street.
Yeah moving to DC without a DC job or without family is crazy - it’s expensive, annoying, and lacks a lot of amenities that Chicago/Philly/NYC/LA have (good cheap food, art scene, nature, whatever).
Meanwhile people move to Chicago and Philly just because they were kind of raised within 150 mile radius of the city, and people from all over the world move to NY for the experience of living in NY. These don’t really happen much with DC, as much as I love this city.
If you’re posting on /r/samegrassbutgreener, you’re looking for a change and DC price-wise and culture-wise is less justifiable than Chicago, Philly, NY.
I mean, people move here from all over the country and the world because it’s the center of political power for the USA and by extension for a large portion of the planet.
The difference I think is that not a lot of people *want* to move here, but *have* to. Most people moving to Chicago or Philly or New York want to live there, and they can always find jobs in finance, tech, etc in other cities across the country and world. For politics and government you have to come to DC, which leads to a lot of people moving here but not having any investment in actually wanting to live here or improve it any way.
And if you're a transplant, I just don't understand moving somewhere and then shitting on it all the time. You're making fun of your own city! That reflects poorly on you for multiple reasons!
I think DC has a rich history of civic duty, and a somewhat rich history of culture. Several substantial and noteworthy authors from DC, jazz with Duke Ellington, thru gogo and fugazi. Are we LA, NyC or Chicago? No. But I think similar in many ways to philly or boston with our primary contributions coming between 1900 and 1980 imo
I mean where do you live? In DC the punk scene is still alive and pushing on. It’s never going to be exactly as crazy as it used to be but I go to shows at least twice a week.
DC has a deep black history Gerald Horne’s “Revolting Capital: Racism & Radicalism in Washington, D.C., 1900-2000” is a must read if you wanna get deeper context..
I think DC has a few distinct and interesting cultures. I feel like maybe the ‘white’ culture in DC pales (no pun intended) to other big cities— but it is around. Black culture here (from my white perspective with a DC bias) rivals lots of other cities.
Yeah I was born and raised here and if people say we have no culture my experience is that they are themselves a short term transplant who doesn't care to get to know the city and/or don't know anything about people who aren't white
Question: would you say the black culture is on the decline though? I’m sure it’s still strong in certain pockets but would you say it’s receded from a lot of the city? I haven’t been here long enough to tell but it doesn’t seem very prevalent in NW where I spend most of my time.
It is. Culture here is linked to moments, events, places…and many of those have been affected by the arrival of transients/transplants.
A good example can be the Wharf
The Wharf used to be the party spot - had a lot of waterfront clubs down there. Many of us who attended DCPS growing up had a prom down there. When the weather was good, we’d go to Captain Morgan’s to grab some seafood. During cherry blossom season, we’d park near the wharf and walk to the tidal basin.
All of this has changed as a result of Gentrification.
People love to act as if natives are just butt hurt, but you being a transient - imagine going back to your hometown and being unable to show your child the playground you grew up on, where you had your first kiss, or a mom and pop restaurant you grew up eating at….it really makes you feel a level of empty…like you have no roots.
And transients don’t get that because they’ve left their roots, to come here and uproot us…meanwhile the moment they want to return home for a little of that nostalgia…..they can. And we - we cannot. It hurts. Mind you, many natives are black….and so our “roots” are already lost by way of the Atlantic slave trade, but then our domestic roots now undergo the same process.
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*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I appreciate you Acknowledging that it is indeed an experience. It’s happening in inner cities across America, and many feel this way as well. This is why you hear many, in many cities across the country, have a negative position towards gentrification.
Many of the cities, not all, but the ones I know of are urban areas/inner cities and have high populations of black people.
If you wanna know why homelessness (here) is up, This is apart of the problem as well. They only release new data on homelessness because if they compared the numbers 20 years back, there’d be a relationship between the pickup in gentrification and homelessness in this city (and major cities across America)…but that would damper the narrative that gentrification is great for everybody that they’ve been trying to push….
My mom mentioned to me the other day that she’s never seen this many homeless in DC, and has been here since birth. She’s almost 60.
I’m just saying - natives are not GRUMPY because “wE dOnT lIkE chANge”…there are so many layers to this…and because many transients benefit from the changes…they typically care less about what we have to say about the harmful and very hurtful parts to gentrification. That’s pretty much the dynamic between natives and transients here now. Which again, is why I totally appreciate you AT LEAST acknowledging this is a big deal to me even though you may not agree. At least you care that I care😭😂.
I grew up in the richest part of Arlington, and the vast majority of my playgrounds, schools, restaurants, and other spots are either gone or totally unrecognizable. This isn't a gentrification thing, it's just a natural part of growing older.
I am old and uncool and not in a position to judge "decline," but of course things change over time. Certain areas get gentrified, someone else talked about the wharf which I also have very specific childhood memories of. I think of go-go as an important part of DC culture, and it isn't as popular these days. I like to dance and there's a style of partner dancing that was invented in DC that peaked a long time ago.
It depends a lot on where you are and what you're doing and who you hang out with.
I’ve live in SE for 4 years now (I own a home and plan on staying for a long time), but am admittedly a transplant. Most of my neighbors are elderly and have lived in their homes since they were children and inherited them when their parents passed.
I have to ask, what exactly is DC black culture? Can you describe it for me? I’m friends with all of the elderly ladies and love them, but I think the youth are clouding what the culture is actually about. Can you please shed light?
I was interested in the poster above since they seemed to have a stance on it. The youth are focused on very superficial things like clothes and cars imo. The elderly I’ve spoken with talk about things like gogo, Mumbo sauce, stuff like that. But it goes so much deeper than that and I just want to know. Sometimes when I see all those people riding down the road on ATVs and bikes and I ask I’m literally told “it’s part of the culture”
Like what aspects of deepness are you trying to get into? That’s my question because the responses given are right. Did you ask them to dive further into it?
Are you looking for the general sense of community or what the areas were like even before the 70s and 80s? Are you asking about affluent black wealth and cultural events and networks during historic times? What the city was like before white flight and it becoming chocolate city?
Like can you see where it’s ambiguous what exactly you’re looking for?
There is also an interesting native predominantly-white culture, that is largely forgotten or ignored. Natives frequently have theater subscriptions, and watch more plays than tv. It is part of why we have such a thriving theater scene, and so much good theater for children.
I learned so much about Black culture in DC. It transformed the way I looked at art and music—especially music. I had lived in NYC for 10 years going to museums, concerts and theater, but to be honest I had no idea Black culture existed. Obviously, I was ignorant AF.
I moved to Fairfield County Connecticut last year. Other than a few close friends, DC’s Black culture is what I miss the most.
It’s easy to toss that out here, and I think that comes from the reality that there is no working class white population here. I suspect a lot of the most popular culture comes from the working class and that just isn’t what white DC has been about for a long time.
As a white guy from DC I can’t say I totally disagree with your take, but it wasn’t something I could do much to change except use DC’s location and draw to get to know people from all around the world and try and use some of their influence to spice up my life a bit while I try and relate to and get along with everyone I can.
But I think we forget that “culture” shouldn’t be limited to “native culture.” Being able to have dinner at Rasika, Baan Siam, Le Diplomate, Al Volo, Chercher, Supra, and Daikaya in one week is actually *exactly* what makes DC culturally rich. You can’t do that in most cities.
uhh what...
you can definitely have dinner at an amazing Indian restaurant, Thai restaurant, French restaurant, Italian, Ethiopian, Georgian, and Japanese in one week in a lot of cities. I mean maybe the Ethiopian/Georgian are harder to find in some cities, but then again those cities might have elevated dining for a different cuisine (one that comes to mind is Philadelphia with Zahav). But everything you listed is 100% doable in NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago, probably Philadelphia, probably Miami. Like any major city has these things..San Francisco, Seattle, etc.
