Much of the development in the DC area is clustered along the Metro lines. This development has generally been quite successful, with the areas around the Clarendon and Ballston metro stops in Northern Virginia being hailed as outstanding examples of transit related development. For young professionals who like high rises, Ballston is nice, and very convenient, if somewhat bland. Clarendon is less dense, and is as hip as Northern Virginia gets, which is a nice try in any event. Still no beautiful people, but some nice places to eat and drink.

It’s not an accident that the counties surrounding DC; Fairfax and Loudoun in Virginia, and Montgomery and Howard in Maryland, are now the richest in the nation. This is the home of the mini, and sometimes not so mini, mansion, built for government contractors, otherwise known as beltway bandits. There are lots of lawyers clearing seven figures, and some much richer politically connected entrepreneurs; as you drive out in the suburbs you’ll be amazed by the sheer number of big gaudy houses, and how far away from DC they stretch. The Washington area is also one of the most educated in the nation, and the world, but it’s not the kind of education that makes for interesting people, like artists with masters in fine arts or writers who studied comp lit. In Washington the affluent have law degrees, or doctorates in the kinds of sciences that help the defense department develop more efficient drone strikes. There are literally cul-de-sacs where every house will contain someone with a law degree; or a couple where each has a law degree.

So there is great affluence in this area, but, other than the houses, it is generally not so in your face as you might find in Miami or New York. Washingtonians spend money on real estate, but not so much else. You won’t see Rolls Royces or Ferraris, although there are a lot of high end cars of the more routine variety; endless Mercedes, Volvos, Audis, and BMWs. There is continual talk by boosters as to how Washington is becoming more sophisticated, but generally the dress is even more boring than the rest of America, though a bit more formal; more men still in suits and ties than elsewhere. There are plenty of nice restaurants in the DC area, but generally not super high end, as in these more constrained times lavish expense account entertaining is out of style, and your typical Washington lobbyist wouldn’t dream of actually paying for a very expensive meal just for himself or his family. Charming Old Town Alexandria, one of the closest suburbs, is home to scads and scads of million dollar plus townhouses, but only a couple of really high end restaurants, like Restaurant Eve. Downtown McLean, ground zero for politicians, lawyers, and lobbyists, is all million dollar plus houses, but very few nice dining, or shopping, options without trudging into Tysons Corner.

The richest man we know in Northern Virginia is a real estate developer who owns thousands of apartments with the mortgages completely paid off; his free cash flow must be tens of millions per month. But he lives in a modest house and generally very inconspicuously. Many of the richest men in the DC area; and they are overwhelmingly men – have built fortunes through real estate, as the machine that is the government seems to inexorably grow through any kind of administration or economic climate, and with it the need for offices, housing, and retail space. The real estate they have built is generally of the generic, but very profitable type. These guys don’t take big chances on any type of innovation, and why should they, when they know the faceless beltway bandits will fill their generic office space, and the endless stream of lawyers will buy an endless stream of colonial mini-manses, and the bland people will keep shopping at the bland malls and strip centers.

Despite all the above, there are areas in DC worth spending time in. These tend to be older areas like Georgetown or Old Town Alexandria, built long before the current highly regulated cookie cutter development took over. Also, because there is so much money in the Washington areas it has managed to attract, like bees to honey, entrepreneurs and restaurateurs in a partially successful attempt to spice up this great siphon for taxpayer money.

Old Town is interesting because it’s a large area really dominated by older buildings, mostly townhouses, but it’s a real community, not a museum like Williamsburg, Virginia. Development has been harmonized so as not to alter the historic vibe, which is nice, with the unfortunate side effect that there is no place a non-lawyer can afford to live. Nonetheless, it makes for a nice visit. We recommend Hotel Monaco, a Kimpton hotel, with a great location on King Street, and surprisingly affordable rates for this new, colorfully designed hotel with large rooms. (You’ll want a room overlooking King Street, or on the side nearer the river. On the other side you’ll hear a noisy exhaust fan.) From this hotel it’s an easy walk to the water and the parks surrounding the water, as well as up and down King street itself, where you can catch a free trolley down to the King Street Metro station.

Christ Church is a small historic and still used church, centrally located, with a nice cemetery, and certainly worth a visit. Founders Park, by the water, is lovely when the locals take their dogs out, throw Frisbees, and generally act like happy people in the rest of America who are not contemplating who they can most profitably sue next. Carlyle House, just two blocks off from Founders Park, has a lovely and tree lined small private park behind the historic home. Prince Street, just one street off King Street, is one of the best examples in America of a tastefully restored historic residential area, especially the stretch from Washington Street to Union Street. Alexandria also has a lot of small, interesting antiques shops.

One of the best parts of visiting Old Town is that it’s such a pretty drive along the George Washington Parkway (called Washington Street while in Old Town). You can cross any of the bridges coming out of DC and follow the signs to the GW parkway, taking it to Old Town. Continue on the parkway out of Old Town for the lovely drive along the water to Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home, also worth a visit, mostly for the grounds and outbuildings rather than the relatively modest home itself.

Georgetown is the historical area in DC and the most fun area for general walking, browsing, eating and drinking, but its not near the major tourist attractions, and it is not served by Metro. The main drag, M Street, is the rough equivalent of King Street in Alexandria, but a bit more tourist oriented. M Street has most of the usual national mid range brands and some upper tier brands, but few really high end like you’d find at Bal Harbour mall in Miami or Tysons two in Virginia suburbs. M Street has gotten gradually more sophisticated over the years, but The back streets are filled with historic homes, many quite large, and both M Street and Wisconsin are filled with some interesting shops, mostly focused on clothing and apparel. Just above Georgetown is Georgetown University. Below Georgetown is the Washington Harbor area; this area is not historic, but is tastefully developed, with a lot of nice restaurants to eat or have a drink while watching the activity on the Potomac, such as rowers from local schools. In fact, Georgetown harbor has some of the best views from dining and drinking spots you will find. Directly out front there will be some boats tied up, perhaps including a real yacht or two. On the Georgetown side of the harbor is Kennedy Center for the performing arts. Directly across the river is the Roosevelt Island park, and part of what makes the view so special is that the park provides an undisturbed tree line, so while the Georgetown side is nicely developed, you’ll see mostly trees looking across the river. You’ll also see the high rises of Rosslyn on the Virginia side; Rosslyn itself is fairly soulless, but makes a nice visual contrast to the tree line.