I love life in the city, except for two things: 1) traffic; 2) crime

I love life in DC, except for those two things plus one more: humidity.

The traffic problem is alleviated by living within walking distance of work, which I have for the past twenty years. No or nearly no commute subtracts 90% of the agony of traffic. The crime problem in my neighborhood is alleviated, significantly, by being cautious (home, personal and auto security strategies) and working with neighbors and police to report suspicious and criminal behavior. The balance of the crime risk is, I believe, less dangerous to my health than a long daily driving commute would be.

I have zero desire to live full-time in a rural area, exurb or suburb. I lived in all three growing up in California and Oregon. But I savor the opportunities to go camping in the mountains.

I love the social aspect of city life -- the convenience of having many friends nearby and especially the high concentration of interesting people (due in large part to the diversity of city populations).

My morning routine includes walking Gidget (my Samoyed) around the neighborhood and exchanging greetings or having conversations with several neighbors on my block and adjacent blocks who have become friends. And invariably pleasantries with several more strangers, typically after they admire Gidget and give her a nice petting. It's good to have a friendly dog in the city.

On weekends, we'll often walk with one or two neighbor-friends to the flea-farmers market. There we'll have coffee and maybe a crepe from a street vendor or a full-fledged breakfast sitting at a sidewalk table at the Latin American cafe. There we'll run into other friends who live in the zip code and meet more nice strangers who gravitate because the market is dog-friendly and pups are magnets for friendly people.

A couple neighbor-friends and I routinely pick up items for one another during our trips to supermarkets, Costco or Home Depot. We walk our pups together to the post office when we have things to mail.

My dream home is smack in the middle of a relatively safe inner-city neighborhood, surrounded by friendly neighbors and with a heliport on the roof to hop across the river and for easier getaways to the mountains.