What is Seattle like

You really should visit, there is great coffee every block. And the downtown is nice and small, you can walk across it. I don't know if I'd live there though--the Seattle freeze. I do find the men very attractive though.

It is not essential. It's a white trash hole with a layer of tech topped with entitled hipsters who think California is too crowded, so now WA is too crowded.

Plus Mt. Rainier is going to explode at any minute and wipe out everything in a 100-mile radius, and a tsunami is going to rage back from the 9.5 that's going to hit offshore.

And then the original nations whose land it is will be avenged.

Not even the fist from the Sound are good.

It's way up in the corner of nowhere, and you really feel that. Just like Idaho and Montana.

Lots of pine trees and hills contribute to the isolation.

The bluest sky you've ever seen, in Seattle. And the hills the greenest green, in Seattle. Like a beautiful child growing up, free and wild. Full of hopes and full of fears, Full of laughter, full of tears, full of dreams to last a year In Seattle.

When you find your own true love you will know it by his smile, by the look in his eyes. Scent of pine trees in the air boys all stand around and stare. Look out everyone, Here Come the Brides.

In Seattle, all seem to breathe freedom and peace, and to make one forget the world and its sad turmoils.

It’s pretty for about two minutes and then you realize that people are totally and completely fucked up and weird.

Gorgeous scenery and great for nature lovers.

R6 - Agreed. It really is very green and pretty. But it's so over the top hipster - it seems like everyone is trying waaayy too hard. Plus the weather is depressing 10 months out of the year.

There are many worse cities for sure. But it's definitely not for me.

Very white

The Fist from the Sound is a great name for a new Seattle rock band.

Great city to visit. They have hipsters, weed smell and the right amount of homeless and street feces.

It's a grungy San Francisco with less art and less beauty. The people are mostly hideous. The city is separated into lots of small neighborhoods. Tons of homeless and junkies. And god help you once you leave the city proper, no thanks. It's scarysville.

Portland's better. Hipstery-er, but better.

Are there any good (art) museums? Cultural attractions to visit?

Does the fact that it's mostly white mean there is a low crime rate?

I've been to Seattle once. The food and coffee are great, but I didn't find it to be THAT exciting. It was clean and has some nice areas around South Lake Union and Capitol Hill, especially when the weather is nice. But other than that, I can't imagine some great reason to move there unless it's for a job.

Portland is a town, Seattle is a city. Pick as you’d like. They are both blue dots in state-wide fields of red.

What Seattle was and what it has become are very different things. But, it’s definitely worth visiting to check out. The cliche of the Seattle Freeze has changed over the years. Not quite as prominent as it was 10 years ago. Economy is booming here despite what’s happening to Boeing and we have all the pains that come with it. Especially, income inequality and homelessness. But you are not dodging shit and needles on the street like you do in SF.

When you combine this city with the exquisite and varied landscape it’s surrounded by, there is no place quite like it. If you enjoy the outdoors, it’s worth it.

The weather is changing. Summers are warmer and longer. With the change in climate, we have the Pineapple Express to keep us moderated. Seattle will be much better off than much of the US and RotW.

This story always intrigued me.

R16 - except for that Cascades earthquake and tidal wave that's overdue and will take you all out.

I hate Seattle. It is very pretty but the people are way uptight.

I've actually heard the Cascades earthquake is supposed to be even bigger than the San Andreas earthquake that Southern California is overdue for. And on top of it, most people in the PNW are not prepared for a large scale earthquake the way Californians are.

Hell, the San Andreas quake might trigger the Cascades quake or vice versa. You never know. I wonder if Seattle and Portland even have earthquake-safe buildings.

Downtown Seattle is hilly and comes down to a waterfront with restaurants and public spaces, something like San Francisco.

A nice weekend visit. A ride up the Space Needle only worthwhile if it's a clear day.

It rains a lot in the Pacific Northwest.

[quote]I wonder if Seattle and Portland even have earthquake-safe buildings.

No, we don't. The current assumption is that thousands of buildings in the city of Portland will collapse, as will virtually all of the bridges.

