Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with alexandria

Picking up life again in DC

TheOtherSide — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 06:54:37 -0800

My friend, a 7-year resident of Manhattan, is relocating to DC (Alexandria). What should he know? My friend, who has only briefly visited DC, will be relocating to old-town Alexandria in a few weeks. He has lived in NYC for the last several years, and he has thoroughly enjoyed it. What should he know about DC to make this transition easiest and most enjoyable?

BTW he is mid-30s, works in software, is sort of fashionable / borderline extrovert, and in his spare time he enjoys the usual: food, books, art, music, and women. Also, he knows no one in DC.

What should he know? Where should he go? Who should he meet?

What are the things (e.g. cultures, rules, mores, laws, experiences) that most differentiate DC and NYC?

Egypt Was Good Enough for King Tut

NolanRyanHatesMatches — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 21:51:34 -0800

MovingFarAwayFilter: GF is dead-set on moving from Brooklyn to Cairo, Egypt, for at least a year. I'm pretty resistant to the idea since I love NYC and, if forced to move outside the US, there are hundreds of cities I'd rather move to. I desperately need some 1st/2nd person accounts of living in Cairo / Egypt to help make this decision. General background: we both work for magazines in NYC, are in our late-20s, social, pretty culturally-oriented (go to concerts/readings/etc. as often as possible, go to parties -- of friends, at warehouses, etc. -- regularly on the weekends), and generally live the lives that you might expect from young, social Brooklynites.

Her background: works in literature/poetry, certified Third Culture Kid, moved around as part of a US State Dept. family every two years, has lived in various Middle Eastern countries (including Cairo in high school for two years), speaks and reads Arabic at a decent level, is desperate to move away from the US, seeks "adventure" but scoffs at the idea of living anywhere in Central America, South America, and Europe. Seems to be basically zeroed-in on Cairo, Alexandria, or another Middle Eastern country. I've floated the idea of staying somewhere / various places for three-four months at a time, but she would rather spend one or two years in one place. At present time, she also seems to value moving away more than job prospects, so she's not necessarily looking for an editing/writing job.

I grew up knowing that I'd move to NYC and have loved living here, love our extended group of friends, love pretty much everything the city offers. My job is here (although could be done, with some effort, outside of the city), my friends are here, and so is my heart. I really, really don't want to move (but love to travel, just not relocate). But, I love my GF (long-term) more than any of it, and she wants to head out, no question.

Were I forced to move, I'd probably pick either a metropolitan city in Central America, South Amerca, or Europe: Mexico City, Quito, Buenos Aires, Sao Paolo, Lima, Belmopan, Barcelona, London, Dublin, Rome, Budapest, Vienna, Berlin, etc.); or, a sleepier town, bucolic town in C/S America or Europe, of which I know hundreds, and there are probably thousands that I don't know about that I would love.

Basically, what are the chances that I would enjoy living in Cairo? How heavy is the cultural bend towards Arab/Muslin trends? Will there be clubs to go to at night? Might I enjoy the music scene there? Is there a healthy cultural conversation w/r/t Western literature? Would I be somewhat shocked by what the law disallows? Is there a chance that I'll feel as if I'm in a European metropolis? Will I have a tough time continuing my online work from Cairo? Can I get by with English, or will I have to spend serious time learning Arabic? I get the feeling that I might like Cairo over other big Middle Eastern cities, but I can't shake the supposition that I'd other big cities that I know and love over Cairo.

I'd love to hear any 1st/2nd person experiences about living in Cairo, or any suggestions of websites/blogs that chronicle what day-to-day life is like in Cairo. I'd like to be open-minded about the prospect of living there, but I can't seem to find any information sources that will help me make the decision, and I think I have a deep-seated wariness of being a Westernized guy living in Egypt / Middle East. Any help at all would be much appreciated

Where to live in DC?

decrescendo — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:00:27 -0800

I'm moving do Washington DC sometime in the near future. Where should I live? VA, DC, or MD? I don't have a position yet even though one is on the table and more are to come. The position I have on the table is for one of the large government buildings in Crystal City but I might end up taking a job in another area.

