I grew up in a fairly small, somewhat rural community in central Virginia, about two hours from Washington, DC. And, in my early 20s, I got married and bought a house there.
But when I got divorced at 30, I wanted to start over somewhere new.
Stars seemed to align when I got a new position at my company that required me to relocate to Washington, DC.
I was happy to do it and officially moved to DC in 2021.
Although my hometown wasn’t that far from the nation’s capital, the two places felt like night and day — and a lot of my worries about living in a big city turned out to be unfounded.
City living comes with perks I didn’t expect
Renate Flanagan
I love the outdoors, and was lucky to grow up living close to Shenandoah National Park.
I worried that moving to a big city meant giving up access to green spaces, but I was wrong. This has not been the case in DC, which has miles of bike and pedestrian trails.
Beyond that, the city is so walkable and well-connected by public transportation that some of the parks and monuments are just a few blocks’ walk or a short bus ride from my home. There are lots of free museums in the area, too.
I got rid of my car when I moved to the city, and I don’t miss it at all.
Renate Flanagan
On top of that, I love DC’s cosmopolitan energy.
With all the different embassies and global organizations in the city, there’s a large international community. The diversity of cultures brings a variety of restaurants with cuisines from around the world that I would never have been able to find in my small town.
Living in such a major city also provides a lot of economic opportunities that can be harder to find in smaller towns. For example, many large employers have offices in the Washington, DC, area and offer higher-salary jobs that help offset the higher cost of living.
Living in an apartment has been surprisingly enjoyable, too
Renate Flanagan
I thought going from living in a single-family house to an apartment would feel like a downgrade, but it hasn’t. For one, my apartment building has some great amenities like a pool, a full-sized gym, and a 24-hour front desk.
Renting has also felt more financially predictable than owning a home.
When it comes to maintenance, I no longer worry about footing the bill or mapping out logistics. When something breaks, I call my apartment-management company, and they get it fixed.
My rent also includes all utilities, so I don’t have to worry about my bills fluctuating with seasonal heating and air conditioning costs anymore.
Although I was worried that sharing walls with others would mean a lot of noise, the people in my building are generally considerate of one another. It hasn’t been an issue.
I also expected living in a city with over half a million people would feel cold and impersonal, but I’ve cultivated a small-town vibe in my neighborhood by being friendly.
These days, I’m on a first-name basis with the people who work in my apartment building. I see the same groundskeepers, valets, and taxi drivers outside the hotels every day, and we wave to each other each morning when I’m on my way to take my son to day care.
The city is expensive, but I just can’t see myself going back to living in a small town
Renate Flanagan
There’s no getting around it: It costs more to live in the city.
Although it’s not quite apples-to-apples, for context, my mortgage on the three-bedroom single-family house I used to share with my ex was about $1,200 a month. Here, I rent a one-bedroom apartment that I share with my now-husband and son for about $2,500 a month.
That’s about $15,600 more a year for less space. Even though I pay more in rent than I did for my mortgage, I find the salary and career-growth opportunities here more than make up for it. I also make more now than I did before I moved.
Daily living expenses for things like groceries or going out to eat are higher here than in my hometown, but to me, the convenience and accessibility of so many different things are worth it.
Renate Flanagan
Before I had my son, who is now 2, I thought I might want to leave DC after I started a family. Now I think the city is a great place for him to grow up.
He’s exposed to many different cultures every day, and his classmates have diverse backgrounds. We have free access to the zoo and all sorts of nearby history and art museums, which have lots of kid-friendly activities that are fun for parents, too.
Growing up in a small town, I was intimidated whenever I visited cities and had to navigate public transportation, but it will be second nature to my son as he gets older.
When the opportunity to move presented itself all those years ago, I’m glad I kept an open mind because now I don’t see myself going back to a small-town lifestyle.
