What is the importance of Washington D.C. in the novel, All This Could Be Different?

Washington, D.C. is the city that Sneha moves to after accepting a secure full-time job at a company there, and its sleek and impersonal atmosphere is often contrasted with the cozy elements of Milwaukee. Indeed, particularly for Sneha's close friends, D.C. becomes synonymous with "the big city," and as she prepares to make her move there they routinely warn her not to forget about her roots in Milwaukee or abandon the community that she has built there. In many respects, Sneha avoids making these mistakes, but her move to D.C. does mark a shift in her attitude toward the pursuit of money and financial stability. When Sneha returns to Milwaukee and realizes how much she has missed her communities there, the lingering quality of the prose contrasts with the brisk pace of the sequences set in the nation's capital.