Seattle, WA

Cool people but the weatheris one of the overall worst in the country. I sometimes wonder if they ever really have summer.

Oops, I forgot...Cow Chip Cookies!!!!

New: Have to amend this one a little because everybody knows that Seattle was founded in the early 1990's by Seattle Mariner, Ken Griffey, Jr.Original: Founded by pilgrims and the guy on the cover of the Quaker Oats box, Seattle obviously gets a 4.  Good fish n chips and a nice ride on the water taxi to West Seattle were enough for me :)

Very nice and clean city. People here are surprisingly very friendly and outgoing. Downside is the rain during the winter time. But ignore that, and you'll enjoy Seattle.

I LOVE Seattle!  This is home for me.  People like to stereotype Seattle as a "rainy" and boring city.  It's actually a vibrant city with a lot of life equivalent to that of NYC or LA.  It all depends on your opinions though.  The folks here are very friendly and outgoing.  I'm currently living in the midwest (Indiana) and the peeps here are very dull, boring, have no emotions and are conservative.  Don't get me wrong, I'm conservative on many issues.  But I just love Seattle and the people and the layout of the city and the resources.   Seattle deserves a 5 star!!!

Amazing. I love it. Space Needle is one of the best skyscrapers in the nation, an architectural wonder. SafeCo field is nice too.

Seattle is beautiful. I can't wait to go visit my friend Alexis :-)

Its a nice city, but, it rains to much.

Just doesn't get any better than Seattle. This city has it all, an impressive skyline, great places to work, beautiful surroundings with mountains, ocean, trees and activities. A rare world class city that only needs a larger public transportation system of expanded lightrail or elevated trains to move more people around so the highways aren't always so packed. Nonetheless, I've been all over the world and Seattle is truly a world class city which should be proud of it's location, the green city it's becoming, it's recycling standards that are second to none and the companies that call it home.

I grew up mostly in Seattle. Its beautiful in the Summer but pretty depressing in the Winter. Seattle has gone downhill in the people department. Too many snobs!

Just thought I'd comment on the homeless problem. One can't possibly "do away" with homelessness; unless, of course, we do away with our slavery to money. It's obvious that these homeless, potential vagabonds had no work-ethic, and they probably hadn't had that great a time with social interaction. Therefore, in order to stop the homelessness, One must first "do away" with the cruelties and imperfections of this world. There is far more information pertaining to this subject, but I feel the significance is absent. As far as Seattle Washington goes, seems like a great place, and I know that it's home to wonderful career opportunities -- such as, underwater welding schools.

I love Seattle 1.) Seattle is the most educated and literate big city in the country, 2.) According to a number of national publications Seattle has consistently been ranked in the top five of fittest cities, 3.) City is in the top 10 greenest in the country, 4.) Ranked number one for big cities(1/2 million to a million) in the top 15 for running/jogging cities, travel/leisure magazines rate it in their top 10, and 5.) Seattle is in the top 3 in terms of progressive politics for minorities and women second behind San Francisco in terms of gay and lesbians per capita, and is well known for its liberal and accepting attitude towards interracial couples. Also of note Seattle had an African American mayor, Norm Rice, from 88-96. Ron Sims, another African American man, is King County Executive. For those who don't know, Seattle is the county seat of King County, and the only Chinese-American Governor in the history of this country, Gary Locke was from the Seattle area. He was Governor for t... Read more

The place is clean, I'll give it that, but that's primarily because it rains so much they don't need to wash anything that's outdoors. Grey, dour and drizzle invested, with a Starbucks every twenty feet (and mightily bad coffee that is, but don't get me started) this is a place full of mildew. Such might explain their professional sports franchises, which always seem to show so much promise before wilting under pressure.

What I really don't like about Seattle: Natives complaining about Californians and others moving in and messing up their beloved Seattle. And thank god the smoking ban is here to stay. I got so sick of grungy, pasty kids crammed in a bar or restaurant smoking cigarette after cigarette thinking they're so cool and hip stinking up the place. What I do like: People moving here from all over North America and beyond bringing in some sort of sophistication. Seattle is definately changing from just 6 or 7 years ago. With an influx of new people comes new restaurants, clubs, shopping and nightlife. Some of my favorite annual Seattle events I love: NW Flower & Garden Show, 2nd largest in the U.S. behind Philadelphia, Earshot Jazz Festival, Seafair, The Bite of Seattle, Christmas Parade, Fremont Festival and the Greek Festival. Plus you can't ignore the breathtaking natural beauty.