Boring and problematic - coffee, millennial geeks, homeless people and rain

Seattle and its surrounding areas are crazy beautiful. I love the atmospheric clouds, mistiness and grayness. One has to wonder if the lack of Vitamin D caused Bundy who grew up near Seattle, to go apeshit.

There is next to know earthquake preparation or building codes, it is kind of eerie.

The Seattle freeze is true and exists to this day.

Know=no

Essential--no. Pleasant---yes. Museums--mostly vanity stuff. The glass art scene is lots of Chihuly knockoffs. Nice walkable downtown area. Capitol Hill is less gay than in the past. Good restaurants and coffee.

Portland is more self-consciously hip, but smaller.

I dont agree that Seattle is beautiful. The beauty is outside the city - Olympic Park, San Juan Islands. The city itself is meh. Not that pretty, mediocre architecture, lots of new bland corporate structures. Nothing that ever makes me think “I want to visit Seattle”. Unlike San Francisco. Or even Portland - which has a unique vibe. And Seattle people are strangely cold and unfriendly. And the gay scene is boring.

I don’t get it. I don’t think you are missing anything or that it provides a unique view of anything. Even Olympic Park, which is one of the more unique and pretty things near there - the Oregon Coast is nicer. And instead of San Juan Islands, I would do Vancouver and BC.

Know a lot of people from Texas that like it - maybe because it’s green and more lush and cooler than TX especially in summer. I would always choose another city over Seattle.

Which is better for a first timer to visit, Portland or Seattle?

Portland is unique. May depend where you are coming from. No reason you can’t do both though. But for a long weekend, I would do Portland.

Another vote for Portland. The homeless situation downtown is kinda crazy, but it is truly unique. I feel like Seattle tries sooo fucking hard to be hipster and alternative. Portland just is.

I was there for a conference and it was fine , I was thrilled that I hadn’t wasted my own money to see it.

For all you who keep saying how white it is, every other woman seems to be an African muslim with her head all wrapped up.

Is Seattle gay friendly?

When I lived in Seattle 25 yrs. ago I was very lonely. The internet hadn't taken off yet so you had to just try to make friends. No luck.

Now I'm much more independent and aloof. I don't need people as much. And now I live in the Midwest.

It seems things always happen for me at the wrong time.

Life...

[quote]Is Seattle gay friendly?

Of course it is. All of the major west coast cities are gay friendly - that should go without saying.

Everything is green, lush and wet. Because it never fucking STOPS raining. I've been in Seattle four times at different times of the year. Never saw the sun.

Tons of homeless and junkies on the downtown sidewalks. Parking lots and garages reek of urine.

RE: the homeless situation

I was in Los Angeles the other week, and nothing will ever top the homeless situation in Los Angeles

So beyond the homeless situation in Seattle/Portland, how would you rate the cities

I've never had any desire to go there. Overpriced coffee, cloudy weather and annoying hipsters are not my bag. I'd rather go to Wisconsin Dells or St. Louis and I don't want to go to those places either.

I've never been. And I lived in Vancouver for a time. Just didn't happen. But I love rain and want to go.

It's the Paris of the USA.

Seattle is better to visit. Portland is better to live in.

It's really interesting to view the hoods where the super rich live in Seattle because they are not what you'd expect: opulent enclaves of the richest people in the world. They are just smaller versions of what you'd find in old fashioned midwestern or eastern suburbs. They might have better trees and gardens, and steeper hills, but they don't say opulence, grandeur, or peace. They say, "just another part of the rat race."

Not my taste, but I've only ever been there for work. It's not essential to visit, but I wouldn't go running and screaming from it like, say, a requirement to work again in Omaha.

r30, I live in Portland and love it. If you go, explore the city by the train system then rent a car. The Columbia River Gorge is less than a 1/2 hour drive. It has incredible waterfalls. The Oregon coast is gorgeous, but the water is too cold to swim in. The beaches are all owned by the public and they are huge. Mt. Hood is 1.5 - 2 hours away. If you love the outdoors you will not be disappointed.

We have a rainy season and a dry season. It is dry from July - and transitions in October. Nov. - May get a lot of rain, June is a transition month.

Since retiring my wife and I rainbird in Palm Springs for 3 months. The weather in PS is a perfect complement to Portland.