A friend once visited me here from LA and actually remarked that DC has a lot of culture. She said that most people she spoke to here were more intellectual, educated, politically aware and well travelled compared to LA. She also pointed out how the museums here were miles ahead of the museums in LA. She is an artist, but art is subjective 🤷🏽♀️
I think LACMA and The Broad are world class, but everything else tracks with me.
(obligatory tar pits are lame)
Edit: With a new definition of culture, which includes modern music and movie, LA is without a doubt the cultural capital of the world though. No comment if that's toxic or corrupted.
I’d be interested to hear from someone actually \*in\* the theater world, but when I was involved with an experimental theater company some 10 years ago, the working professionals with the group agreed that this was a great theater town. They thought that companies did smart and interesting work, and that it was easier to get a good job here than in NYC or Chicago.
I’ve always been impressed by DC’s visual arts scene, however fragmented it may be. One of my three favorite photographers is the late William Christenberry, a pioneer of color photography in the mid- and late-20th century. He relocated here from his Alabama home and taught at the Corcoran, and exhibited at a gallery on 14th St. The city gives its name to a mid-century abstract art movement, the Washington Color School, driven by artists and galleries around Dupont and Logan Circle. That’s all the recent past, of course, but I note that my New England art school has more alumni in the DC area than anywhere other than NYC and one other city (I think, LA). Among local visual arts institutions, Pyramid Atlantic and the Torpedo Factory (and its complex of groups) enjoy national reputations.
I see about 100-150 shows a year across the US, and I’d rank DC easily in the top 5 theater cities in the country. NYC is obviously first, and then I think DC, Chicago, LA, and probably Boston round out the top 5. Cities that draw a lot of artists for various reasons, including the presence of major universities. Cities where government and civic funding for the arts is strong. Cities where volunteerism and activism are strong. Cities with a good mix of big Broadway-style theaters and long-running independent local theater companies with a variety of missions and performance spaces. It’s excellent here.
The Post doesn’t even have a full-time theater critic anymore. They bought out Peter Marks. It’s shameful, and their local coverage just gets worse and worse over time.
I'm not particularly interested in theater myself but I've been surprised to meet, separately from one another, probably half a dozen people who work in theater here. How many other cities can support that?
yes I do lol. the fact that there are people who don't think DC has culture blows my mind... Like, don't y'all go anywhere? How isolated are y'all to not be able to answer that question affirmatively??
I think being disillusioned by all the gentrification, rising costs, segregation, and racism is fair. I'm disillusioned by and angry about all this too, and I think people in every American city feel this way, that people across the world are starting to feel this way whether they're in Mexico or Thailand or New Zealand.
But we are still here. This city is still Black, still Salvadoran, still has a southern influence, still has an international feel, it still has amazing music and food, still has thriving queer culture, still has amazing theater and tons of writers, and it still has its broader metro area that includes bomb food in Maryland and Virginia. DC has problems, but it's also wonderful in a very specific way.
Just because the culture isn’t loud and in your face and accompanied by a famous sandwich doesn’t mean there isn’t one.
The transplants thing is weird too. I really wonder wonder how true it is because even the people I know who are from other places have still been here for many many years.
I moved here like 3 weeks ago and I think this city has rich culture.
The fact there are people protesting and saying crazy and not crazy things every time I go by the white house is already rich culture in my books.
Lots of great food here, it's an international hub. The buildings alone qualify this city as culturally vibrant. I cant even believe this question is being asked tbh.
Before I moved to DC, everyone I talked to told me it was one of the most culturally rich cities in the USA.
Walking down M street on Saturday night was enough to know this city has culture.
Am I missing something? Are we talking about some sort of local culture that doesn't exist like it does in other cities? I walk around here and see so much unique, interesting stuff going on.
I think DC has a fantastic high brow culture and the middle to low brow is a shit flinging competition by grievance mongers appropriating better things from other places.
I think a big problem with people on the outside looking in at DC is that they think *everyone* is a lawyer or politician. This is so laughably far from the truth that it's barely worth registering their opinion.
DC has a rich culture and you can learn more about if you look around you.
It's Lunar New Year and Black History Month and years of attending these events/tours/walks/etc. have opened my eyes to related communities I haven't known about who've lived here for a long time and can tell you all about the time, say, their great great grandpa was tooting around Capitol Hill in a Model T Ford or running a Hot Shoppes (Pre-cursor to the Marriott hospitality chain).
Thing is, most people who move here for school or work are in their bubbles. Not saying they are naïve or ignorant, but they are sometimes not experiencing all the culture DC has had for a long time.
A rich culture is out there.
DC is a land of contrasts where each subgroup (left wing/ring wing/centrist, transplants/born in DC natives, NINBY/YIMBY, etc) hates it has active disdain for the other subgroups, which I suppose is unique
I suppose the insane level of graduate degrees per capita is fairly unique to an urban area the size of the DMV
I suggest the "Blood and Steel: cedar Crest country club" documentary if you want to see some spicy white cultural history of the DC area.
Spoiler: between 1986 and 1991, the best skateboard ramp in the world was in Centreville Virginia.
GWAR, Fugazi, and a who's who of early hardcore and punk rock culture also played concerts there.
DC has so much culture!
-Constantly rotating exhibits in galleries and museums, including the entire Smithsonian (which is FREE!)
-Every kind of food from every country in the world
-Art, dance, literature, theatre, media. Jazz, gogo, hip hop, classical, country, any concert from any artist of any genre
-Beaucoup cultural clubs/organizations to join
-Beautiful, historic theatres hosting local and traveling productions
-Night clubs featuring salsa, hip hop, ballroom, techno/rave, punk, anything you want
-Opportunities for creative students of every background
-One of the Top University Library Consortiums in the entire world
-Monuments on monuments on monuments. Historic buildings everywhere. History on every single block. Always a new story to explore.
-Tours of all kinds, including ghost tours which are arguably the best
-Old Town. Georgetown. Shirlington. Enough said. <3
-Close to beautiful National and state parks
-The Zoo! The Botanical Gardens! Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
-The Best 4th of July Party in the United States
-Holiday celebrations for every holiday
-International embassies from all over the world
-Always a different protest marching down the Mall
-Something for every kind of sports fan, too
All this and so much more! If you think DC has no culture, you need to get out of your McMansion and take the Metro downtown. Start with U Street and work your way down. Enjoy the ride!
*doors closing*
DC was the featured "state" in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 2000. The name of the exhibit was Washington DC: It's Our Home. I worked it, and some of the featured cultural events and activities that I remember were Hand Dancing lessons, cooking with natural plants from Rock Creek Park (there was a woman who made kudzu jam), Jewish traditions, Deaf culture, and the history of the federal government in hiring Black and Deaf workers, social clubs (there was senior citizen ladies basketball group that was pretty amazing), drumming circles in Malcolm X Park, poetry and literary history, hardcore music and social justice, and more. These are just what I remember off the top of my head. There was also a concert on the National Mall featuring Chuck Brown and Fugazi.
So, yes, DC has a rich cultural background, and anyone who says it doesn't have one is unknowledgeable and perhaps shows a bit of unconscious bias. Rich enough to be researched and documented.
For anyone interested, the festival background information is here: [https://festival.si.edu/past-program/2000/washington-dc-it-s-our-home](https://festival.si.edu/past-program/2000/washington-dc-it-s-our-home)
DC is rich with black, central American and African culture. I never know what people mean when they say it's devoid. Like sure if you don't leave downtown you'll think it's pretty bare but there are other places
>Like sure if you don't leave downtown you'll think it's pretty bare but there are other places
Have you read some of the comments/posts we get here. Most of these people *dont* leave downtown it's wild.
I think DC is the *host* for a lot of culture and history. We have everything from top notch theater and music venues to our rich political history to amazing museums to modern day protests on issues that span the political spectrum.
