A Travel Nurse's Year in DC
All my DC recommendations listed at the end of post!
As travel nurses, we typically can choose where we want to go and get a job at that location. Since my husband and I have been traveling we have been able to get jobs at all the locations we were trying to work. Covid turned everything upside down and made things different. Since Marshall and I had been in Asia when Covid really exploded across the world we were asked by agencies to quarantine for a whole month. So when we returned from our international trip we still could not work for another 4 weeks. When we started working on finding our next assignment, we pretty much jumped at the first job offered to us. That was a little town in Maryland, just outside of DC. Neither Marshall and I were excited about going there, but we were ready for a paycheck, so (kind of reluctantly) went. In the past whenever I had visited DC I may have enjoyed it but always felt a little overwhelmed with the traffic and the degree of tourism. I always left tired from walking so much and ready to be in a quieter, calmer situation. In addition to coming to DC reluctantly, I was experiencing a significant amount of newly found anxiety with the idea of working with this deadly virus that we knew so little about. So, in general I was coming with a lot of discomfort.
Since our job was about a 20 minute drive from the city we decided to see what it would be like to have the experience of living right in the heart of DC. Since it was right at the height of Covid and houses were sitting vacant, we were blessed to find decently nice housing in a good location. So we embarked upon this next assignment, despite apprehensions.
One year and three job extensions later, I can easily say that DC has been my favorite city I have ever lived in. Covid, of course, played a massive role in the experience - in good and bad ways. In the beginning it was less busy, less touristy and we could park wherever we wanted. But over the year it picked back up (to regular tourism during the cherry blossoms!) and I still loved it. It was a uniquely intriguing and historical time to live in DC and for me personally, it was a time of growth, development, discipline and health. All of this created a special place in my heart for this city.
Historically, we had the massive privilege to listen to Martin Luther King Jr.’s son and granddaughter speak at the exact location He gave his “I Have a Dream" speech. We marched with them, fighting for the same rights their father and grandfather fought for 60 years ago. It was history. It was heartbreaking to be marching for the same injustices as MLK, but I count it a privilege to be able to be a tiny part of that day since that fight still needs to happen. (This is obviously a a whole topic to come in a later post).
Later, on January 6th, 2021 I was driving down Independence Ave around noon to go for an afternoon run on the national mall. I was unaware there was a Trump rally that day and since all roads were blocked I was going to have to turn around. The vibe felt different, something in the air felt off. I saw a man in all black and a Trump flag. He was wearing a cape that flew up in the wind displaying a gun beneath. I decided to leave right away. Within an hour of me walking back inside my house I watched as the capitol was stormed less than a mile and half from where I was sitting. I listened to sirens all day and broke curfew to pick up my husband from work that night. I had never been afraid to leave my house before. For weeks we proceeded to see thousands of national guard with giant guns and barbed wire fencing. It felt something like the Hunger Games.
In addition to these huge events everything that came with the pandemic during this time was historical. Most of my entire pandemic experience was in DC. Marshall and I went from living with and spending tons of quality time with loved ones for a year - to being by ourselves quarantining, other than work. It was a big adjustment since we fall on the extrovert side. We, like so many during this time, felt some loneliness and missed our loved ones. And from a working standpoint, the year was very difficult. In some of my previous posts I have written about some of my experiences as a nurse during this pandemic, so I won't go into a lot of detail here. But persevering through work during this time also made me grow stronger and will also keep DC memorable because of these heart wrenching times.
Throughout the year in DC I also experienced a lot personally. It was a time of growth and development that I will quickly summarize. I learned how to regain my confidence and value enough to make drastic changes with my health. I relearned discipline and made hard decisions to better myself. I lost a lot of weight and in that grew so proud of myself and started loving who I was becoming again. It was giant steps and progress that I will forever be proud of. I found strength within myself that I had not seen in a long time. I rediscovered what I was capable of and conquered deep rooted fears and habits I had fallen into. I was eating really healthy, exercising regularly and taking lots of intentional steps to protect and improve my spiritual and mental health. God helped me regain so much of what I had lost in myself and I became a better version of myself during this time. Since I experienced this during my year in DC it adds another layer to the love I have for this city and this chapter of my life.
In leaving DC, closing this chapter was extremely sad for me. I will always think of DC fondly. The city’s atmosphere and vibe is unique, which is probably partly because it is a beautifully diverse city. The diversity is refreshing and helps us learn outside of our own box! Because of this diversity is an insane diversity of food as well! Every country’s cuisine you can think of can be found. It is bustling with tourists in some places but laid back and “chill” in many spots. It does not have that overwhelming, “big city", skyrise feel to me. Somehow the city still feels quaint and intimate. The row houses are historic and charming. The sites and rich architecture are endless. The activeness of the residents - always walking, biking, running is encouraging and motivating. It is also a quick and easy access to nature and outdoors. Great hiking trails and beautiful scenic spots are within an hour drive in many directions. Even after a year, we could keep exploring there for a long time without growing restless for a new adventure.
We got to experience the activity of summer, the beautiful leaves of fall, the snow with winter walks, and the lovely cherry blossoms of spring. We spent time relaxing by the water, enjoying evening walks along the wharf. We frequented some of the best ice cream spots but also found amazing vegan cuisine. We rented bikes and wove around traffic in the city. We we read books and painted canvases on the national lawn and watched sunsets behind the national monument. We went on hikes with friends and played games on the national mall. We rode the ferris wheel at the national harbor and took the water taxi across the river. Explored the streets while looking up houses we couldn’t afford on Zillow. We perused the vendors of outdoor markets, and sampled food at indoor markets. We exercised on the steps of the National Art Museum and regularly ran the national mall. I loved living so close and exercising there. The other runners were motivating and the people-watching made it greater than any gym membership I have had. I quickly loved being able to walk to the grocery story and became an expert at knowing when it was going to feel just too heavy to carry the groceries back to the house. I enjoyed the benefits of city life, yet the quaint feel that our neighborhood had. I loved all of it!
As a travel nurse we have this peculiar life where we close chapters of our lives much more frequently than normal - we uproot and drastically change our lives so often. It creates a lot of emotion that comes with change. It is sad. At our previous assignments leaving was mostly sad because we were leaving loved ones. Every time has been hard. Leaving family is always devastating. Leaving each assignment really isn’t something you can compare. But leaving DC, we said goodbye to friends (new and old) and we said goodbye to a city, experience and chapter that I loved. Sometimes it gets old - the sadness of such great change so often. But the amazing experiences are worth it. I am so incredibly grateful for the DC experience that we had and I will forever treasure the time we lived there.
Here are a few photos of our time throughout the seasons.
Lastly, I want to share a bunch of my DC recommendations!
To Stay:
The best airbnb hosts ever! These two locations are super convenient! They are steps away from a metro station, 5 minute walk to a couple grocery stores, 10-12 minute walk to Eastern market and the amazing 8th street that has tons of great food options, and 5 minute drive to the National Mall. It is so incredibly convenient yet quiet, so it's the best of both worlds! These listings are perfectly clean and comfortable. The host is so kind and helpful, so hospitable. I would 100% recommend these two to anyone coming to DC.
To Do/See:
Of course the whole National mall - Capitol building, National Monument - it was closed the whole time we were there, but if it is open I would go up!, WWII memorial, Abraham Lincoln memorial (there’s a small museum under the Abraham Lincoln memorial that is easy to miss if you don’t know about it), etc.
MLK Memorial
Water Taxi from The Wharf, Georgetown, Alexandria or National Harbor
Walk, shop, eat at The Wharf
Eat/chill at The Yards - walk or bike there from Anacostia Park
Union Market (co-op to eat!)
H Street has tons of food options
Eastern Market & 8th Street also has lots of food options
Rent city bikes
Tidal Basin during the Cherry blossoms!
National Arboretum
Union Station is pretty to see inside and snap a few photos
Arlington Cemetery, see the changing of the guard
See the White House (you really can’t get close anymore)
Shop & eat in Georgetown
See Black Lives Matter street
Washington National Cathedral
Rock Creek Park (gigantic park, great for walking/running, biking, picnics, etc.)
(During our time living here the museums were all mostly closed but the museums that I have previously been to and recommend when open are:
African American Museum
The Holocaust Museum
The Air and space Museum
The Spy Museum
The Bible Museum (recommend the 2nd floor, the first floor I didn’t love but the second floor I can fully recommend and LOVED
I don’t drink so I won’t technically recommend this, but for those that do drink, apparently the Speakeasy scene is pretty cool
There’s lots of good hiking and trails within an hour of the city in most every direction
Easy day trip to Baltimore and Philadelphia
To Eat:
(I don’t eat meat, so these are off of my vegetarian diet. We were also doing a lot of our own cooking during this year so we didn’t explore the food scene as extensively as we would have liked. And indoor dining was closed for a majority of this time as well, so we didn’t do as much “fine dining”... But from our times eating out these are our favorites)
Brunch/Lunch/Dinner
Founding Farmers (one of our favorites for brunch)
Ted’s Bulletin (good brunch options)
Bus, Boys, & Poets (huge menu for meat eaters and vegans)
Milk & Honey (black owned)
&Pizza (local chain)
Sweetgreen (local chain, nice healthy option)
Falafel & Hummus (super cheap & amazing meditteranean food)
IMM on H Thai and Sushi Bar (good Thai curry)
La Cosecha (central american cuisine, recently visited by President Biden)
Union Market - co-op with TONS of amazing options
Vegan
NuVegan (vegan soulfood, black owned)
PLNT Burger (local chain for vegan fast food - one of my favorite burgers)
Farewell (chill vegan spot for breakfast and lunch)
Bakery/Sweets/Coffee
Bread Furst (go as early as possible!)
Sticky Fingers (vegan bakery)
Thomas Sweets (great ice cream, visited by multiple presidents)
Georgetown Cupcakes
Dolci Gelati ( in Oldtown Alexandria- ask for a dark chocolate gelato, chai milkshake, I know sounds weird but its AMAZING)
District Donut (local chain)
Compass coffee (local chain)
The Wyndown (good coffee)
Beautiful article!
https://WWW.SAHARADESERTKINGDOM.COM
I enjoyed your story. May God bless wherever you journey next.