Post: #1

Fascinating new article in the NYTimes on how the growth in government spending has changed DC. I've heard it was alot easier back in the mid 2000's compared to now.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/magazi...anted=2&hp

"Billions in federal spending, largely a result of two foreign wars, were pouring into the local economy by the early 2000s. Then came the housing bubble. But after it burst, a remarkable inversion occurred: as the country withered, Washington bloomed. Since 2007, the regional economy has expanded about three times as much as the overall country’s. By some measures, the Washington area has become the richest region in the country. It is now home to the three highest-income counties in the United States, and seven out of the Top 10."

"The amorphous war on terror and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security — plus the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq — bloated the country’s spending by about $1 trillion. The contracting dollars that were pumped into the local economy, Fuller says, more than doubled between 2000 and 2010, when it reached $80 billion a year. This, in turn, created hundreds of thousand of desk jobs and fostered a sprawl of nameless, faceless office parks lining the roads out to Dulles Airport....In the process, tens of thousands of new workers, often well-paid young white-collar professionals in areas like technology, bioscience and engineering, also entered the local economy. "

However, apparently things aren't looking so good in the future:

"The dollars devoted to federal contracting have declined in the past two years of the Obama administration. Job growth has been lagging in recent quarters, and offices are renting less space than they used to. “I think that the growth rate,” Fuller says, referring specifically to federal spending, “is going to be something like 1 percent a year over the next five years. But for the past 10, it’s been something like 8 percent a year. Going from 8 to 1, that feels like more than a cutback...Scant job growth will mean lower wages, meaning slower consumer spending, meaning less demand for new bars and clubs and stores and luxury apartments. But just how deeply this will affect the economy is unclear.”

"Whatever happens to Washington, it seems hard to believe that there won’t be enough people willing to pony up $3,000 a month to inhabit Abdo’s latest vision, to drink lattes on his sidewalk cafe and walk on his arts walk."

I have to move back to DC later this year - has anyone noticed any changes in the last 6 months, or is it still as bad as before? I can't imagine all these contracting jobs helping the ratios in the bars and clubs....

Post: #2

One of the things that article fails to mention is the collapse of non-profits in DC. That's where most of the hot girls over 22 worked. When the recession hit, all of the donations for those places dried up, and the hot women left as a result.

Up until 2010 it was hard to notice. But in the Summer of 2011 suddenly all of the bars became giant sausage fests, to the point where there were long lines for the men's room and none for the women's room.

Those non-profit jobs are unlikely to ever return.

Post: #3

DC is great for jobs, but that's about it. I can't think of another American city that can beat it for upward mobility. The federal govt presence has expanded the local economy at a time when the rest of the country struggles. There have been new venues all throughout the city. I think that's partly the result of all those folks who poured in after Obama got put in the White House.

But in terms of game it sucks. It's a good place to get money but the goal should be either to leave to another city or country or setup the kind of lifestyle that affords you flexibility to work remotely.