Moving to DC: Need friends and a job

fulloflead

fulloflead

Joined
May 3, 2002
Messages
6,192
I've decided to move to the Washington DC area in September, mostly to do something more meaningful and altruistic with my life - to get involved with some Progressive political organizations and/or non-profit groups and charities.

I'm giving up my corporate career in hopes of doing something more in line with my Progressive value system.

I realize MOST of the people on this forum lean Right, and that's OK. From my experiences with all these people, they too, may respect my new mission.

Anyway, I'm just looking for leads, suggestions and help from the very forum I've spent the most time on of any on the internet:
On friends.
On jobs.

Job Hunt: I'm a Prepress/Print-production person, marketing person and an excellent writer.

Friends: Well, I'm, obviously a knife nut and I'm also a gun nut - in fact a Pro-gun Democrat.

Anyway, if there's anyone in the DC area and has a job lead or just wants to make a new friend, drop me a line.

Thanks!

.
 
I work in DC but live in Northern Virginia. DC is very much a commuter city - everybody comes in during the morning and gets out in the afternoon like all the bats out of hell. As far as I know nobody actually lives in the District. ;)

Actually there are some pretty cool neighborhoods. If I were young and single I would look for a place to live in or near Old Town Alexandria. It's in Virginia but is only a couple of Metro stops from downtown DC.

Don't tell anyone in DC that you are a gun nut, but you can tell everyone in Virginia. :) Virginia is a "shall issue" state so you can easily get a concealed carry permit and is also an open carry state so you can carry openly almost anywhere. The NRA headquarters is in Manassas.

I don't really have my thumb on the pulse of the job market here since I am actually looking to retire from it in the not too distant future, but my sense is that it is still fairly robust. The real estate market is very depressed so it's a good time to be a buyer.

The areas surrounding DC range from very urban to very rural so you should be able to find an environment that meets your needs. Traffic is nightmarish - far worse than any other place I have been, but you learn to be resourceful and just deal with it.
 
Can't help you out with the jobs in that area but if you ever want to visit my shop, I'm about an hour and a half north of DC on the Pa./Md. state line. Best of luck.
Scott
 
Among other benefits of the move, you will be MUCH closer to the Blade Show when it comes around! :)
 
I must say that I admire your dedication. A move from Denver to DC means a huge decline in quality of life, in my opinion. (I realize that tastes may vary).

Best of luck to you, in any event.
 
The D.C. area is a wonderfull place to live.

Between the Smithsonian museums, historical places close at hand dealing with both the War For Indepenance, and Civil War, you can have your free time full for the next year, and still not see it all. I've lived just north of D.C. for most of my life, and even though I've lived in places like San Antonio Texas, and Trinidad Colorado, I found myself coming home to the Washington area.

Food?.

There will be a couple years work to try out all the great eating places. Anything you want from italian to Thai is around. Want old fashipned? Try Rocklands BBQ on Wisconson, just above Georgetown. The BBQ briskett will melt in your mouth, and the ribs you can pull the meat right off the bone easy.

Recreation?

One hour west is Front Royal Virginia and the Appalation trail. Fishing? The Potomac river has some of the best bass fishing in the country. Last years bass tourniment had some monsters comming in at the finish. Up river theres boating and camping on the islands in the river, by Edwards Ferry and north.

Theres a ton of state parks in both Virginia and Maryland with wooded hiking trailsm camping, fishing.

The Chesapake bay has great sailing, fishing, camping, and historic tours. Lots of marinas have boats for rent. The head boats are not pricy, and will hook you up with spot, Rockfish, and bluefish. Or you can go crabbing, and enjoy one of the finest eating treats you can have; the Maryland blue crab. There's a great crabbing pier down at Solomans, at the mouth of the Patuxent river.

Three hours out east on Rt50 will put you in Ocean City for a weekend at the beach. Just south of there is Assateague Island National Seashore. Camping, surf fishing, night clubbing at Ocean city. Just make sure you camp on the ocean side of the island, otherwise the skeeters will get ya.

If you're living in D.C. and want a interesting way to get away from it all quick, you have the C&O canal trail. It goes from Georgetown in D.C. to Cumberland Maryland 184 miles away, with a nice hiker/biker trail through wooded countryside the whole way. About every 12 to 15 miles theres a hiker biker camp ground, and it takes about 4 days to travel the whole way. Have somebody drop you and your bike and camp gear up in Cumberland, and bike home. Theres little towns along the way to resupply or have a decent resuraunt meal at. If you do the bike trip, don't miss the railroad museum at Brunswick.

Shooting?

Theres alot of gun clubs. I belong to the Izzak Walton League chapter in Damascus Maryland, and we have two pistol ranges, rifle range, skeet, trap, and sporting clays. Theres other private clubs in the area. If you live in Virginia, you get to have a CCW.

Music?

Between Wolf Trap, the Kennady Center For The Preforming Arts, the Meriweather Post Pavilion, you'll get to hear concerts from old rockers to classical.



Man, you're moving to an area with so much to do, and so varried terrain, your gonna be busy for the next couple years getting to know it all. For a history buff, its a great place.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Among other benefits of the move, you will be MUCH closer to the Blade Show when it comes around! :)
Click to expand...

And closer to Evav too! :thumbup: :p

Count,

I've gotten to live in a lot of places including Honolulu, Boston, San Diego, central PA, northern CA, Tucson, OKC, Spokane, Reno, and (now) southern Frostbite Falls however always thought I would enjoy living in D.C. I have visited there with some frequency and always liked the vibe of the place. If you live close in it strikes me as a place where one could live without a car due to their strong mass transit system.
I imagine many national organizations have their headquarters there, or in close proximity (Council for Exceptional Children in nearby Arlington, for one) and some would fit your vision. I also imagine all of them hire people to assist with their publications for either their constituency or for lobbying purposes. I'm not sure how you would find a list of organizations in the area, but I'm sure it is possible what with this interweb thingie.
I hope this goes well for you, and I envy the experience you are about to undertake.
all da best,
rats...
 
Hey man, if you decide to come back East, I'll get you some crabcakes.

A pro gun and knife democrat, well, should do okay in DC. Have you checked out usajobs.gov, I don't know if they offer jobs working for congressmen etc. As for nonprofit groups, depends on your credentials. Good luck. Also, property prices, not necessarily values, are going to be a lot higher.

Oops, you have decided to come back east. Shoot me an email, I'll send you my phone number. There are other spots in the area, but Bass Pro Shops in Arundel Mills mall is a fun place to visit. Expensive, but worth the trip. You've got the mountains just up 270, the ocean and Bay out Rte 50. The Air and Space museum, the Smithsonian, the NMAI (they have an exhibit called Guns of the Plains that I want to see).

Oh yeah, this is a knife forum, you can come up to Baltimore this December for the Chesapeake Knife Show.
 
Wow. Thanks guys! Lots of great info. I'll be in touch!

I've got some apartments picked out in Silver Spring, but there are waiting lists. I'm going to start looking in Rockville.

Since I know (almost) everything there is to know about printing, prepress, print production, I may have to get a job in printing just to get in town and then start doing volunteer work and freelance writing to make connections.

So if anyone knows anyone in Printing in the area, let me know about that too.

.
 
I believe that QuadGraphics' direct mail division, QuadDirect, has a state of the art printing and bindery facility in Fredericksburg VA. You wouldn't want to commute from Silver Spring, but rents in Fredericksburg are much lower anyway.
 
silenthunterstudios said:
Hey man, if you decide to come back East, I'll get you some crabcakes.

A pro gun and knife democrat, well, should do okay in DC. Have you checked out usajobs.gov, I don't know if they offer jobs working for congressmen etc. As for nonprofit groups, depends on your credentials. Good luck. Also, property prices, not necessarily values, are going to be a lot higher.

Oops, you have decided to come back east. Shoot me an email, I'll send you my phone number. There are other spots in the area, but Bass Pro Shops in Arundel Mills mall is a fun place to visit. Expensive, but worth the trip. You've got the mountains just up 270, the ocean and Bay out Rte 50. The Air and Space museum, the Smithsonian, the NMAI (they have an exhibit called Guns of the Plains that I want to see).

Oh yeah, this is a knife forum, you can come up to Baltimore this December for the Chesapeake Knife Show.
Click to expand...

dude, i love basspro, i live like less than a mile from there, it is expensive but im also there atleast once a month :D

also rockville has a sweet few outdoor stores, REI and a
HTO (hudson trail outfitters)
and a Ranger surplus nearby


could try to work for

The sun
the the gazzete
the capitol
washington post
 
mycroftt said:
I work in DC but live in Northern Virginia. DC is very much a commuter city - everybody comes in during the morning and gets out in the afternoon like all the bats out of hell. As far as I know nobody actually lives in the District. ;)

Actually there are some pretty cool neighborhoods. If I were young and single I would look for a place to live in or near Old Town Alexandria. It's in Virginia but is only a couple of Metro stops from downtown DC.

Don't tell anyone in DC that you are a gun nut, but you can tell everyone in Virginia. :) Virginia is a "shall issue" state so you can easily get a concealed carry permit and is also an open carry state so you can carry openly almost anywhere. The NRA headquarters is in Manassas.

I don't really have my thumb on the pulse of the job market here since I am actually looking to retire from it in the not too distant future, but my sense is that it is still fairly robust. The real estate market is very depressed so it's a good time to be a buyer.

The areas surrounding DC range from very urban to very rural so you should be able to find an environment that meets your needs. Traffic is nightmarish - far worse than any other place I have been, but you learn to be resourceful and just deal with it.
Click to expand...

+1. I'll give Mycroftt's analysis my completely useless 'seal of approval.'

While the traffic truly is nightmarish, there are some mass transit systems ... and a careful choice of abode v. place of work can alleviate much of the nightmare (but not all).

It is indeed a great time to be a buyer. But you'll have to deal with a lot of paperwork ... and demonstrate considerable patience ... to get through what has become an annoyingly complex buying process.

Like Mycroftt, I'm heavily invested in the federal government. I will keep my old eyes and graying ears open on your behalf, however.
 
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