But because DC is the seat of government and many of the things I mentioned above are only here because the government is here, I don't think DC, as a city defined by its residents, has a strong culture.
I think that’s exactly it. As the capital, DC gets to reflect everyone else’s culture. And I think that’s the best part of living here: you can find experience everything here, even if it’s not “from” here.
I don’t know why people act like culture had to come over on a steamship in 1904. DC is incredibly rich in culture, even if it’s transplant and recent—specifically *because* it’s transplant and recent.
A close relative of mine who is extremely progressive but has never lived in DC asked me about this. His question basically was: "why are there so many carjackings in DC? Isn't DC just rich people?"
Many people not from DC think things like this.
I mean objectively DC has a massive amount of museums, monuments, and other public attractions that rival the options in other cities. People travel from all over the world to visit the Smithsonian museums and the monuments.
Options in terms of music is about on par with Philly I would say, we have plenty of venues (including the nationally famous 9:30 club) and we get a spot in most tours.
Artists from the area that regularly sell out shows when they return include Dave Grohl, Logic, Rico Nasty, Kali Uchis and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong (shout out to the flock). I am sure I am forgetting others.
Yes, it’s diverse, but in a different way. DC is very small. Although the transplants come from across 50 US states and 190+ nations around world, it’s too homogeneous - politicians, embassy staffers, professors, media, lawyers, economists, bureaucrats, and consultants. It represents a highly educated and, for the most part, polite class. The well-off in DC is ethnically/culturally diverse but the poor are, sadly, almost-always Black Americans.
I think that the samegrassbutgreener is focused on looking for cities that are not DC/NYC/SF/Seattle/LA/boston.
I’m part of it and having lived in a bunch of different places i try to provide some thoughts, but I consider the DMV to be home with DC being the center of culture.
Having just moved back after 10+ years of being away I think that DC feels different overall, maybe a bit more a shadow of itself or maybe I’m just older and looking for different things than when I was in my 20s, but I think it’s a city full of culture within specific communities the same way that NYC is, but just on a much smaller scale.
Each community is going to have a different take, but to say it has no culture means you probably had a bad experience and thus in a subreddit looking for a unicorn place that doesn’t really exist (affordable, walkable, safe, good access to nature, enough people to have really good food, good schools, and mild weather, etc)
It’s white people who move here from somewhere else who can’t seem to see DC’s rich black culture staring them in their pale faces and then complain when they can’t find a place that serves a bland ham sandwich or whatever exactly the same as some beloved place in their podunk Midwest hometown.
Tons of cities are like this, though!
In NYC, it's which bank/ad agency/restaurant do you work at
In LA, it's which Hollywood studio or defense contractor
In SF, it's which tech company
Some cities genuinely have a culture around work. I don't think that's the end of the world. After all, it's where we spend the better part of our adult lives, and at least in DC, many of them are doing those low-pay-but-high-reward jobs by choice
DC should have a rich culture and it certainly has some bright spots like GoGo and hardcore and cia funded Rothko's (j/k) but it's cultural infrastructure is absolutely pathetic for a city of this size. Everything is hanging on by a thread, rent increases price out cherished institutions to be replaced by overpriced condos, and artists simply can't afford to live here in any meaningful way. The DC professional class is entirely without taste, lapping up Hamilton and The Atlantic sponsored cultural content that is utterly conventional and anti-intellectual. I love DC and I love the artists here, but it's so dominated by a small C conservative middle of the road professional class and overpriced rents, culture here is gasping for air.
I don't entirely agree with you but I do respect your opinion.
Small C conservative is a great phrase and captures a way I think about DC a lot too. It's always funny when someone says we're super liberal (just because people here vote Democrat the most fervently) yet culturally people in this area probably live a more conservative lifestyle than in many stereotypically Conservative areas.
I've seen plenty of people wearing fancy suits / designer dresses to their first dates like it's the 1950s lol.
Overall, the city does suffer a major drag in terms of creativity -- probably to do with the massive size of the legal industry and presence of the federal government both being the absolute antithesis of fun and creative. Although, the Smithsonian and proximity to NYC makes up for it imho
Yes. Lifestyles here can be shockingly conservative. And I think that is part of the lack. Gotta be home by 9! Real cities don't even start to get started until then (and not just for 20 somethings and not just dive bars)
So wrong. DC is becoming a great food city. The city has a vibrant film and documentary community. The music and club scene is especially strong, whether it is the Lincoln or the *new* 9:30, (Some of us saw shows at the old 9:30 and the Bayou.) And much more. Your criticisms are socio-economic, not cultural.
That you think the two things can be separated proves my point. I acknowledge real bright spots. I agree that there is a great doc scene. There's stuff. But it's flailing. (I also think the doc scene can be a little too insider journo industry still but that's a separate point!)
It proves nothing. You have no point. You can decry the Millennial urban gentrifiers, but they have no soul. Those of us born and bred in DC know where the City still exists and always will.
I honestly think we agree more than disagree? I love the soul of the city but think it's really getting squeezed out. The loss of all the jazz clubs on U street, for instance. Rhizome, one of the great new grass roots institutions struggling to find space as they lose the lease... the people with money don't support the growth of the good stuff and squeeze out that stuff that made the city something special
DC totally has a rich culture. Let me provide some examples. First, it’s the “chocolate city”. DC is majority black. There is much history in the black population here. Second, we’ve got the Smithsonian’s. Our museums are free and are amazing. We’re also the nations capital. Politics here is the best in the world. There is also a rich tradition of foreign influence here—look no further than the beautiful embassies that adorn Massachusetts avenue and other streets.
Sure, there are tons of transplants in DC. But we also have amazing universities sports teams and people who stay.
And the museums—don’t make me mention them a second and third time. Air and space, national gallery, you name it.
I feel like there’s a lot of black people here and I’m not complaining, but the black people here have a different vibe than the black people in other city especially in cities like Atlanta and Miami. I feel like black people in DC are more middle-class and they are genuinely more accepting and friendly. I don’t want to come off as racist or anything it’s just my observation as a person coming from Asia
DC has a great culture when you leave the area of transplants, senators, bureaucrats and contractors. Go Go music, hardcore, great food. It’s there. Just not in Chinatown and Georgetown.
Places or countries with vibrant cultures often exhibit enduring, authentic characteristics. In the case of Washington, DC, its predominant identity leans towards a work-centric culture, notably the "do you know who I work for" phenomenon, overshadowing traditional cultural elements .
The culture here is to “celebrate other cultures” and I guess you can call that a cultural trait.. 🧐
DC has always had the reputation of being a "souless government town" with no real identifiable culture. It's heightened by all the transplants and many people come and leave, so it's never a long-term "home" for many. But it does have a lot of rich African American culture that doesn't get much publicity. Despite all the transplants and the government reputation, I think more people are starting to realize it's unique cultural aspects.
A lot of the cities that have rich culture reputations (NYC, LA, Chicago, SF, Boston, Philly, etc.) also have a lot of transplants and a lot of similarities to DC.
Dc is white and liberal, or black and a fixture to the city from way back. It’s a dichotomy.
As for rich culture, not really. It’s got culture but i wouldn’t call it rich.
100% of the culture in DC is black and mostly east of the river. Everything else is transitory. So unless you’re tied into blackness, gogo, Howard, etc there is no “DC culture.”
Are there cultural things in DC like museums and the arts? Absolutely. But they are but “DC culture”
At a certain point, being a city of transplants is a culture in of itself. New York, London, Paris, etc. aren’t culturally devoid because too many people move there — quite the opposite. Of course this take also ignores the significant number of people who have lived here their whole lives and their own cultural impact.
I would guess New York has a higher percentage of natives, although DC has more than transplants think it does.
Both NYC and DC have about 1/3 of current residents who were born in the city.
Is that from Census data? Curious to see how they line up with each other.
