[radioone]

My, oh my....things haven’t changed much in 40+ years:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ox1Tore9nw

[sphinx]

I've lived in DC since 1979. The difference is night and day. Perceptions lag reality, but poverty and gangs are moving out to the 'burbs and young couples are increasingly staying in the city even after they have kids. The city still needs work, but bit by bit, we are recovering from LBJ and the Great Society model, which turned out to be a near-perfect recipe for destroying urban places.

There are great neighborhoods all over the metro area, and my standard advice to newcomers is to live close to work and avoid long commutes, as we have some of the nation's worst traffic congestion. A growing number of the great neighborhoods are in the city, and increasingly can be found east of Rock Creek Park. I can show you attractive neighborhoods in Anacostia where the homes are selling for $400,000 and where the middle class is moving in, largely because Capitol Hill (which used to be the frontier) has gotten very expensive.

Bad reputations linger, but the reality on the ground is changing rapidly.