I Miss You, DC

It's been two weeks and two nights since we spent our last night as a family that lived in DC.

We moved to Baltimore, leaving behind Dupont Circle, our beautiful one-bedroom, rent-controlled apartment.  The neighborhood that had 4 supermarkets within a mile's radius.  My son's friends; my friends.

Benjie got a new job in Baltimore.  We thought about staying in the city or its adjacent counties.  But our priority was to minimize Benjie's commute time, especially as we're expecting a little girl in October.  Living in Prince George's or MoCo would still mean an hour's commute, minimum, especially as Benjie's office isn't in downtown near the MARC.

The new house is lovely.  We'd never have been able to find a 2-bedroom apartment in the DC area for what we're paying for this one.   Teo loves the long, open space between the front and back doors, and the

 

stairs that he climbs a million times a day. (I have to admit I miss one-level living, although I'm hopeful my glutes will benefit in the long run.) There's a very pretty, though small, library just a few hundred yards away.

While we live a few blocks away from certain newlyweds (although we haven't spotted them yet), giving our area a certain cachet, the neighborhood still leaves a lot to be desired. The nearest store is .75 miles away, and if I walk there after 10 am or before 8 pm I'm certain to get a sunburn. The sidewalks aren't very stroller-friendly. People like to loiter in the streets until very late at night, regardless of whether it's a weekend or a weekday, which in itself isn't an issue except when the screaming and cursing start. And there are rumors of a drug-dealing family in the neighborhood, which may be why the cops cruise the street five times a day.

Plus the public transit system sucks big time.

We are all aching for the familiar. DC was our home for three years--never in our almost 11 years of marriage had we lived anywhere longer. Our home stretched for at least a mile in every direction--7 blocks south was Benjie's office, two blocks east was Whole Foods, two blocks north was Safeway and a bit beyond that the Wieb playground, two blocks west was glorious Dupont Circle and the Metro.  Whenever we stepped out of our apartment building, we were as comfortable as if we were still home.

Here, we find ourselves staying home as much as possible.  The streets are still too strange for us.

I know that it'll be a matter of months before we stop aching for our old home and haunts. Baltimore has a lot going for it--we already love Port Discovery and the Maryland Science Center (both of which are easy walks from our home, though I do think we'll be visiting them most frequently in the fall, when the sun isn't so harsh).

And it's not like DC is so far away; it's an hour via MARC (and my amazing friends set me up with some train money), and 40 minutes in a car, on a good day. 

Right now, though, at different times of the day, I can't stop thinking about what we'd be doing if we were still in DC. I wonder how our old neighbors are, and the guys who worked in our building. I miss the familiar faces in Whole Foods and Safeway, and even the folks in the neighborhood who I never got to know well, but knew enough to exchanges smiles and pleasantries with.

I miss the wide sidewalks.

I miss having my friends just 20 or 30 minutes away.

I miss DC.