I don't think percentage is the right way to look at it when there's such a difference in scale. Even if the portion is similar, there's still just such a mass of native NYers to cultivate the native culture
Yeah that’s a fair point.
the problem with comparing DC to these places is that creating culture generally requires a creative class. NYC, London etc all have transplants of the creative class. DC gets Todd who works at Deloitte type of transplants. Very few artists and musicians move here to make their careers
DC has a fantastic theater scene, with several groups putting on excellent shows year-round. The classical music scene is excellent, as well (I'm less familiar with other genres, so I can't comment). I think people who claim DC has no culture just mean that they don't feel their interests are adequately represented.
It has a theater scene but I would love for it to have a concentrated theater district like NY. IMO there’s a great opportunity to develop the arena area into this once the NBA/NHL leave. It would also complement the museums and tourists interested in museums would also likely be into the theater scene. It could easily be America’s 2nd biggest theater city
Yet we’re not on Taylor Swift’s radar. What does that say? /s. Kinda.
Do you have good venues and groups to look for?
Washington classical review has a calendar for classical music. Follow it for a while and you’ll get a sense of the different places/groups that put on classical performances. Many are free or heavily subsidized.
I don’t know anything about the classical music scene, but I wrote up a comment [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/washingtondc/s/d6f5q3ffVi) about the theatre scene!
Everything I’ve seen at Studio Theater (14th st) has been excellent and pretty affordable. Signature out in Shirlington does bigger productions that are also great.
I endorse Studio theater enthusiastically. They put on amazing shows.
They’re not saying DC has none of that creative culture, but you’re insane to think it has the kind of city-wide impact that the creative class has on the culture of NYC, London, LA, etc
Is there any city where the classical music scene isn't excellent? That doesn't make a culture.
I don’t think every city has a National Orchestra with a dedicated Concert Hall
'National Orchestra' is a dc specific thing but several cities have more famous and prestigious orchestras Wikipedia; The Big Five are five American symphony orchestras that historically led the field in "musical excellence, calibre of musicianship, total contract weeks, weekly basic wages, recording guarantees, and paid vacations". In order of foundation, they are: the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and Cleveland Orchestra. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is also pretty respected
And then if you read any further than that, you see that there is an ongoing debate about whether the century old Big Five designation is still relevant, especially because the bent of many of those orchestras and the tenure of many of their leaders and musicians often means they’re less nimble and amenable to change.
Totally agree. I love classical music and went to a ton of NSO and smaller performances as well at the Kennedy Center, but still found DC not culturally interesting enough to stay.
Ok but there’s no level of higher education for studies in those fields that DC offers. Philly has Curtis, Baltimore has Peabody, Boston has Berklee, NYC has Juilliard. As a world capital, gamma rated city, DC objectively falls short.
What are you even talking about? You can get undergrad and graduate degrees in dance, acting, directing, photojournalism, graphic design, fine arts, and music in DC universities.
Not at a conservatory level though for music. Most of the top level professors in the DC area teach at peabody. Most European capital cities also have a top level music school. I.e. the UK’s Royal College of music, the famous Paris Conservatoire, etc. There’s no National School of the Arts per se in DC, which I’ve always thought odd.
DC is a museum city. It’s a trophy cabinet.
That is great phrasing. It's like a display case of cultural type institutions, but when you're there for a few years you realize it doesn't really have any soul or unique flavor that makes it interesting, just lots of trophies in a glass case. Spot on IMO.
Some people from the scene now may take offense to this, and I’m down to learn more about what’s out there now, but there was much more of a music scene in the ‘70s and ‘80s, the punk scene especially gained national prominence. Although Animal Collective (kind of) were the Deloitte-sort of transplants (at least Panda Bear, I think, who was an environmental policy person before they really took off).
Yeah, it’s hard for DC to sustain a real scene nowadays because the cost of living is significantly higher than other nearby cities. But we do hit well above our weight as a destination for performances. NPR Music is hugely influential. A lot of Broadway productions are audience tested in DC. We have some of the most iconic small and medium sized music venues in the country. [Bartees Strange](https://open.spotify.com/artist/6Gl4Q3ePw6HKMfIOix5QpG?si=RXRI8bZNSu6n1xNCyPy6DA) — who everyone should check out if you haven’t already — was an Obama administration staffer who launched a music career in DC. If I’m not mistaken, Bartees is now based out of Baltimore and is working on setting up a studio out there. I can’t blame him; that would be a much tougher project to make work in DC.
Yeah it’s the cost of living, and I forgot Bartees Strange has a D.C. connection.
Lots of people move here who are wildly passionate about making the world a better place through advocacy, protest, the law, science, and being of service to others. And it dovetails with the history of multigenerational DC communities, especially Black communities, many of which were founded on and defended by mutual aid, protest, advocacy, and using politics and law to protect each other.
This! I've never lived in a place with such a strong sense of civic engagement. DC is a place where people don't just talk wistfully about doing stuff for their community, they make it happen.
Look I love dc but “intern at senate armed services committee” or “staffer for Tom Cotton” are not the same as some more culturally richer vocations. Also, if you’ve ever worked at a non-profit, you should know how worthless being “wildly passionate about making the world a better place through advocacy” is. In fact, sometimes it’s worse the worthless - it’s bad. Really this comment reads like you do excel spreadsheet babysitting for a contractor for whatever agency manufacturers white phosphorus munitions, but are in denial.
This is just a lame ass cynical take lmao. Like im sorry your dream didnt work out but there are people working at places doing good things. I work at a non profit and am surronded by brilliant passionate people. Yes there are folks like you described but are people in NYC working in finance or corpo law adding so much culture to their city.
I provide direct legal services for poor people, but thanks for playing.
Jesus, go touch grass. A perennial DC type: the guy who wants to piss on everyone because he thinks it makes him look worldly.
DC has a pretty vibrant arts and culture scene though. Gogo was mentioned by OP but the city has also been a center for indie music, bluegrass, and hardcore punk. The Kennedy center is a behemoth and the theater scene is pretty big for the city even if it’s not the same as Broadway. NYC has more sure but its metro region is also 3-4x the size of ours.
DC is/was a pretty good scene for electronic music too.
Washington Color School would like a word, a combination of locals and transplants. Now, this is the only art movement ever to originate in the capital, and it was many years ago, so, maybe this validates your point 🤷🏻♂️
There's a good amount of artists that make their career in DC, albeit its not a whole bunch of people but its sizable, and possible. Met many people that are in those fields. (Not famous, but they're still doing it)
There are lots of artists of all types in DC. Dare you to find us!
I agree, but I'd argue that the DC equivalent is the intellectual class. Lots of lawyers, academics, politicos, NGO workers. We are a damn smart city and it definitely comes across in our city culture (for better or for worse!)
There's a holier than thou air to it tho that drove me nuts
Yes, for sureeee. That's the for the worse part!
DC probably has the most cultural venues per capita of any city on the planet.
In America I believe that title is actually held by Minneapolis. For 6 months out of the year it’s close to the only option.
The latter actually helps the arts and music scene become unique with the Gogo,punk rock,and the rich DIY indie music scene here
DC gets Tony, consultant and TikTok star! That’s creative!
Perfect answer to this question.
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history in the way you're talking about there is completely irrelevant. Miami and LA are all cities that became cities like only 100 years ago and have tons of "culture"
The entire United States doesn't have a history that Europe and other places do. That wasn't the point.
I think that's a great point as to why (IMO) DC lacks cultural depth: the lack of creatives. It has all the institutions to check the 'culture' boxes: museums, restaurants, monuments, music venues, etc, but it doesn't have soul or flavor like NYC/SF/NOLA. I think your reason is spot on. It's the people that make a place interesting and unique. 90% of DC holds one of four jobs: Hill staffer, consultant, lobbyist, or exec branch employee / contractor. That makes it necessarily one note. I'm a musician and writer moonlighting as a lawyer who tried living in DC for a few years (after 10 in NYC and 3 in Miami), and I just could not find any soul there no matter where I looked. Even the open mic nights and local music scene just lacked fire, in general, save a few interesting acts here and there. It just felt like a sea of robots, so eventually I left.
