Living in the City with Zero Street Smarts

College Life
1

Hello everyone! I’m extremely excited because I just accepted a summer internship position in Washington, D.C. But, as I am becoming more and more aware of with every passing day, I have no street smarts or even any very useful life skills. I’ve been lucky enough to have had book smarts all my life, which is what landed me the internship in the first place, but for as long as I can remember my friends have always joked that I could never survive on my own.

I’ve known I would have to learn how to cook for a while since I’m moving into an apartment off-campus next year anyway, so even though I still have no idea how, at least I’m aware of that missing piece of knowledge. What scares me the most is not knowing what I don’t know, mostly in regards to living in a city.

I’ve lived in a small town all my life (think: no other houses around for miles). I come from just outside of Ithaca, which is where I go to school now, and Ithaca basically has always seemed like a city to me (think: it’s not). I have no idea how to use public transportation (subways TERRIFY me), I don’t really know what to wear, and I certainly don’t know how to be alone in a city. I will most likely be staying in my uncle’s apartment, but he travels for work so I will for the most part be by myself. I have seen WAY too many episodes of Criminal Minds to feel safe as a teenage girl living alone in an apartment in a city.

Again, I’m really excited and I really do hope I love living there. I’ve never lived outside of Ithaca and I’ve always been scared of cities, so realizing I’m able to survive in one would greatly increase my post-undergrad prospects. I guess I’m looking for any tips or suggestions or anecdotes or anything you can offer up at all!

2

Knowing how to cook some things is useful, period.

The DC Metro is pretty convenient, so getting a SmarTrip card is probably a good idea.

The following might be useful:
http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Street-Smart

3

Congratulations on your internship! There might be some helpful advice here https://www.washingtonpost.com/intern-city/

4

Can you get a concealed carry permit?

Personally, I wouldn’t screw with public transportation, although DC traffic sucks so it’s really a lose-lose situation.

5

Get the book: “The Gift of Fear” by Gavin DeBecker.

6

City living is easier than you think - it just takes a few basic skills, and really just common sense.

  1. Cooking / Living

Start small, and slowly expand - you’ll often realize as you do that you will need x or y based on the meal - for starters, you’re going to need a pot and a strainer for pasta. This will be your life blood for your first week if you haven’t cooked before. Get amazon prime - the two-day shipping is a must have if you haven’t already needed it for college. It pays for itself with the shipping savings. If you’re living with your uncle, chances are he has this all covered, so check and decide once you get there.

  1. Public Transportation / Navigation

Start with basics: walking and metro. Get either a monthly pass if you will be using the metro to commute (if available), otherwise a pay as you go card. Don’t be afraid to make traveling mistakes - part of learning a city is getting off on the wrong stop or taking the outbound train instead of the inbound - allow extra travel time for new routes as you first start.

For any new travel route, look it up on google maps and get a feel for it the day or hour or so before - know the general route, and if needed have it ready to load up on your phone. Don’t be afraid to make a wrong turn, but don’t freak out if you do. This applies to public transport routes as well. I can’t tell you how many times in Boston month 1 I looked up the T map, and the system is relativly small.

I’m in Boston, but I’ve been on the DC metro - great system overall compared to most places. My first time on the metro, I got going the wrong direction - got off a stop later and waited for the next train - was no big deal but it cost me about 20 minutes. Don’t be afraid to just relax and go with the flow.

Once you develop a level of comfort with your normal routes, expand out as needed / wanted.

  1. Safety

Being a girl alone sadly still makes cities a bit more dangerous, but in the daytime you should be just fine - don’t worry too much if the sun is out beyond a basic awareness of surroundings.

When it comes to night, just be smart and stay around people - pick the most crowded subway car, take main streets when walking, etc. If you wear headphones, just keep an eye out. Cities aren’t nearly as dangerous as people would make you think - people, for the most part, are actually quite friendly and understanding.

Once you’re home, you are pretty much good these days. Lock your door, if you want privacy close your blinds and be aware of what windows are private at all, and that’s about it.

Oh, and absolutely not this.

If you have any questions, I love city living and am very accustomed to it, but I’ve only technically lived in a city for a little over a year and a half - I’d be more than happy to answer any specific questions. I don’t know DC too well but I know a small amount of details at this point :slight_smile:

7

DC is not a very confusing city, you should be fine after a week. Read up on the city, get a copy of the metro routes, and you’ll be good to go. There are some more crime-prone parts of the city, but you should be fine in the middle of the day, and I would recommend traveling in a group at night and being aware of your surroundings.

I’m very familiar with DC, so feel free to ask me specifics. @PengsPhils had some excellent advice.

8

Ask your uncle if there is any way he can be around for the first several days of your time in DC to help you get your bearings. Knowing how to get to the metro, the nearest grocery store, post office and other basic things would be really helpful. You can also buy a number of relatively decent prepared frozen entres that you can pop in the microwave, you must know how to open a carton of yogurt, toast a bagel, and brew a cup of tea with a tea bag. You can do this.

9

DC is actually a pretty easy city to navigate.

As far as personal safety goes, a lot of it is common sense. Consider foregoing those headphones or earbuds-- they make it hard to hear anything from an approaching car to someone coming up behind you. Be aware of your surroundings. Keep your money away, and your phone as well.

Life gets a little less safe after dark. Oh, and the last time I was in DC I was surprised to realize how early the public transportation shut down, so become aware of that. Know that if you’re travelling with hundreds of thousands of commuters during rush hour, you’re very likely to be safe-- there’s lots of safety in crowds.

Staying with your uncle means you already have an apartment in a safe part of town… that’s great. Pick your uncle’s brain about where to go and where not to go.

Enjoy this wonderful adventure!!!

10

Googlemaps is great for planning but I would also recommend getting an app with a map of the DC metro that does not require cell service. I know for NYC there are plenty of free ones - I imagine DC has them too. You want to be able to look at it while you’re underground if necessary (e.g. google doesn’t always know when routes are altered due to maintenance and such and so you may have to adjust your route after you’re already underground and without service)

11

and a concealed carry permit is a terrible, terrible idea except for maybe if you already have one in your home state, are already familiar with gun ownership/use and so it’s just a matter of being able to carry your gun in a different state than you grew up.

A little mace/pepper spray thing you can keep in your purse would be a far, far better idea.

12

We live in the DC area, and both our high school age sons travel around on public transportation. You can pm me with any specific questions.

13

Why not do a “practice run” in a closer big city? Our daughter turned 18 in January of her senior year. We treated she and two friends to an overnight in San Francisco, which is about an hour by plane. i flew up with them, but they had to navigate the city alone during the day. It really changed their perspective, and gave them confidence!

14

You don’t need street smarts to live in the city.