A Trip to New York and Washington DC
New York made us walk. Washington made us squint. A storm made us stay.
Just back from both cities. Here are the notes.
Manhattan
Not my first visit, and I still like it. It remains a unique city in the US — maybe in the world.
Cars feel inconvenient here. Our few Ubers were fine, though maybe we got lucky with routes and timing. At least we never worried about parking. The subway is convenient, not cheap, and it smells. So we walk. Everyone walks. The walking makes the city feel alive. Food trucks, fruit stands, people moving everywhere.
It out-walks even the European cities I’ve visited. The buildings are taller. They hold more people and more business per block. Everything you want sits within reach on foot.
Healthy-food restaurants everywhere. People work out in Central Park. Some jog through the streets. You can feel the appetite for vitality.
The city is diverse, but that felt less unique than I remembered. Other big US cities are catching up.
Prices are high. Housing is expensive. Not a place to retire early — but a good place to find a job or start a business in finance and investment.
It may be the densest city I know. You pass strangers constantly. So no one cares about your business — to a whole new level. It’s a good place to practice being yourself and ignoring what others think.
Washington DC
DC is a deeply political city. The monuments, museums, and government buildings sit far apart, un-walkable. The buildings are low, so there is no shade. The daytime sun is ruthless. The evening is nicer. Police and security stand everywhere. Lawyers, journalists, and politicians need to live here. Otherwise it’s just another US city.
Both cities are loud at night. Sirens run through the dark. Bring earplugs.
The storm home
On our last day in DC, a storm hit. We ran for shelter through flying dirt and sand.
The flight home became its own saga. The plane was too heavy for the short runway after wind change, so the airline de-planed us once, back to the terminal. Then the storm arrived, and they de-planed us a second time. After nine hours of delay we rebooked out of our own pocket, plus an extra hotel night — without our checked luggage. Our hats were locked in that luggage too. So I jogged out for toothbrushes, breakfast, and lunch, and everyone else stayed out of the sun.
We’re still untangling the double-charged hotels. Still, the kids saw the world. Travel gives you the city. Then it gives you the story of leaving it.
(Two small things I built for trips like this one: Timezones for planning across cities, and Split Bill for the dinners where nobody wants to do the math.)