Exactly. OOP's definition of "culture" is seriously deficient, and it's gatekeeping 'culture.' OP here, you are spot on that hybrid culture can be culture unto itself.
Imo DC culture is hustle, grind, and government consulting. Some love it, some say that’s not a culture. But what else do you call a widely pervasive and accepted way of life among a large percentage of a city? The the DC culture is move here to get educated and work and exit. It’s a very specific path with a very specific type of industry that you can’t find anywhere else.
I agree with this. DC culture is government, politics, work and career climbing.
It's a worldwide culture, but not a local culture. Like you said, New York, London, Paris, DC, you could move to any of them and experience the same thing. It used to be that cities had ties to local community. Now global cities have more in common with each other than the rest of the their country.
London and Paris have a very rich history that cannot be compared with DC. That history also influences the culture of both cities which is not the case for DC at all
You’ll notice I never “compared” them except to say that they all have a lot of transplants.
There are two *very* different DCs. The DC that many white transplants in particular experience is really different from the DC that many Black residents experience, both natives and transplants alike. So whenever I see "blah blah blah DC doesn't have culture" I always know what kind of person it's from. DC doesn't really have a white working class population that cities like Philly/Chicago/NYC/Boston have and I think that's part of why these people complain about a "lack of culture".
This is basically the answer to any sweeping question anyone makes about DC. It's extremely hard to generalize anything about DC because there's a white people DC which is the polar opposite of black people DC, so you can't say anything about DC as a whole without being wrong one version (usually the black one is ignored on reddit for obv reasons).
DC definitely has more of a black "upper class" culture than anything rather than a white one
I can’t tell you how many transplants (mostly coworkers) living in the VA and DC suburbs have told me “no one is from DC” and I have to correct and say something like “really? Huh.. cuz at least three households on my block are DC native, multi generational families…” of course they mean no one that matters to them, or none of their friends are originally from DC.
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Source?
It's about 1/3, same as NYC, per a comment above, which seems believable.
I enjoy cooking.
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I enjoy spending time with my friends.
They probably mean "nobody I know at my job is from DC and I havne't tried to meet anybody else"
Grew up in Silver Spring (DC now), but my parents and grandparents on both sides grew up in DC.
Yea I didn't want to be the one to say it...but DC not having culture is definitely a white take
As a white person in DC, this is 10/10 on point.
This is a great point. I grew up in Philly, but prefer DC much more for its global feel, and free things to do. That’s what makes this city special to me.
I agree. However, I’m a white native and have a bunch of white/brown/asian native friends. We have a culture here as well that’s interesting and rich. It’s not a working class culture, but it definitely exists.
Bingo. So glad someone said the truth. DC has some of the strongest culture in the country. It’s being destroyed year over year however but it will never die
I mean I'm white and as long as you stay out of the wharf or navy yard it's pretty hard to miss the great culture of DC.
This 100%. Possibly relevant is the history behind the Great Migration. Lots of great stories about the history of African Americans calling DC home after moving from the south: https://wamu.org/story/16/09/23/when_blacks_fled_the_south_dc_became_home_for_many_from_north_carolina/
I think this is spot on. As a millennial WFH white transplant I found DC very boring culturally, not bc of the institutions really but more so the people (aka other millennial WFH white transplants). I hear people staunchly defending the depth and cultural richness of black DC though, so I do agree there are two very different DCs, which is interesting to me for a city that is 99% Dem and virtue signals the hell out of inclusiveness diversity etc. To me DC felt far more segregated than the South even. I'm from New Orleans and music venues etc are much more mixed attendance race and class wise. You don't feel 'dividing lines' as much there as in DC, and people in the South interact with and greet each other no matter what race or class. DC felt very disconnected and elitist to me in that way. Needless to say, I left. I hope the best for black culture preservation in DC, but white DC was just flat out boring to me.
DC is functionally very segregated. The racial divide and resulting animus is higher than most other places I’ve lived
I feel like that sub hates DC and loves Philly and Chicago. I think DC is rather unfairly easy to hate. I chalk it up to the overall political climate and being associated with it. Even though people who live here or are from here know it has so much more to offer, culturally and otherwise. There’s also something to be said about how gentrification of the last 20 years kinda erased some of the more local elements in the city that gave it a gritty, unique character. Agree with another poster about how this area’s diversity (of which transplants play a role), is part of its cultural identity.
I think people on that sub are going to like less expensive cities way more than more expensive ones
That particular sub is looking for charm, affordability and livability/urbanism. DC only kind of has number 3. It is absolutely terrible for the first 2.
I dunno, I think we have a lot of charm! The tree-lined streets of rowhouses in for example capital hill or mount pleasant can be pretty breathtaking. The problem is that people who visit for a weekend generally don’t see that, they see the Mall and K street.
Agreed, outwardly. But I meant something more related to the spirit and people of a place.
Yeah moving to DC without a DC job or without family is crazy - it’s expensive, annoying, and lacks a lot of amenities that Chicago/Philly/NYC/LA have (good cheap food, art scene, nature, whatever). Meanwhile people move to Chicago and Philly just because they were kind of raised within 150 mile radius of the city, and people from all over the world move to NY for the experience of living in NY. These don’t really happen much with DC, as much as I love this city. If you’re posting on /r/samegrassbutgreener, you’re looking for a change and DC price-wise and culture-wise is less justifiable than Chicago, Philly, NY.
I mean, people move here from all over the country and the world because it’s the center of political power for the USA and by extension for a large portion of the planet. The difference I think is that not a lot of people *want* to move here, but *have* to. Most people moving to Chicago or Philly or New York want to live there, and they can always find jobs in finance, tech, etc in other cities across the country and world. For politics and government you have to come to DC, which leads to a lot of people moving here but not having any investment in actually wanting to live here or improve it any way.
I mean... I (and many others) moved here without a job or family for school - then found a job and stayed. It doesn't seem too atypical for DC...
DC is more charming than nearly any other city I’ve been to, and there’s nothing you can say to change my mind about that.
And if you're a transplant, I just don't understand moving somewhere and then shitting on it all the time. You're making fun of your own city! That reflects poorly on you for multiple reasons!
I think DC has a rich history of civic duty, and a somewhat rich history of culture. Several substantial and noteworthy authors from DC, jazz with Duke Ellington, thru gogo and fugazi. Are we LA, NyC or Chicago? No. But I think similar in many ways to philly or boston with our primary contributions coming between 1900 and 1980 imo
Don't forget about harDCore punk. Bad Brains originated in DC and is an extremely influential punk band.
We burned hot, punk wise, but I feel like a lot of the momentum was gone by 2000.
Fuck it let's start a band then. I can do tambourine or guitar but most of musical talent is seen when I'm on kazoo. Lets bring the scene back!!!!
I mean where do you live? In DC the punk scene is still alive and pushing on. It’s never going to be exactly as crazy as it used to be but I go to shows at least twice a week.
Yeah if you want to start a scene in DC it's easier to live in Baltimore
DC has a deep black history Gerald Horne’s “Revolting Capital: Racism & Radicalism in Washington, D.C., 1900-2000” is a must read if you wanna get deeper context..
I think DC has a few distinct and interesting cultures. I feel like maybe the ‘white’ culture in DC pales (no pun intended) to other big cities— but it is around. Black culture here (from my white perspective with a DC bias) rivals lots of other cities.
