Team Wet Dog

leaving d.c.

It's time for a change. It's time for me to leave D.C.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love this city. I've been here almost eight years now, and in that time Washington has become my home and part of my identity. It's a city where I've felt comfortable, a vibrant place with exciting people and much to do. A place that allowed me to accomplish many things I am proud of.

Why I've loved this city so much, and why I've been such an ardent supporter of it, is tough to say. Maybe it's the circuitous route I took to get here, or the early challenges in getting comfortable. Maybe because I feel like this is where I finally starting growing up, and being me.

Whatever the reason, I do love this town. I moved here on New Year's Eve 1999-2000, the night when all the computers were supposed to stop working, when doomsday would strike, when all hell would break loose. I showed up with a backpack and a box of stuff, and I didn't leave.

Until now.

On August 10, driving a large truck holding far more than a backpack and a single box, my girlfriend and I will leave Washington D.C. We're headed to North Carolina where she will get her PhD in nutrition. I will keep doing what I'm doing, working from home and pursuing creative projects. Team Wet Dog, North Carolina-style, will continue.

It's tough to explain why I'm so excited about this move. As much as I love Washington, I feel like it's started to wear on me over the last couple of years. The high cost of living has been prohibitive, the crowds of people seem a little more dense, the public transportation not quite as reliable. There's a palpable sense of conflict in the air some days, a feeling I think is new and regrettable

So this change is a welcome one. We'll be moving to Carrboro, N.C., which is a small, progressive town just outside of Chapel Hill. It has a population under 17,000, a growing influx of immigrants, a concentration on local food, annual poetry and music festivals, and an independent local radio station. Sounds good to me.

Leaving D.C. will be hard, of course. It means leaving behind, at least geographically, a group of friends that are like family to me. The people I've come to love in D.C. have been a large part of what made the city so special, so much my home. And while it's only about a four hour drive, I know it's not a trip I'll make very often.

Washington is a beautiful city — an underappreciated place that has far more opportunities, icons and special moments than it has problems. I am sad to leave, of course, but I am excited to experience something new. There are countless things I will miss, and a very few I am happy to leave behind.

And I hope that in my few years here, by celebrating Washington I've managed to give some small thing back to the city.

I grew up in the South — born in North Carolina, actually, though I spent most of my life in South Carolina. Roadside fruit stands, boiled peanuts, watermelon, BBQ, minor league sports and small towns are in my blood. But it's been a long time, so as much as I'll be moving back to something familiar I will also be seeing it in a new way.

— Robert

(8/6/07) 
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