When I lived in Columbia, MD I liked to visit Union Station whenever I was in DC. It was nice, and there were lots of neat shops and eateries. The last time I was there was in the summer of 2012, when I was retired and high-tailed it back to Oregon, where I grew up.
Rural Oregon is still loads better than Maryland or DC. The Linn County sheriff has even announced that she will not enforce the new draconian state gun laws voted in by Portlandia.
I went to high school in the DC area (Navy brat.) It was a pretty decent place back then. We were in Fairfax County, VA. My high school BFF with whom I am still very close friends with today lived in the District near Embassy Row when she was a single young adult. When I’d go up to visit my family there, I always spent a couple of days with her, going to great restaurants, fun dance clubs and shows around DC. Great times.
I’m sure rural Oregon and many other places are much better than inside the Beltway now. It sounds like it has really turned into a hellhole.