Living in D.C.
I lived in Washington, DC, for almost three years. I lived about six blocks from the Capitol building, so I thought my family was more or less immune to the crime that was rampant across the city. After all, we lived across the street from the day care center where many Senators and Congressmen left their children, and about two blocks from a power plant; both had 24-hour police monitoring.
However, my family was the receiving end of many crimes, including: Our hub caps were stolen, someone tried to break into our car, someone broke the rear windows of every car on the block, someone almost stole my grandmother's purse, someone attempted to break into our house, and our next-door neighbor was attacked so strongly that it took three operations to re-set his ankle. But before any of this happened, I found myself jumping and turning around at any sound I heard. I was very afraid to go out at night, even to get something out of the car. Whenever I was in a small store and someone came in, black or white, I would tense up and keep an eye on them. I always get a chill up my spine whenever someone asks me for money, and there are many panhandlers in this city, despite the anti-aggressive panhandling law.
The District is one of a few states in the USA that outlaws all handgun possession, which makes it much more difficult for an innocent citizen to defend himself against gangs or drug lords, both who get their guns from the black market. Although I never saw anyone with a gun, I know from the people in our neighborhood that you hear them go off all the time. What I do know is that, although they were located only ten or so blocks away, Pizza Hut would not deliver to our neighborhood - they never cited a reason.
We visited the city in early 1991 to visit friends and family. We visited some friends we had last seen in 1984. We used to live across the street from Potomac Gardens, a retirement home on one side and public housing complex on the other. Our friends still lived there. That area has always been witness to crime. On the one night we decided to go there, at least one ambulance arrived to pick up either someone who overdosed or someone who was shot. Several police cars too.
There is one advantage to living in Washington, and that is you get to see all the beautiful museums and monuments to American greatness that this city has. Also, you attract a lot of family members who want to see you as well as the city.
Basically, what I am saying is that while I love city life, and the District is a lovely city, it is not the marble palace that it appears to be in film and television. It has a worse murder rate than most cities in the entire world. I was afraid almost every time I went out. I will be attending George Washington University in the fall, and while it has an extensive security system, I still won't feel safe.
E-Mail to DC Tours