Andrew
For a diehard urbanist like me, Washington DC has some great neighborhoods. And excellent mass transit. Their subway system is phenomenal -- better than Chicago's, IMO. I'd live in a neighborhood like Dupont Circle in a heartbeat. It is very expensive, though.

You have to be careful there though, especially if you are gay.

My gay nephew used to work for "Congressional Quarterly" in DC. He left work late one night for the metro (subway in DC)". At the station, 6 or 7 black young thugs beat the living sh!t out of him. He is a fairly big guy and got in a few punches before they knocked him down, yelled gay slurs at him and then stole all his valuables after he lay unconcious.

It was recorded as a hate crime. He was fortunate to not have any broken bones or major injuries other than a concussion. He recovered fairly well after a month. The thugs were never caught. Imagine that in DC.

Metal