DC: Various neighborhood links–the Historical Society of Washington, DC; Washington Post short takes on a bunch of different neighborhoods; Post article on the neighborhood where I grew up. I can verify the key-swapping and kids running in and out of one another’s houses, at least when I was in elementary school. Strongly disagree with the description of Georgia Avenue as “a commercial blight on a beautiful neighborhood”–I mean, I know what the guy is getting at (Shepherd Park is not as safe as anyone would like, and that’s in part because of its closeness to the somewhat rundown GA Ave. strip–although it’s also just because hello, DC is not the world’s safest city), and if his big solution is canopies and nicer storefronts then that’s great. He also may of course have been quoted out of context. But don’t dis GA Ave.–the strip he’s talking about includes really delicious food (El Tamarindo), convenience-store shopping (GA Ave. Market, I think it’s called), a public library, fast food (mmm), lots of small businesses and restaurants, a major funeral home, and liquor stores that are less sketchy than the Post article implies. Further south on GA you get residential interspersed with shopping strips that are very social and vibrant in warm weather; further north you hit the edge of Silver Spring, with more small businesses, a big Ethiopian community, and a pretty park. For el cheapo shopping and variety of food, GA Ave. is hard to beat. …I was interested to see that the Post article acknowledges the downside of my lovely home turf: Shepherd Park has a higher crime rate than the very suburban atmosphere, the shouting crowds of children, and the dogwoods and maples and azaleas would lead you to expect. Nonetheless, it’s a great place to live and I hope to eventually settle somewhere near there or with a similar atmosphere.