From the Office

April 28, 2026 by Cassandra Johnson

DC has not changed much. A lot of restaurants and bars have fallen away, however. It has not changed a lot over the years from 2006. At the same time, a lot of places have closed and been replaced, there are a lot of old haunts that encompassed my newer stomping grounds in my second home following my home state. Some establishments are no longer there, just the old building itself, closed, a type of homage to its memory.

U Street. Dupont Circle. Farragut North. Just to name a few of my favorite neighborhoods and depending on what mood touched me, I liked to find myself in Georgetown, Farragut West, and some others up to the point where I really just got a kick out of visiting Friendship Heights ultimately moving into this chill neighborhood.

I was a little dejected in the beginning, however, because, though I liked Takoma Park, Maryland in which I had initially moved for a while, I had anxiously imagined living in DC proper. DC was not far. Two metro stops a way and a short walk was all, but traveling from Maryland through DC and working in Virginia was not quite matching the dream I had duly imagined since my eighth-grade trip of living in DC, once I had finished college. Of course, this was also most suitable for the images of me as a potential ambassador😊.

Though a little removed for the first several years, my curiosity for events and culture meant leaning into the proximity. I made a good habit of hanging in the District for museums, art, dining and special events, though I was ultimately coincidentally intrigued with the nearby cities in Maryland and Virginia.

I did not have as much interest in where I worked outside of DC, but grew to like it, as it encompassed what we affectionately call the DMV, just the same as where I lived in Maryland. I also increasingly appreciated being in this area.

The exposure gave me an introduction I was not expecting and experiences I otherwise may not have ever discovered. Where I worked and lived in those first few years added to my perspective. It was similar when picking international trips as a digital nomad. You land in other notable spots, make unexpected acquaintances, and even the sour moments shape all you are to be.