I've lived in Seattle for over ten years and I am glad to be moving away from it. Seattle is a very clean city, has fresh air, little crime, and the people are polite. However, IMHO Seattle is a boring place to live and although people are polite they tend to keep themselves to themselves and I would descrive them as "politely unsociable". It is VERY difficult to get into any social circles here. Most people I've talked to only have, at most, two friends outside their family unit. Most socialization is within the family unit and rarely extends outside of this. Where I grew up I knew all the people down my street. You could wave to them and say good morning and they would wave back. However, if you try and do that in Seattle, they would think you're crazy and give you a strange look and speculate what criminal motive you have. Seattlites are extremly paranoid and afraid of eachother. Seattle drivers are bad. They never seem to bother to indicate which direction t... Read more

I have family living in Seattle and have visited there. It's too wet and drizzly for this Floridian, but the mountains are beautiful when you can see them.

I just moved to the Seattle area three months ago. I had the impression that there would be alot of gloomy skys and rain, but I didn't suspect such a thuggish culture. The area had seemed nice in the travel books with pike place and the aquarium but upon arrival here I realized, WOW this is not a nice place. The roads in Seattle are poorly designed and in not that great of shape. Traffic is awful as suspected and the overall appearance of this city comes off as pretty from a distance but yucky and depressing up close. Pioneer square is filled with homeless people. In fact so many homeless people that they had to recently cut down all the trees to discourage crime. Chinatown is not impressive. Downtown is but just another financial center corporate house. Avenues are filled with bars and shops advertising 50% off sales. The merchants at Pike place market look bored and depressed. It is obvious that the grunge trend here has been dying a slow death to make way for big corporations taking... Read more

Far from perfect, but close to my heart.

I live in nearby Vancouver and whenever I go down to Seattle I always have a great time. It's truly a great modern city. There's plenty to see and do. The skyline is as impressive as any other city going, if not more, and the surrounding natural setting matches that of the best in the world. The downtown is quite walkable, there's plenty of good shopping to be done, great food, nice views, and cool attractions like Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, and Experience Music Project. Coming from Vancouver with similar weather, Seattle also has an agreeable temperate climate. Not so cold in the winter that you'd have to be stuck with snow for months, but cold enough that you could at least experience snow for a day or two most winters and warm enough in the summer to not be sweating uncomfortably for months but hot enough that you could walk around in nothing but a bathing suit and go swimming outdoors. The only downside to the Pacific Northwest weather is the excessive rain in the winter ... Read more

I was born and raised in seattle i am now 21 and acn finaly go to the bars and clubs around here but they all suck. see to really understand seattle you need to know about the neigherberhoods and downtown and such. I live in the Central Dist about 7 blocks from downtown and pay almost no rent this is a more inpovrished area like rainearr or becon hill its good to live here or lake city even though there is crime. I just think its colorfull and anyway that keeps the rich basterds out. Next point places like magnolia or leschi are VERY STUPID the normal people are ok but the ones who go outside to hang out and walk dogs are lik gronolie flease wearing rich people who are vacent, lot of those everywhere, so every neighberhood in seattle has a compleatly diffrent feel and stores of its own alot of people i know will throught the actual skyscraper downtown less then once a month. Almost everyone knows everyone within groups and age ranges like i will go to a house party where i know noone a... Read more

Seattle so uniquely awful it's almost hard to know where to begin. If you've read some of the other posts, both good and bad, you'll see the word "traffic" comes up often. If you live in or visit Seattle, you'll quickly realize that it's nearly impossible to get anywhere on time. An outdated and poorly planned highway and street system combined with over population and a utter lack of effective public transportation make even the smallest journey a textbook study in frustration. There are left lane on and off ramps on the highways in some of the busiest areas, rendering the concept of passing lanes and merging extinct. On the side streets there are inexplicable one way roads, dead ends, and meandering arterials that look like they were designed by an epileptic four year old with a city map and a crayon. The experience of riding the busses range from uncomfortable to downright disgusting. If you're not waiting out in the cold for a bus that's late than your sitting in one that's running... Read more

Lived here for over 30 years. LOVE IT. It rains alot and when it's not raining, it's kinda gray and gloomy. But I like that I guess. I couldn't live where the sun shines all the time. I get really bored in CA and HI - seriously!!! Our traffic does suck I must admit. Our housing is expensive, but we're used to it. We have a boat and that is most excellent. We're out on the water from April til December. Just wear lots of layers. August is awesome. We dry out in August. Best boating! We drive our convertibles with the top down in February if the sun is shining . . . we're an awesome, tough bunch up here in the NW corner. Skiing isn't that great here though - serious folks go to Vancouver BC or Oregon. We have FABULOUS food. Seafood out of this world. Ahi tuna, crab, mussels, oysters - I love it all - cooked or raw! Great beer too . . . and coffee!!! Good libraries. People are pretty nice from what I've seen in other towns. Although Puerto Rico folks are quite nice. Beats... Read more

