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ViewsCategory:District of Columbia City GuideFrom Wiki
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Basics: Washington DC is the capital of the United States. It is not a state in its own right (there are no Senators from the District of Columbia and the Representative has limited voting rights). It is relatively small (61 square miles) and has a resident population of about 550,000 (see below), which swells by an extra 1.5 million daytime commuters from outside the city. Population: Washington DC is the capital of the US (population: 550,000) at the center of the Washington DC 'metropolitan area' that encompasses suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia (approximately 5,000,000 residents). If you include Baltimore and the suburbs of that area, the general Washington-Baltimore region is approximately 8,000,000. While the city itself is nearly 70% African American, there are large numbers of El Salvadorans, Bolivians and Vietnamese in the surrounding area. As a southern city the racial divide is all too evident on the Metro with mostly white people arriving from the Northern Virginia, Northern Maryland suburban lines, and mostly black people arriving from the South East of the city. Generally people will say they are 'from Washington, D.C.' or 'from D.C.' when speaking to others outside of the area, and are only specific as to their exact location when speaking to locals from the Washington metropolitan area - 'I'm from Annapolis', I'm from Arlington', 'I'm from Potomac', 'I work in the District', etc. Climate: In the days before air conditioning Washington was considered a hardship posting by the British Foreign Office, and Summer remains ferociously hot and humid outdoors, and icy cold in the ubiquitous air-conditioned indoors. Snowfall is relatively limited, with only a few big storms (10cm of snow) per year, which usually melts away in a few days. People in DC are notoriously bad drivers in the snow, so much of the city will close if so much as 3 cm of snow falls. Industry The top industries in the Washington DC area (in order) are: The US Government - The US Government - The US Military (also part of the US Government) - The US Government - The US Government - Lobbying the US Government - Selling to the US Government - Selling to the US Military - Ok, it's not that bad--it just seems that way. There are several large Universities in the area, the District's second largest employer and landowner after the federal government is George Washington University, others are Georgetown, American University, Howard, Catholic University of America, UDC, Gallaudet, and University of Maryland. There is a large telecommunications presence in the DC area (Northern Virginia is the home of several major internet and telecommunications carriers) and a massive biotechnology / pharmaceutical industry in Suburban Maryland. But you need to understand the the US government is to Washington as Oxford University is to the town of Oxford--it is the primary employer and concern of most people in the city. Jobs in the US government usually require US citizenship, and many positions now require 'security clearances' (both inside and outside of government). Working as an expat in the national security / homeland security / US government is extremely rare. Jobs in the academic sector on the other hand are pretty straightforward to obtain, as long as you have a visa authorizing you to work in the US. Schooling Some neighbourhoods have excellent free public schools (i.e. state schools), others are not so good, and others are downright awful. Ask around. For a private, British-style education, the British School of Washington http://www.britishschool.org offer a curriculum based on the UK Early Learning Goals, the National Curriculum (England), the International Primary Curriculum and the International Baccalaureate Diploma. Religion The Washington National Cathedral http://www.cathedral.org towers above the city. Run by the episcopal church USA (Anglican), with an excellent choir, and famously elite private cathedral schools for boys (St Albans http://www.stalbansschool.org) and girls (National Cathedral School http://www.ncs.cathedral.org). While nominally a national church, the diversity of religion in the US ensures that no one christan denomination dominates in the city. The President by tradition occasionally attends church at St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square http://www.stjohns-dc.org/, but there is no official state church. The requiem mass during the state funeral of President John F. Kennedy was held at St Matthew's catholic cathedral http://www.stmatthewscathedral.org/. Those who wish to attend Anglican High church mass can go to St Paul's K Street http://www.stpauls-kst.com whose resident English priest regularly invites visiting preachers from London churches, and offers daily evening prayers before an icon of England's national marian shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. Several members of this Anglophile congregation have made a number of pilgrimages to Norfolk, England, to visit the shrine. Gospel music is traditionally associated with African American churches that sprang from the protestant traditions so it was a delightful surprise for this English catholic to find an authentic Gospel mass sung by an African American catholic congregation in the District at St Augustine's http://www.saintaugustine-dc.org/. Evangelical American protestantism, noted for its conservative parochialism and charismatic preachers, and the growth of the high tech corridor and feeder suburbs stretching out west of the city towards Dulles International Airport, together account for the phenomenon of the 'mega-church' arriving in the area. McLean Bible Church http://www.mcleanbible.org is the most conspicuous example, with several members of the Republican administration worshipping there on an enormous campus that requires traffic police to control the Sunday crowds, and three satellite churches. International Community: With nearly every country having an embassy in Washington, along with the headquarters of the World Bank and IMF, along with branches for all major foreign news agencies, you will find quite a few expats in Washington from all over the world. While there are not as many UK expats as say New York, there is a good number in Washington. Unlike other parts of the US, many residents of the Washington area do travel overseas quite a bit. Where to watch UK sports: Washington has a pretty active 'soccer' (don't say football) community. There are several bars and pubs that show the English Premier League on big screen televisions every Saturday and Sunday and Champions League action during the week. The Daddy has to be Summers restaurant http://www.summers-restaurant.com/ in Arlington, VA. Arlington Cinema and draft house http://www.arlingtondrafthouse.com/ showed world cup soccer matches on a BIG screen, where you sat at benches and can order a pitcher of beer. Due to the television rights arrangements in the US, on a Saturday you can often see as many as 4 games from the UK (the early match, the 3:00 game, the 5:00 game, and then a replay of a game earlier in the day). Fox Soccer Channel, Setanta Sports, and Goal TV! all have coverage of the UK and European leagues. The ridiculous EU broadcasting laws during the last World Cup meant it was not possible to listen to BBC Radio 5 live commentary on the Internet :-( Rugby is often shown on Setanta, which is in many of the expat pubs (though you may have to goto an Irish pub to see some games). Fox Soccer Channel also airs an hour or two of Sky Sports News so you can keep up with other UK sports (from Darts to Cricket) Many expats have remarked "I see more UK games on tele here in the US than I ever did in the UK". Still not the same as going to the grounds on a Saturday, but it is something. Soccer The local soccer team is D.C. United http://www.dcunited.com who play at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Major League Soccer. A small but fanatical and friendly following organizes itself into three main supporters clubs, La Barra Brava, the Screaming Eagles, and La Norte. Crystal Palace F.C. USA, is an American soccer team, founded in 2006 http://www.crystalpalaceusa.com/Home.htm. They play their home games at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland. The club's colors mirror those of their London counterparts – red and blue stripes. They currently play in the United Soccer Leagues Second Division. UK Elite http://www.ukelite.com/ provides soccer coaching by qualified British teaching staff at a summer residential soccer camp at Massanutten Military Academy, Woodstock, VA, in the Shenandoah Valley. In January/February 2008 they ran winter "Petite soccer" coaching sessions for 3-5 year olds, in the MD and VA suburbs. Rugby Alexandria Rugby, chaired by New Zealand expat Bert "Ram" Todd http://www.alexandriarugby.org/ runs Union games for youths and adults, and plays in the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union. In 2008 the side travelled to Alexandria's sister city of Dundee, Scotland, to play for a mayor's challenge cup. Cricket The local league of the United States Cricket Association is the Washington Metropolitan Cricket Board http://www.wmcb.org/. Theatre
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