I like to think that Washington DC is the fourth, seeing as it’s the national capital, the political & historical center of America, and the fact that things that happen in DC have not just national, but international effects.

Also a fair bit of personal bias tbh, seeing as I live in the metro area.

I was 14 in 2016; I lived in a red town back then & all I knew was “funny old blonde realtor who says dumb memeable shit on TV & Twitter is gonna be president? PEAK COMEDY ROFLMFAOOL”

10 years later, I have since been thoroughly disabused of that immature, uneducated teenage mindset.

I go down to Manassas for class sometimes; GMU’s Sci-Tech campus is adjacent-to-if-not-surrounded-by a good half-dozen data centers. You can see them from I-66.

Nothing I couldn’t pirate right back, given time.