Born and raised here. Beautiful city. Of course I don't want anyone else to live here because we have enough traffic as it is. I never use the freeway unless I go to the casino ;) then I have no choice but back roads do exist still in Seattle. Lots of small and large parks. People were cooler back in the late 80's but too many yuppies and Californians now for my blood. Pretty soon this city will be all upper class with the rate of the cost of living and rent so on etc etc. Very much a closed at midnight kinda town still a few late places to score hooch...thats liquor for you country folk...All and all a great place that makes you still feel like you can get away to the country in a short drive so open spaces are nearby. Peace from Seatown.

I live an hour south of Seattle, and I have to say it is the most AWESOME city in the Pacific Northwest....I mean, its practically the only city in the PNW. (Portland is lame). How can people complain about the rain, sports, and Starbucks? Those are some of the best things about Seattle. The rain makes this place beautiful, the Seahawks are going to win Superbowl XL, and Starbucks keeps everyone fed and caffeinated. Personally, I could live off their caramel frappacinos. And it really doesn't matter that the traffic in Seattle sucks, 'cuz when you get where you want to get you have a great time. My favorite spots in Seattle is the Ivars on the boardwalk (where seagulls will practically sit down with you and eat your fries), the Pike Place market, and the International Fountain at Seattle Center. Seattle has great entertainment...Death Cab for Cutie. Beautiful sights...Space needle, Mt. Rainier. And the best atmosphere...independent but fun-loving people. If it didn't cost so much I'd b... Read more

Seattle is a great city with a good lifestyle...healthy lifestyle..lots of outdoor activities,...a great education experience with a lot of colleges and research facilities in this city. Coffee...I could care less about it since I don't drink coffee. The people here are very open-minded, and friendly than other big cities I've visited in the US. The downside...it's cloudy...somewhat depressing making it difficult for me to get up in the mornings. Seriously..there were several occassions where I went to work late because I got up an hour late!! Traffic is getting worse here....as there is no decent mass transit system. Nevertheless, the beautiful air..fresh air!!..the sceneries...the people...all take the cake for an excellent city!!

Not much to say, I have lived in Seattle 7 years. It is between Ok and bad. People seem so pushy, and some of the worst and inconsiderate drivers I have seen and way too much traffic, way overpriced and expensive to lived. With all that said, great if you love crowds, inconsiderate people, terrible drivers and traffic.

i find the people in seattle are in two different catogories.1 snobs 2 scary. not ever being racist i feel like a manority. homeless everywhere and the people who work in the public. ie busdrivers , librarians , etc are rude and plain unfriendly. although beautiful to look at , i would never buy a ugly house for 300.000.00 its ridiculous. i moved in a nice building to find out its a home to drug dealers. there isnt alot to do with my son, and for a city you would think there would be more option for children. im terrified to place my child in school here. the south side of seattle is like a place for the criminals or people who cannot afford a billion dollar home. thats my commplaints.. sorry if it sounds ugly, but i though moving here would be great ,, turns out after all the touristy stuff and greenry, its scary snobby and boring.

There are positive aspects to living in Seattle (outdoor sporting activities nearby, a generally tolerant, liberal populace, lack of extreme winters, etc.) and certainly it's a livable place compared to many other areas of the U.S. but overall, after seven years here I have to say that the reality of life here hasn't lived up to all the Seattle hype. Seattle's two biggest weaknesses in my opinion are 1)The cliquich, extremely introverted social scene and 2)The lack of decent public transit. First, the social. A few moments of Googling online will reveal the tremendous dissatisfaction here with the social scene in Seattle... http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/soundoff/comment.asp? articleID=246818 Using certain objective criteria such as number of singles and number of coffee-houses Seattle would seem to be a great city for dating, and the survey cited in the above link used criteria such as that. The problem could be typified by my visit to a Starbucks last week where it was full of... Read more

Beautiful Scenery - Bad Drivers. Bad traffic which will only get worst, because they won't spend the money to improve it. People are courteous, but only on the surface. Actually Try to get to know someone and you will find that they only have time for themselves. Crappy sports town - they are VERY fair-weather fans. At a baseball game, no body cheers at the game, if you stand and yell to support the team, they will give you dirty looks and some will actually tell you to sit down. And College Sports - Forget about it, there is no tradition here. Downtown shuts down at night. The only place to go for nightlife is Pioneer Square, which has a bum on ever corner. Seattle has to be one of the top cities for Bums because they are everywhere. I think that are more people here from somewhere else then from seattle. There is no idenity for this city - Grunge is Dead, Dot Com is bust, Boeing and Microsoft have already moved some divisions out, the only thing left is Starbucks. Maybe that is it's ... Read more

