I kinda ♥ DC
And that's all I have to say about Valentine's Day. Only one more food-related holiday (Easter) to go and we're all out of the woods in terms of food temptation since Thanksgiving.
While I can't say I 
DC, I've gained an appreciation for living in this town over the years. After recent vacations out of town I've found each time I'm a little more satisfied to return to the city. The guys here get a bad rap sometimes, but there is something to be said for them being washed, educated, well-traveled and clean-cut. Of course I wish there was more scruff in this town, but in the end a guy needs to be interesting and hold his own in a conversation as well.
They don't all talk about politics, or maybe I've just learned to divert the conversations to other topics. There are other industries here other than in government and politics. We've got a big tech base and of course lots of higher education institutions that employ a lot of interesting people.
When I first moved here I was continually warned that guys would always ask, "So, where do you work?" or "What do you do?" But ever since I sought advice from a career counselor, my opinion on those types of questions posed early in a conversation have moderated. If are someplace to earn a living and spend 40 hours a week doing something, it is an important facet in your life, so inquiries about it doesn't really bother me. That said, there are many in this town who do nothing else but work and don't have much else to say.
Anyway, guys here aren't so bad, but you can still get cooties from them.
Here's the cutest Valentine of them all, Josh, owner of The Mighty Jimbo:
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Two words: Portland, Maine
Love you, man.
In Wisconsin no one cares about politics and a lot of the men are scruffy.
I lived in DC for almost 8 years. For all my carping about the place, it obviously had something going for it if I stuck around that long. The people, in general, are more engaged and (sometimes) more interesting. The downside, of course, is the tunnel vision that normally accompanies those people who are so dedicated to their career.
Unfortunate, I never really LOVED the city. On a good day, I kinda liked it. On a bad day, I kinda hated it. There was never any wild swing one way or the other. In the end, I forced myself to think about whether I wanted to spend the rest of my life in a city that I could, at best, kinda like. It was a rough decision... either spend the rest of my life in a city that represented warmed-over mediocrity (from a personal satisfaction standpoint, at least), or take a gamble with something entirely new. I've always been a fan of random/spontaneous/risky acts, so when I got a decent job offer out in Seattle, I went for it.
There were a few minor complaints at first. Seattle isn't as big as DC, so my entertainment options were curtailed in certain areas. Seattle also lacks DC's international crowd. That, and being 2 1/2 hours from the nearest big city (Portland, OR or Vancouver, BC) contributes to the vaguely parochial feel to life out here. And finally, of course, there's the weather. 8 solid months of mid 40's/overcast weather. Ick.
But I stuck it out, and gradually found that this city fits me in ways DC never could. The people here are generally more introverted, but in that intellectual/dorky way I love. While the nightlife out here is mediocre at best, I've finally started to remember how much I love the outdoors. I've got the Olympics 30 minutes to the west and the Cascades 30 minutes to the east. When I went out to Mt Rainier a few months ago, I finally felt that feeling of awe I hadn't felt since my family moved from Oregon. Even the limited nightlife we have is a little more tailored to my tastes (scruffy men rule out here). The people are laid-back and easy to get along with; belting out the phrase "what do you do?" within the first five minutes of the conversation is officially considered rude here. And finally, while you do have to put up with 8 months of crap weather, those 4 months around summertime are damn near perfection.
So there were upsides and downsides to the move. Ultimately, however, I moved to a city that fit my personality better. While there are certainly times I hate this city (generally after we've had two solid weeks of no sunlight), I can actually picture loving this city at some point. I'm not quite there... but the fact that it's possible is more than enough to keep me around.
If you feel you have the potential to love DC, stick it out. If the best you can do is kinda loving it...
(BTW - Portland, ME? Puh-leese. Portland, OR is where it's at)
I've also noticed that affection for a city can creep in without your being fully aware of the change. I lived for seven years in Princeton, NJ when I was in grad school, and though I never grew to love it there, I do find that I miss it at times now, and before I left, it felt like my home.
It surprised me when I moved back to the Twin Cities after Princeton, "coming home" as I thought of it, that it took me a good year to start to feel at ease here. I had been away a long time, and I wasn't the same person I was when I lived here in college. All of my college friends were gone, and I had to build a new life again, find a job, all that stuff. That first year I really missed Princeton and the comfortable, familiar social circle I had left behind there.
Funny how things work.
Have a great weekend!