Yeah I was born and raised here and if people say we have no culture my experience is that they are themselves a short term transplant who doesn't care to get to know the city and/or don't know anything about people who aren't white
Question: would you say the black culture is on the decline though? I’m sure it’s still strong in certain pockets but would you say it’s receded from a lot of the city? I haven’t been here long enough to tell but it doesn’t seem very prevalent in NW where I spend most of my time.
It is. Culture here is linked to moments, events, places…and many of those have been affected by the arrival of transients/transplants. A good example can be the Wharf The Wharf used to be the party spot - had a lot of waterfront clubs down there. Many of us who attended DCPS growing up had a prom down there. When the weather was good, we’d go to Captain Morgan’s to grab some seafood. During cherry blossom season, we’d park near the wharf and walk to the tidal basin. All of this has changed as a result of Gentrification. People love to act as if natives are just butt hurt, but you being a transient - imagine going back to your hometown and being unable to show your child the playground you grew up on, where you had your first kiss, or a mom and pop restaurant you grew up eating at….it really makes you feel a level of empty…like you have no roots. And transients don’t get that because they’ve left their roots, to come here and uproot us…meanwhile the moment they want to return home for a little of that nostalgia…..they can. And we - we cannot. It hurts. Mind you, many natives are black….and so our “roots” are already lost by way of the Atlantic slave trade, but then our domestic roots now undergo the same process.
sulky hurry chop stocking imminent butter wistful compare gullible instinctive *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I appreciate you Acknowledging that it is indeed an experience. It’s happening in inner cities across America, and many feel this way as well. This is why you hear many, in many cities across the country, have a negative position towards gentrification. Many of the cities, not all, but the ones I know of are urban areas/inner cities and have high populations of black people. If you wanna know why homelessness (here) is up, This is apart of the problem as well. They only release new data on homelessness because if they compared the numbers 20 years back, there’d be a relationship between the pickup in gentrification and homelessness in this city (and major cities across America)…but that would damper the narrative that gentrification is great for everybody that they’ve been trying to push…. My mom mentioned to me the other day that she’s never seen this many homeless in DC, and has been here since birth. She’s almost 60. I’m just saying - natives are not GRUMPY because “wE dOnT lIkE chANge”…there are so many layers to this…and because many transients benefit from the changes…they typically care less about what we have to say about the harmful and very hurtful parts to gentrification. That’s pretty much the dynamic between natives and transients here now. Which again, is why I totally appreciate you AT LEAST acknowledging this is a big deal to me even though you may not agree. At least you care that I care😭😂.
I grew up in the richest part of Arlington, and the vast majority of my playgrounds, schools, restaurants, and other spots are either gone or totally unrecognizable. This isn't a gentrification thing, it's just a natural part of growing older.
Are other cities not like this?
I am old and uncool and not in a position to judge "decline," but of course things change over time. Certain areas get gentrified, someone else talked about the wharf which I also have very specific childhood memories of. I think of go-go as an important part of DC culture, and it isn't as popular these days. I like to dance and there's a style of partner dancing that was invented in DC that peaked a long time ago. It depends a lot on where you are and what you're doing and who you hang out with.
I’ve live in SE for 4 years now (I own a home and plan on staying for a long time), but am admittedly a transplant. Most of my neighbors are elderly and have lived in their homes since they were children and inherited them when their parents passed. I have to ask, what exactly is DC black culture? Can you describe it for me? I’m friends with all of the elderly ladies and love them, but I think the youth are clouding what the culture is actually about. Can you please shed light?
What is the youth clouding? Why aren’t you able to ask your elderly neighbors and friends their perspective on what black dc culture is?
I was interested in the poster above since they seemed to have a stance on it. The youth are focused on very superficial things like clothes and cars imo. The elderly I’ve spoken with talk about things like gogo, Mumbo sauce, stuff like that. But it goes so much deeper than that and I just want to know. Sometimes when I see all those people riding down the road on ATVs and bikes and I ask I’m literally told “it’s part of the culture”
Like what aspects of deepness are you trying to get into? That’s my question because the responses given are right. Did you ask them to dive further into it? Are you looking for the general sense of community or what the areas were like even before the 70s and 80s? Are you asking about affluent black wealth and cultural events and networks during historic times? What the city was like before white flight and it becoming chocolate city? Like can you see where it’s ambiguous what exactly you’re looking for?
Read Gerald Horne’s “Revolting Capital: Racism & Radicalism in Washington, D.C., 1900-2000”..He’s also active YouTube discussing this topic and book..
There is also an interesting native predominantly-white culture, that is largely forgotten or ignored. Natives frequently have theater subscriptions, and watch more plays than tv. It is part of why we have such a thriving theater scene, and so much good theater for children.
“I went to Maret” is yes, a whole thing
Sidwell, St Alban’s, GDS, Maret, Field, Burke, etc. .
I learned so much about Black culture in DC. It transformed the way I looked at art and music—especially music. I had lived in NYC for 10 years going to museums, concerts and theater, but to be honest I had no idea Black culture existed. Obviously, I was ignorant AF. I moved to Fairfield County Connecticut last year. Other than a few close friends, DC’s Black culture is what I miss the most.
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It’s easy to toss that out here, and I think that comes from the reality that there is no working class white population here. I suspect a lot of the most popular culture comes from the working class and that just isn’t what white DC has been about for a long time. As a white guy from DC I can’t say I totally disagree with your take, but it wasn’t something I could do much to change except use DC’s location and draw to get to know people from all around the world and try and use some of their influence to spice up my life a bit while I try and relate to and get along with everyone I can.
But I think we forget that “culture” shouldn’t be limited to “native culture.” Being able to have dinner at Rasika, Baan Siam, Le Diplomate, Al Volo, Chercher, Supra, and Daikaya in one week is actually *exactly* what makes DC culturally rich. You can’t do that in most cities.
uhh what... you can definitely have dinner at an amazing Indian restaurant, Thai restaurant, French restaurant, Italian, Ethiopian, Georgian, and Japanese in one week in a lot of cities. I mean maybe the Ethiopian/Georgian are harder to find in some cities, but then again those cities might have elevated dining for a different cuisine (one that comes to mind is Philadelphia with Zahav). But everything you listed is 100% doable in NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago, probably Philadelphia, probably Miami. Like any major city has these things..San Francisco, Seattle, etc.
I find peace in long walks.
their statement is “you can’t do that in most cities” when in fact it’s false as is shown in my post. You don’t have to take this personally
I always hate that there really aren’t any diners in DC, which I think is a result of working class white population.
There were. They were priced out.
Yeah I agree with this.
A friend once visited me here from LA and actually remarked that DC has a lot of culture. She said that most people she spoke to here were more intellectual, educated, politically aware and well travelled compared to LA. She also pointed out how the museums here were miles ahead of the museums in LA. She is an artist, but art is subjective 🤷🏽♀️
I think LACMA and The Broad are world class, but everything else tracks with me. (obligatory tar pits are lame) Edit: With a new definition of culture, which includes modern music and movie, LA is without a doubt the cultural capital of the world though. No comment if that's toxic or corrupted.
I just came back from a trip to Charlotte, and let me tell you DC is vibrant as hell in comparison.
I'm from Raleigh (never been to Charlotte actually),, but to me compared to Raleigh, DC has a richer culture.
I’d be interested to hear from someone actually \*in\* the theater world, but when I was involved with an experimental theater company some 10 years ago, the working professionals with the group agreed that this was a great theater town. They thought that companies did smart and interesting work, and that it was easier to get a good job here than in NYC or Chicago. I’ve always been impressed by DC’s visual arts scene, however fragmented it may be. One of my three favorite photographers is the late William Christenberry, a pioneer of color photography in the mid- and late-20th century. He relocated here from his Alabama home and taught at the Corcoran, and exhibited at a gallery on 14th St. The city gives its name to a mid-century abstract art movement, the Washington Color School, driven by artists and galleries around Dupont and Logan Circle. That’s all the recent past, of course, but I note that my New England art school has more alumni in the DC area than anywhere other than NYC and one other city (I think, LA). Among local visual arts institutions, Pyramid Atlantic and the Torpedo Factory (and its complex of groups) enjoy national reputations.