I'm 23, single, and I'm moving from Southern Maryland. All I need is a one bedroom place. I'm looking to live as close to the bars/night life/fun as possible in order to make up for the time I've been down here with nothing to do. Being able to walk to a few hot spots and take the Metro to work would be absolutely fantastic.

What areas are my best bets for this? Some have suggested Arlington, Alexandria, or Crystal City? Should I steer clear of the DC area and shoot for VA? Maybe Georgetown? What do you all recommend?

Help me sell my used academic books for a good price.

anotherpanacea — Thu, 29 May 2008 07:28:30 -0800

Where can I find a used bookstore that will buy gently used academic books in the DC-Baltimore-Northern Virginia area? I am generally a bibliophile happy to amass books and more books, but my partner has issued an ultimatum. Thus, I have about six boxes of academic books that I can do without to preserve domestic tranquility. They are generally the very thing that fashionable young grad students in the humanities would snatch up. Also, I have a box of graphic novels that I can no longer defend as remaining in touch with my inner child. Assuming I want to avoid piecemeal sales on Ebay, where can I/should I sell them?

What's living in Alexandria, Egypt like?

devilsbrigade — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:39:26 -0800

What's living in Alexandria, Egypt like? I'm considering stopping out of university for a year next year. Ideally, I'd be living somewhere other than home. I've been reading Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet, & to be honest, I'm quite taken with the idea of living there. That said, I realize reality isn't quite like that, & especially not 70 years after the books take place. Basically, I'm looking for general experiences, or thoughts on living there.

Things that have been on my mind lately:

1) I speak English and French. How prevalent are these two languages? Would adding Greek help much, or is Arabic really the only way to go?

2) How would one go about finding an apartment? Craigslist has a handful for Cairo and not much else, so I'm guessing there's some other method. The prices in Cairo seemed to be about 1500 EGP -- is that a reasonable guess?

3) How easy is it to find work? I've thought about getting a TEFL certificate - would that make finding work significantly easier? What's the viability of a bar-type job without much Arabic? Are Egypt's visa requirements significantly different from western Europe?

4) What does the city feel like? General impressions or conceptions of areas, etc. would be terrific.

5) Would there be any major concerns with being an American in Egypt right now? I'm interested especially in what it's like subjectively, even if it's not really dangerous objectively.

Any recommendations on other resources would be terrific, too.

Need Alexandria restaurant for birthday party for a 95 year old!

sperose — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 22:33:19 -0800

Where should my family eat in Alexandria? Requirements:
-- serves lunch and dinner
-- semi-formal (sportcoat level, not full suit)
-- in Alexandria specifically
-- first floor seating available (read: no stairs to get to dining room)
-- quick service
-- willing to take substitutions

Nice to have:
-- reservations
-- vegetarian offerings
-- decent desserts
-- view of water

Not required:
-- extensive alcohol offerings
-- allergy considerations
-- religious restrictions

This will be for about 7-10 adults, ranging in age from 22 to around 95.

"For I am knowledge and ignorance..."

ibeji — Thu, 10 May 2007 05:58:08 -0800

Where can I find the Thunder Perfect Mind text in its Coptic form? A (legible) photograph of the Nag Hammadi papyrus itself or a copy using a Coptic font will do. Online sources are ideal, but book references are also appreciated.

Where to live in Alexandria

Flamingo — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 19:25:56 -0800

Where should we live in Alexandria, VA? My boyfriend and I will be moving to Alexandria at the beginning of May, but we're unsure which area would be best for us. We're both in our early twenties and enjoy going out, eating well, and being able to walk to interesting things. As a point of reference, we lived in DC's Eastern Market last summer and we loved the easy walk to restaurants, bars and the Market itself.

We're looking to move into a 1 bedroom apartment (can't be a studio) and we'd like to pay less than $1400. We only have a passing familiarity with the city and we're looking for specific recommendations for certain areas (or ideally, certain apartment buildings). It would be nice to live near a metro as I may be working in DC, but it's not a requirement.

BONUS: My boyfriend would love to find a place to play baseball, roller hockey, or basketball on some sort of recreational team in the city. Any recommendations?