Author: Jason

Being Car-Free in DC

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So, you moved to DC. Without a car. You’d heard that living in DC without a car was totally doable, but I’m sure the following thoughts crossed your mind:

  • How am I going to get my groceries?
  • How will I be able to get to places that aren’t near the metro?

Life Without a Car

Of all the problems I thought having no car would cause, the problem with groceries concerned me the most, especially during the summer, when it can be a pain walking in the humidity and heat. Eventually, I found solutions to these challenges:

  • Groceries — During the summer, I get my groceries either early in the morning or late at night to avoid the heat. I’ll do the reverse during the winter, depending on my schedule.
  • Getting around — For trips closer to home, I’ve used Zipcar for trips that would take only a few hours, or rented a car for a day from one of the rental car companies at National Airport. For trips to visit friends in Philadelphia or New York, the variety of bus and train options available in the Northeast has been a lifesaver. Moreover, I don’t have to worry about paying for tolls!

Benefits of Being Car-Free in DC

After living without a car for the past 4 years, here are several reasons why I strongly urge you to move to a transit-friendly area in DC so that you can ditch the car:

Don’t have to struggle with finding or paying for parking.

Many of the older neighborhoods, particularly in DC proper, only have street parking available. If your apartment complex has parking, you can expect to pay at least an additional $100 a month for a dedicated parking unit. If you’re commuting by car into DC, many parking garages charge about $10 per day.

Don’t have to pay for car insurance or gas.

Even though the price for gas at the time of writing this blog post is the lowest it’s been in years, paying for gas and insurance is another expense you don’t have to worry about.

Don’t have to make car payments.

With no car, there aren’t any car payments to make!

Your Car-Free in DC Experience

I can go on and on about the benefits of being car-less — the health benefits involved with walking, being more environmentally friendly, the psychological benefits of being “lighter” by not having a car, etc. — but I’d love to hear about your experience of being car-less in DC.

What were the concerns you had when you moved to DC without a car? How were you able to solve them? And what are some of the benefits you’ve discovered by not having a car? Let me know in the comments below!

2015 – The Year Ahead

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If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this past year’s goal-setting exercise, it’s the importance of approaching goals gradually and consistently by making the work happen automatically. To that end, here are some of my goals for 2015 and the accompanying tasks I’ll have to keep up in order to keep myself in check.

Goal #1: Run a half marathon in under two hours.

System: Run at least 15 miles a week.

So far, I’m planning to run four half-marathons (DC, Seattle and LA Rock N Roll Half Marathons and the Maui Half Marathon) and several DC Area 5k Races. I haven’t fully committed and registered for any races just yet, but I’m looking to register as soon as I get paid later this week!

Goal #2: Have at least 3,000 unique page views in the last thirty days.

System: Draft two blog posts a week. Publish at least one post a week.

After thinking about ways to make blogging more of a consistent habit, I realized I needed to focus on writing about something that I’m truly passionate about. That was easy — travel! I wanted to do something different though, so rather focusing on blogging about my travels, I thought it’d be interesting to blog about exploring the DC through public transportation. You can check out that blog here: DC Metro Trip.

Goal #3: Create a web app for DC Metro Trip

System: Work through the Road to Code Guide. 20 hours per week.

I’ve really REALLY wanted to become more technical. However, I’ve found it absolutely difficult to try to focus on learning to code. This is going to be the year I finally commit and become a front end web developer!

Goal #4: Use my Mandarin Chinese more often.

System: Review my Mandarin Chinese at least 30 minutes a week.

This has been and on-again, off-again goal I’ve had since I graduated college. After studying abroad in both Shanghai and Taipei, as well as majoring in the language during college, I’d hate to think I’d completely lose my ability to use the language due to lack of use. So far, I’ve found a new website, Italki, that lets me connect with professional tutors and language partners to use my Mandarin. Hopefully, this will be just the thing to help me retain my Chinese!

Goal #5: Get my total remaining student loan debt to under $20k.

System: Pay a combined ~$667 per month to my student loans.

Pretty straightforward with this one!

Goal #6: Attend mass at least once a month

System: No associated tasks, other than just showing up!

Same with this one as well, pretty straightforward!

 

Wish me luck!!

 

2014 in Review

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Another year has come and gone, which means it’s time for another review. I still can’t believe this is the fourth year I’m doing this. You can find my previous year reviews here: 2013, 2012 and 2011.

What went well?

Traveling

I thought last year was an amazing year of travel, but 2014 was just as amazing! You can find details on my travels this past year here: 2014 Travel Highlights. I went to so many places this year. I’m thankful I had the opportunity to continue to travel, and I hope I have the opportunity to continue to do so in the upcoming year.

Career

When I first quit my job to go traveling in late 2011, I was so excited for what lay ahead of me in terms of all the places I’d get to visit throughout Taiwan! Despite my exuberance, I have to admit that throughout it all, a part of me worried about how taking time off from the workforce would affect my career.