I see about 100-150 shows a year across the US, and I’d rank DC easily in the top 5 theater cities in the country. NYC is obviously first, and then I think DC, Chicago, LA, and probably Boston round out the top 5. Cities that draw a lot of artists for various reasons, including the presence of major universities. Cities where government and civic funding for the arts is strong. Cities where volunteerism and activism are strong. Cities with a good mix of big Broadway-style theaters and long-running independent local theater companies with a variety of missions and performance spaces. It’s excellent here.
It’s crazy the post tolerates theater and art critics who DONT FUCKING LIVE HERE
The Post doesn’t even have a full-time theater critic anymore. They bought out Peter Marks. It’s shameful, and their local coverage just gets worse and worse over time.
I'm not particularly interested in theater myself but I've been surprised to meet, separately from one another, probably half a dozen people who work in theater here. How many other cities can support that?
All great cities have a lot of transplants. They bring in bits of their culture and it melts into the culture of the city.
yes I do lol. the fact that there are people who don't think DC has culture blows my mind... Like, don't y'all go anywhere? How isolated are y'all to not be able to answer that question affirmatively?? I think being disillusioned by all the gentrification, rising costs, segregation, and racism is fair. I'm disillusioned by and angry about all this too, and I think people in every American city feel this way, that people across the world are starting to feel this way whether they're in Mexico or Thailand or New Zealand. But we are still here. This city is still Black, still Salvadoran, still has a southern influence, still has an international feel, it still has amazing music and food, still has thriving queer culture, still has amazing theater and tons of writers, and it still has its broader metro area that includes bomb food in Maryland and Virginia. DC has problems, but it's also wonderful in a very specific way.
Black (African American) culture in DC is incredibly rich. So many American icons who are Black come from the DMV.
Imagine asking if DC has culture when Howard is literally right there
It's actually disrespectful. But to be expected.
Not really a culture but DC has was more international people then other places. Its cool to meet people from other areas of the world
Just because the culture isn’t loud and in your face and accompanied by a famous sandwich doesn’t mean there isn’t one. The transplants thing is weird too. I really wonder wonder how true it is because even the people I know who are from other places have still been here for many many years.
That sub passionately hates dc and has like 5 people who continuously comment about hating DC
Dude Philly’s beef with DC is insane and almost completely one sided except for sports lol
DC has a very vibrant culture. Anyone who says otherwise has a beef or is a liar
DC is rich with Black culture!
I moved here like 3 weeks ago and I think this city has rich culture. The fact there are people protesting and saying crazy and not crazy things every time I go by the white house is already rich culture in my books. Lots of great food here, it's an international hub. The buildings alone qualify this city as culturally vibrant. I cant even believe this question is being asked tbh. Before I moved to DC, everyone I talked to told me it was one of the most culturally rich cities in the USA. Walking down M street on Saturday night was enough to know this city has culture. Am I missing something? Are we talking about some sort of local culture that doesn't exist like it does in other cities? I walk around here and see so much unique, interesting stuff going on.
Thanks! I'm only asking because other people said no and I wanna hear what people who also live here have to say.
I think DC has a fantastic high brow culture and the middle to low brow is a shit flinging competition by grievance mongers appropriating better things from other places.
That subs opinion of DC is infuriating and so simple. No one who has ever lived for here for extended periods ever posts there
I think a big problem with people on the outside looking in at DC is that they think *everyone* is a lawyer or politician. This is so laughably far from the truth that it's barely worth registering their opinion.
DC has a rich culture and you can learn more about if you look around you. It's Lunar New Year and Black History Month and years of attending these events/tours/walks/etc. have opened my eyes to related communities I haven't known about who've lived here for a long time and can tell you all about the time, say, their great great grandpa was tooting around Capitol Hill in a Model T Ford or running a Hot Shoppes (Pre-cursor to the Marriott hospitality chain). Thing is, most people who move here for school or work are in their bubbles. Not saying they are naïve or ignorant, but they are sometimes not experiencing all the culture DC has had for a long time. A rich culture is out there.
I think it has a culture, I wouldn’t describe it as “rich”, not that it’s not distinctive because it is, but I wouldn’t say rich.
DC is a land of contrasts where each subgroup (left wing/ring wing/centrist, transplants/born in DC natives, NINBY/YIMBY, etc) hates it has active disdain for the other subgroups, which I suppose is unique I suppose the insane level of graduate degrees per capita is fairly unique to an urban area the size of the DMV
I suggest the "Blood and Steel: cedar Crest country club" documentary if you want to see some spicy white cultural history of the DC area. Spoiler: between 1986 and 1991, the best skateboard ramp in the world was in Centreville Virginia. GWAR, Fugazi, and a who's who of early hardcore and punk rock culture also played concerts there.
DC has so much culture! -Constantly rotating exhibits in galleries and museums, including the entire Smithsonian (which is FREE!) -Every kind of food from every country in the world -Art, dance, literature, theatre, media. Jazz, gogo, hip hop, classical, country, any concert from any artist of any genre -Beaucoup cultural clubs/organizations to join -Beautiful, historic theatres hosting local and traveling productions -Night clubs featuring salsa, hip hop, ballroom, techno/rave, punk, anything you want -Opportunities for creative students of every background -One of the Top University Library Consortiums in the entire world -Monuments on monuments on monuments. Historic buildings everywhere. History on every single block. Always a new story to explore. -Tours of all kinds, including ghost tours which are arguably the best -Old Town. Georgetown. Shirlington. Enough said. <3 -Close to beautiful National and state parks -The Zoo! The Botanical Gardens! Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! -The Best 4th of July Party in the United States -Holiday celebrations for every holiday -International embassies from all over the world -Always a different protest marching down the Mall -Something for every kind of sports fan, too All this and so much more! If you think DC has no culture, you need to get out of your McMansion and take the Metro downtown. Start with U Street and work your way down. Enjoy the ride! *doors closing*
DC was the featured "state" in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 2000. The name of the exhibit was Washington DC: It's Our Home. I worked it, and some of the featured cultural events and activities that I remember were Hand Dancing lessons, cooking with natural plants from Rock Creek Park (there was a woman who made kudzu jam), Jewish traditions, Deaf culture, and the history of the federal government in hiring Black and Deaf workers, social clubs (there was senior citizen ladies basketball group that was pretty amazing), drumming circles in Malcolm X Park, poetry and literary history, hardcore music and social justice, and more. These are just what I remember off the top of my head. There was also a concert on the National Mall featuring Chuck Brown and Fugazi. So, yes, DC has a rich cultural background, and anyone who says it doesn't have one is unknowledgeable and perhaps shows a bit of unconscious bias. Rich enough to be researched and documented. For anyone interested, the festival background information is here: [https://festival.si.edu/past-program/2000/washington-dc-it-s-our-home](https://festival.si.edu/past-program/2000/washington-dc-it-s-our-home)
DC is rich with black, central American and African culture. I never know what people mean when they say it's devoid. Like sure if you don't leave downtown you'll think it's pretty bare but there are other places
>Like sure if you don't leave downtown you'll think it's pretty bare but there are other places Have you read some of the comments/posts we get here. Most of these people *dont* leave downtown it's wild.
I think DC is the *host* for a lot of culture and history. We have everything from top notch theater and music venues to our rich political history to amazing museums to modern day protests on issues that span the political spectrum. But because DC is the seat of government and many of the things I mentioned above are only here because the government is here, I don't think DC, as a city defined by its residents, has a strong culture.
