Month: August 2025

The Realities of Living in Washington, DC

M's Adventures

As I do for every place I’ve lived since I started this blog, I write a “realities” article where I talk about the downsides or less than lovely things about where I live (read about Rome here). This is about living in the greater Washington,DC, Maryland, and Virginia are (the DMV).

The traffic. The commute takes over an hour.

The prices. Everything seems to be expensive.

The politics. However one feels about politics, the reality is that this is a town based on it. So it is hard to ignore.

Seven dollars with tip.

Tipping: So much tipping and on EVERYTHING. 25 percent at some places.

The size. This is a spread out city. There are pockets that are cute, but in general it’s big.

The heat: In the summer, it is brutally hot and humid here. It is a swamp, after all.

The lack of authentic Mexican food: This is not really a problem for me, but for most gringos whom I meet around the world, this is a problem.

The Great Things About Living in Washington, DC

M's Adventures

I always try to share some of the great things about living wherever I live. This is my list of great things about life in the Washington, DC, area. (I will write about some of the “realities” of life in DC).

The historical sites: There is so much history here that one can visit for free. Most of the museums are free. There is a lot of history here even if it is not as old as in Rome.

Georgetown and Old Town Alexandria: These two small towns are part of the bigger town but they are old (for America) and were some of the first towns built in this area. They both retain that old time feel.

The national parks: So many of the parks are free.

The nature: So much greenery and nature available. There are trees everywhere.

Free things: Like the concerts at the Kennedy Center. There are many free events and that is a nice thing.

Transportation: Most cities in the United States do not have good public transportation. Washington has a metro system that is a combination of the subway and buses. It works (although slowly at times). Also, with Uber, Lyft, and Empower, it’s easy to get around without your own car. With three airports serving this city, it is easy to get a flight. National Airport is on the subway system (metro) and it is quite close to the downtown. Dulles is on the metro as well.

The immigrants: This area has some decent Ethiopian, Korean, Salvadoran, and Vietnamese food thanks to the immigrants from these countries.

The Internet: Decent speed and steady (most of the time).

Delivery: One can get almost anything delivered to one’s door.

The electricity: Same thing. Steady. Most of the time.

The water: It’s potable and most of it tastes okay.

The language: English is spoken by almost everyone.

“Say Jacques” It’s Hot!

M's Adventures
20 degrees above average?

When I told people I was moving to Adana, Turkiye, everyone told me that it’s hot in Adana. It was a 109 F (43 C) the other day. That is “sicak” in Turkish. Because the “c” in Turkish is a “je” sound like in “John” saying “it’s hot” sounds like “Say Jacques” (no es sound like in Jacques Pepin). So now I’ve learned that Turkish phrase.

My Turkish colleagues tell me that Adana is so hot that sometimes the locals will shoot at the sun… and in 2023 (when it was even hotter), some shopkeepers celebrated the inventor of the air conditioner. See the YouTube video here. Luckily, there is lots of air conditioning. But it makes exploring the city something that has to be done really early in the morning, or later in the year.

Chasing watermelons.

It is melon season so it is easy to keep up one’s electrolytes. Here they like to eat watermelon with white cheese, “beyaz peynir” (like feta but they don’t call it that here).

I had planned not to go outside for four months during the hot season, but with my linen scarf and sun hat, I actually do venture out. From air conditioning to air conditioning. After all, I lived in Dhaka, Rome, and Washington, DC, three other cities that get very hot. The difference is that Dhaka is hot for about ten months and it is humid.

Adana’s hot months are June-September. I arrived in the middle of the hellishly hot weather. It can only get cooler, right?

From Rome to New Rome to Before Rome

M's Adventures
The Roman Stone Bridge with the Sabanci Central Mosque in the background.

A few years ago, I lived in Rome, Italy. For the past two years, I lived in the “new Rome” of Washington, DC, in the USA. Now, I have moved to a place that is still connected to Rome (after all, all roads…) but it’s also near history from before Rome. (Rome was founded in 753 BCE). I’ve moved to Adana, Türkiye.

A “simit” vendor on the Roman Stone bridge.

Despite being a city of two million people, Adana is a less famous than Istanbul (Istanbul is 575 miles/925 kilometers from Adana) but Istanbul is its own universe.

Adana kebab is minced meat. It is the most famous dish from Adana.

I’ve moved somewhere famous for its kebab (More on that later). Adana is also known for its Roman stone bridge (Taşköprü in Turkish), and more recently for being near the location of another famous bridge (Varda Viaduct) featured in a recent James Bond movie. But there are over 12,000 years of history in this area of the world including the famous Göbekli Tepe, from 9500-8000 BCE.

There is so much to explore. I look forward to the adventure!

Shop Local in the Big City

M's Adventures

You might wonder how, in a big place like Washington, DC, if it’s possible to shop local. Washington is a touristy place, just like Rome or Istanbul. While the shopping is not on the level of Istanbul’s market, there is shopping to be found here.

Made in DC is a local chain selling items about Washington, DC, or by artists from the greater metropolitan area of Washington, DC.

Made in ALX (made in Alexandria) is a local shop in Alexandria, Virginia. They feature items by local artists from the greater metropolitan DC area.

Shop DC, located in Adams Morgan in DC, is sort of the same type of shop, but they do not exclusively carry locally made items.

Eastern Market is the farmers market on Capital Hill and features items by local artisans. There is a food hall and market as well.

Farmers markets abound in the DC area and many feature art by local artists. There is probably a farmers market for every day of the week, but most are on the weekends.