Looking back at it all, I can honestly say that there really wasn’t anything to worry about. 2014 was a fantastic year for my career! Whereas 2012 and 2013 may have been years of career experimentation, I definitely took some strides into finding a career in digital marketing that’s stimulating, challenging, but most importantly: rewarding. Looking forward to another exciting 2015!

Health & Fitness

I had much higher expectations for this past year: being able to complete the minimum requirements for the marine corps physical fitness exam and running a half-marathon in under 2 hours. Although I didn’t meet both of those goals, the decision to work towards those goals helped instill in me the importance of regular physical activity, which I’ve been able to maintain fairly consistently over the past year.

What didn’t go well?

Sticking to my goals

Although I began the year with a enthusiasm to achieve my goals, by the end of it, I had failed to accomplish any of them. I think for this upcoming year, I’ll continue to set goals, but rather than focusing my efforts on the goals themselves, my focus will be on the systems that’ll help me achieve them.

Personal Finances

I’ve definitely made progress on this front, but I’m still disappointed at finding that balance between saving and investing versus spending and enjoying life.

2015 Goals

Pretty simple on this one: more traveling, more running, more writing, improving my Chinese and learning to code. I plan to write about this in more detail in an upcoming post.

Destination: Virginia Square Metro

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As someone who’s lived in the North Arlington area for the past four years, I’ve put together a list of five reasons why you should head out to Virginia Square:

For those looking for coffee…

Northside Social

This local neighborhood coffee shop, located roughly halfway between the Clarendon and Virginia Square Metro stations, is great. For one, it’s more than just a coffee shop! In addition to great coffee, the place also doubles as a wine bar upstairs, and offers a variety of pastries, teas and hot chocolatey goodness to choose from. During peak hours, this place can get packed, so I’d recommend coming earlier in the day if you plan on lingering around to get some work done.

Take a look at their menu

Hours of Operation:

  • Monday – Wednesday: 6am – 10pm
  • Thursday: 6am – 11pm
  • Friday: 6am – 12am
  • Saturday: 7am – 12am
  • Sunday: 7am – 10pm
Northside Social

Northside Social

For those looking to eat…

Rocklands BBQ

The Arlington branch of this DC area barbeque joint is located just a 5 minute walk from the Virginia Square metro. Rocklands is a fast casual type of restaurant, making it the perfect place to head to if you didn’t have time to cook lunch or dinner. Every time I come here, I pretty much get the same thing: a pulled pork BBQ sandwich, with a side of fried okra and mac and cheese.

Check out their menu

Hours of Operation:

  • Monday – Thursday: 11am – 930pm
  • Friday – Saturday: 11am – 10pm
  • Sunday: 11am – 9pm
Rocklands Arlington

Rocklands Arlington

For those looking for a quiet place…

Central Arlington Library – If I’m in work-mode where I need a place to focus that’s not as crowded as Northside, I head on over to the Central Arlington Library. Located about a 10 minute walk from the Virginia Square metro, the library is the largest and main branch of the Arlington County system. Free wifi is excellent throughout the building, and it’s generally pretty easy to find an open desk on the library’s second floor.

Need a book? Search their catalog here.

Hours of Operation:

  • Sunday: 1 – 9pm
  • Monday – Thursday: 10 – 9pm
  • Friday – Saturday: 10 – 5pm
Arlington Central Library

Arlington Central Library

For those looking to be active…

Arlington Quincy Park – This regional park, located a short five minute walk from Virginia Square, is one of the largest in North Arlington. The park is located right next to Central Library, and has six tennis courts, a basketball court, a sand volleyball court, baseball / softball fields and a bunch of open space to just relax around. One thing that I want to emphasize about this place is safety. The place is incredibly safe. I’ve come here

Make a reservation

Should I make a reservation?

That depends. If you have a big event, I’d highly recommend doing so. I’ve only played tennis here before and have never bothered with reserving the space, but in case you wanted to be sure you have a court, you can reserve a tennis court. For tennis, prices are $10/hour for Arlington County residents, $20/hour for non-county residents.

Quincy Park

Quincy Park

For those who like the arts…

Arlington Arts Center – I’ll be honest: I’ve only been inside here because it’s my polling location for elections. That being said, I’ve been meaning to explore more of this place. During the summer, there tends to be an outdoor exhibit or sculpture that they place out on the front lawn.

Gallery Hours:

Arlington Arts Center

Arlington Arts Center

Getting to Virginia Square Metro

Virginia Square Metro Station

Virginia Square Metro Station

Virginia Square Metro is located in the heart of the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor and is served by the Orange and Silver Lines.

  • Street Parking: None
  • Bikes: 12 bike racks and 32 bike lockers are available
  • Carsharing: several zipcars are available
  • Buses: The following bus routes serve this station: