Why I Love Living in Georgetown

I was at a dinner party recently where the discussion turned to the changing nature of D.C. neighborhoods. “No offense,” a woman said to me. “Georgetown just isn’t cool anymore.” I’ll admit that as much as I didn’t want to be hurt (after all, I didn’t build Georgetown -- I just live here), I was. Just a little. Thinking about this exchange later, I began to reflect on why I love living in Georgetown.

It’s not the lack of parking or the presence of drunken students at 2:00 a.m. that keeps me in the neighborhood. Nor is it the high taxes or pricey mortgage for a small home. I have no love of the urban wildlife: the omnipresent rats. I have learned the expensive way the difficulties of working with the Old Georgetown Board on home renovation projects. So why stay?

On a superficial level, I find the neighborhood charming. It is a pleasure to walk along these gorgeous tree-lined streets with diverse, pleasing homes to look up at. It reminds me more of a small European town than a city. After being confined to bed for six weeks following surgery, a friend of mine from the suburbs, looking out of the window next to my bed said, “If you have to be in bed for six weeks, it’s not a bad view to have.” I agreed.

I also love the convenience of having stores and service providers within easy walking distance of home; I think I’d lose it if I had to start the car to run every errand! Being able to walk to my gym, veterinarian, and grocery store lets me be engaged with my neighborhood and the world around me instead of being confined to my vehicle.

But the real reason I love living in Georgetown is the sense of community. Unlike many of my friends who live elsewhere, I actually know many of my neighbors for blocks around me. Earlier this year, when my father died at age 58, neighbors stopped to hug me when I told them the news. When other personal tragedy struck, I felt close enough to share it with several neighbors, and a few of them wrote notes of comfort and condolence and slipped them in my mail slot. When my mother visits me she is amazed by how many other Georgetowners stop and chat with me, asking about my husband and my dog by name. And my mom’s not easy to impress in this way -- she lives in Memphis, Tenn., a very outgoing Southern town.

I think this sense of community, like I experience in Georgetown, is something needed now more than ever. As much as I love technology, it sometimes creates distance as much as it builds bridges. Facebook, blogs, and email help us stay in touch with friends who live in distant places, but they also make it easy to wile away hours in front of a screen instead of truly connecting with people in a meaningful way. Furthermore, everyone in D.C. is so frazzled; we rush from one activity to another, passing each other like ships in the night. What a pleasure to live in a neighborhood where people genuinely care about each other, and actually stop to express that. This village-like quality of Georgetown makes it a truly special place to live.