DC v. Philly

We just returned from a four day trip to DC. Mr. Doodlebug had a conference on Thursday and Friday so baby Doodle and I went down to the Capital too. We stayed with friends of ours who have two dogs, one is just three months old and quite nippy. Baby Doodle was in heaven, seeing how dog was his first word. He let the miniature poodles lick his fingers and jump up on him. As always, we had a whirlwind visit, seeing eight different parties. Baby Doodle was so exhausted from our trip that he slept from 7:30 p.m. until 8:00 a.m. this morning, and even then he didn't wake up crying. I had gone into his room to make sure he was okay -- 12.5 hours of straight sleep is unprecedented -- and he was lying there with his eyes open staring at the side of his crib. He hadn't even noticed that I entered the room until I said good morning. He's thoroughly enjoying all of his activities here at home again, as if they are all long lost toys.

We are approaching our second anniversary living in our house and in Philly (July 6). Three major differences between our old home town and our new one:
1. The volume of cars on the road in DC is greater than Philly even though Philly is more populated.
2. The traffic patterns in downtown DC are much more confusing -- yes, I'm starting to forget the most efficient ways to get places there. Philly's Center City makes a simple grid with most streets alternately one way.
3. Housing prices are still astronomically high in DC and are still reasonable in many parts of Philly. We saw a house with three bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, no parking, no yard, shitty looking exterior for $675,000 on Capitol Hill, where we used to live. Conversely, we paid signficantly less for our four bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house with two car parking and a good size yard. Granted our neighborhood isn't quite as aesthetically beautiful as the Hill, but is a fantastic neighborhood none the less.
4. Until Philly gets better subway service, I will maintain that DC's metro is far far superior to Philly's subway and trolley service. In a neighborhood equivilent distance from the heart of DC as our current one we would be taking the metro to the city and everywhere else. In Philly we have to take the regional rail which is far less convenient both in it's frequency and it's geography.

All that said, we are very happy living here and plan to live in or around Philly for many many years.