I love this city. However I have so many mixed feelings about it I don't know where to begin. Lets start with it's setting. It is by far the most spectacular setting for a major city I've seen anywhere. Mountain ranges are on both sides of the city which make for beautiful surises and sunsets. Mt. Rainier sits like a centerpiece with it's glacier covered flanks dominating the southern horizon. There is lots of scenic waterfront and is a boaters heaven and if you don't have a boat a ferry ride is a cheap thrill and nice way to get out on the water. Seattle is a beautiful city with lots of hills, plentiful trees, magnificent views and a gorgeous skyline. I can't say everything is rosy here though. The city seems to be lacking in archetecture and they build with too much concrete here. As for the weather it aint as bad as you may have heard. It's temperate never too hot or cold and it doesn't accumulate as much rain as most cities back east. It's those endless strings of overcast days t... Read more

Great city in every way!

Great city with nice people but all that rain limits what you can do outdoors which is a shame because it's a nice looking city. Traffic is bad, not sure i could deal with that every day.

I really liked Seattle. It is a beautiful City with many things to see and do.

People all seem to justify their affection for Seattle by its scenery or natural splendor, almost as an excuse to defend its many shortcomings. This strikes me as peculiar because although Seattle has scenery on its side, it's far less beautifully situated than Vancouver, British Columbia. Moreover, Vancouver ALSO has all qualities Seattle lacks. Having grown up in Seattle, the things that drove me nuts the most: arrogant Seattle attitude that the city is the best, as if people had never visited elsewhere; the slowest automobile driving I have ever witnessed in the world; general lack of pride in homes/gardens; introverted attitude, people rarely socialize; early to bed, early to rise mentality; pathetic nightlife; downtown that rolls its sidewalks up at 5:00 p.m.; generally unfriendly attitudes between neighbors (there are exceptions); unremarkable architecture yet, again, a blind faith in the superiority of Seattle; a population's complete unwillingness to move forward progressiv... Read more

The weather is really really bad, as is the traffic. It really is a nice city, but I just cannot stand the winter days that seem so short and dark, and dreary. If I lived in the Northwest I'd rather live in Portland. Portland is more accessible to the high desert region, which is important if you want to escape the rain on occassion. Seattle has a bit more to do culturally, but it isn't a real city.

Seattle is the most laid back city I have ever visited.Once I arrived it felt like a huge burden had been lifted off my shoulders.It puts you in a different frame of mind.Its as if you go into slow motion.The clean crisp Northwest air is very pleasing to the senses.Despite its dismal weather,when the sun is out,Seatlle is a sight to behold.Between the magnificent skyline and and the gorgeous mountains to the multitudes of enormous well nourished trees.Seattle is very safe.I never once felt threatend walking around for hours on end.

Good city. Clean and green. I can do without Starbucks coffee, though.

If you havnt been here, come here

I live in Seattle and it is the best city I have lived in. There is all sorts of people and everyone fits into some sort of group. So much cleaner than places like Chicago, Detroit, and Miami. A beautiful place.

What an awesome city. It's very green due to all the rain fall. I enjoyed the food, the cheap housing, the great public school systems and the cleanliness of the city. People also tend to drive with courtesy, as opposed to other cities I've been to. The downside....traffic and to a point government issues. But all in all...a five-star city!

You know when you watch the McDonald's commercials on TV with the real attractive employees and you think to yourself Riigghhht. Well these employees do exist and will work for $6 an hour in Seattle. All the girls were attractive. I was also impressed at the cleanliness of the city, and how easy it was to get around. The football and baseball stadiums are very cool. People are pretty chill. The climate is dreary and can get you down but is pretty moderate. The air is clean and you feel pretty healthy up there. Also the radio stations are the best I've ever heard.

The worst city to drive in America all because the people there don't want to widen the streets, and those damn diamond lanes. City is a tax hell, which means more money for wastefull government spending, and less money for people who live there.

The rain and mist sucks during the winter time, and it' colder than the southern states. However, I love the clean atmosphere here, the friendly people, location near Canada and the outdoor lifestyle in Washington State. Thinking of coming back home one day.

Seattle is the bomb! I love the clean conservative look to the city. Although it rains (though it doesn't rain everyday!), it makes the city look green. I'm going back to Seattle in the near future.

People here are as wierd as those in the bay area. Pretty to look at, but the people make you want to run back to the red states.