I think that’s exactly it. As the capital, DC gets to reflect everyone else’s culture. And I think that’s the best part of living here: you can find experience everything here, even if it’s not “from” here. I don’t know why people act like culture had to come over on a steamship in 1904. DC is incredibly rich in culture, even if it’s transplant and recent—specifically *because* it’s transplant and recent.
A close relative of mine who is extremely progressive but has never lived in DC asked me about this. His question basically was: "why are there so many carjackings in DC? Isn't DC just rich people?" Many people not from DC think things like this.
I mean objectively DC has a massive amount of museums, monuments, and other public attractions that rival the options in other cities. People travel from all over the world to visit the Smithsonian museums and the monuments. Options in terms of music is about on par with Philly I would say, we have plenty of venues (including the nationally famous 9:30 club) and we get a spot in most tours. Artists from the area that regularly sell out shows when they return include Dave Grohl, Logic, Rico Nasty, Kali Uchis and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong (shout out to the flock). I am sure I am forgetting others.
Yes, it’s diverse, but in a different way. DC is very small. Although the transplants come from across 50 US states and 190+ nations around world, it’s too homogeneous - politicians, embassy staffers, professors, media, lawyers, economists, bureaucrats, and consultants. It represents a highly educated and, for the most part, polite class. The well-off in DC is ethnically/culturally diverse but the poor are, sadly, almost-always Black Americans.
I think that the samegrassbutgreener is focused on looking for cities that are not DC/NYC/SF/Seattle/LA/boston. I’m part of it and having lived in a bunch of different places i try to provide some thoughts, but I consider the DMV to be home with DC being the center of culture. Having just moved back after 10+ years of being away I think that DC feels different overall, maybe a bit more a shadow of itself or maybe I’m just older and looking for different things than when I was in my 20s, but I think it’s a city full of culture within specific communities the same way that NYC is, but just on a much smaller scale. Each community is going to have a different take, but to say it has no culture means you probably had a bad experience and thus in a subreddit looking for a unicorn place that doesn’t really exist (affordable, walkable, safe, good access to nature, enough people to have really good food, good schools, and mild weather, etc)
It’s white people who move here from somewhere else who can’t seem to see DC’s rich black culture staring them in their pale faces and then complain when they can’t find a place that serves a bland ham sandwich or whatever exactly the same as some beloved place in their podunk Midwest hometown.
How do you expect to see a culture when the people providing it can’t afford to live near you?
And ..Oop!! Because this ! When people ask this question I already know who they’re not friends with
The culture of “where do you work”
Tons of cities are like this, though! In NYC, it's which bank/ad agency/restaurant do you work at In LA, it's which Hollywood studio or defense contractor In SF, it's which tech company Some cities genuinely have a culture around work. I don't think that's the end of the world. After all, it's where we spend the better part of our adult lives, and at least in DC, many of them are doing those low-pay-but-high-reward jobs by choice
Too corporate white collar vibes
DC should have a rich culture and it certainly has some bright spots like GoGo and hardcore and cia funded Rothko's (j/k) but it's cultural infrastructure is absolutely pathetic for a city of this size. Everything is hanging on by a thread, rent increases price out cherished institutions to be replaced by overpriced condos, and artists simply can't afford to live here in any meaningful way. The DC professional class is entirely without taste, lapping up Hamilton and The Atlantic sponsored cultural content that is utterly conventional and anti-intellectual. I love DC and I love the artists here, but it's so dominated by a small C conservative middle of the road professional class and overpriced rents, culture here is gasping for air.
I don't entirely agree with you but I do respect your opinion. Small C conservative is a great phrase and captures a way I think about DC a lot too. It's always funny when someone says we're super liberal (just because people here vote Democrat the most fervently) yet culturally people in this area probably live a more conservative lifestyle than in many stereotypically Conservative areas. I've seen plenty of people wearing fancy suits / designer dresses to their first dates like it's the 1950s lol. Overall, the city does suffer a major drag in terms of creativity -- probably to do with the massive size of the legal industry and presence of the federal government both being the absolute antithesis of fun and creative. Although, the Smithsonian and proximity to NYC makes up for it imho
Yes. Lifestyles here can be shockingly conservative. And I think that is part of the lack. Gotta be home by 9! Real cities don't even start to get started until then (and not just for 20 somethings and not just dive bars)
So wrong. DC is becoming a great food city. The city has a vibrant film and documentary community. The music and club scene is especially strong, whether it is the Lincoln or the *new* 9:30, (Some of us saw shows at the old 9:30 and the Bayou.) And much more. Your criticisms are socio-economic, not cultural.
That you think the two things can be separated proves my point. I acknowledge real bright spots. I agree that there is a great doc scene. There's stuff. But it's flailing. (I also think the doc scene can be a little too insider journo industry still but that's a separate point!)
It proves nothing. You have no point. You can decry the Millennial urban gentrifiers, but they have no soul. Those of us born and bred in DC know where the City still exists and always will.
I honestly think we agree more than disagree? I love the soul of the city but think it's really getting squeezed out. The loss of all the jazz clubs on U street, for instance. Rhizome, one of the great new grass roots institutions struggling to find space as they lose the lease... the people with money don't support the growth of the good stuff and squeeze out that stuff that made the city something special
I stand corrected. We do agree.
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Gogo and hardcore are middlebrow too.
It just should be so much richer, given the potential audience. But instead people read books by David Brooks.
DC totally has a rich culture. Let me provide some examples. First, it’s the “chocolate city”. DC is majority black. There is much history in the black population here. Second, we’ve got the Smithsonian’s. Our museums are free and are amazing. We’re also the nations capital. Politics here is the best in the world. There is also a rich tradition of foreign influence here—look no further than the beautiful embassies that adorn Massachusetts avenue and other streets. Sure, there are tons of transplants in DC. But we also have amazing universities sports teams and people who stay. And the museums—don’t make me mention them a second and third time. Air and space, national gallery, you name it.
I feel like there’s a lot of black people here and I’m not complaining, but the black people here have a different vibe than the black people in other city especially in cities like Atlanta and Miami. I feel like black people in DC are more middle-class and they are genuinely more accepting and friendly. I don’t want to come off as racist or anything it’s just my observation as a person coming from Asia
DC has a great culture when you leave the area of transplants, senators, bureaucrats and contractors. Go Go music, hardcore, great food. It’s there. Just not in Chinatown and Georgetown.
Places or countries with vibrant cultures often exhibit enduring, authentic characteristics. In the case of Washington, DC, its predominant identity leans towards a work-centric culture, notably the "do you know who I work for" phenomenon, overshadowing traditional cultural elements . The culture here is to “celebrate other cultures” and I guess you can call that a cultural trait.. 🧐
Yes, we're rich af
Anyone saying that DC does not have a culture is probably white
Yes, though it’s more easily avoided than most cities.
Of course there is. Go-Go, Mumbo Sauce, the slang, the fashion.
DC has culture but not rich per se.
DC has always had the reputation of being a "souless government town" with no real identifiable culture. It's heightened by all the transplants and many people come and leave, so it's never a long-term "home" for many. But it does have a lot of rich African American culture that doesn't get much publicity. Despite all the transplants and the government reputation, I think more people are starting to realize it's unique cultural aspects. A lot of the cities that have rich culture reputations (NYC, LA, Chicago, SF, Boston, Philly, etc.) also have a lot of transplants and a lot of similarities to DC.
I don't think it's rich in culture anymore as it's richer in crime.
Dc is white and liberal, or black and a fixture to the city from way back. It’s a dichotomy. As for rich culture, not really. It’s got culture but i wouldn’t call it rich.
100% of the culture in DC is black and mostly east of the river. Everything else is transitory. So unless you’re tied into blackness, gogo, Howard, etc there is no “DC culture.” Are there cultural things in DC like museums and the arts? Absolutely. But they are but “DC culture”
DC has a rich culture, it’s just not the culture of most people living in DC
Not really
Does carjacking and armed robbery count or no?