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View Poll Results: Where does Seattle Belong? Importance Tiers
With 1-AA (Atlanta, Dallas, San Fran, Philly etc.) 71 48.30%
With 1-A (Denver, Baltimore, San Diego, Phoenix etc.) 76 51.70%
Voters: 147. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 07-09-2010, 06:38 PM
 
Location: Up on the moon laughing down on you
18,495 posts, read 32,783,322 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jluke65780 View Post
I think universities in Texas are underrated and don't receive the recognition that they deserve.
which ones? I think UH gets all the recognition it deserves.

Rice is top tier but it is hardly known.

Dallas needs to get on the ball.

UT needs to cut down on the quantity they already have the quantity.

San Antonio has a bunch of little private catholic schools that think they are the cats meow because they cost more than Harvard.
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Old 07-09-2010, 09:26 PM
 
260 posts, read 755,352 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by grapico View Post
It's on the same scale as those. I'd rank it below for many reasons. Somebody was going off on education, which is obviously very important.
Here is a national map of the top 40, u.s. news



St Louis/Pittsburgh/Cleveland all have a top 40 while Seattle doesn't.
That is just one field...

If you wanted to go into the arts, all 3 fare better than Seattle.

Sports? They all have more major league teams than Seattle.

I'm just wondering where you are getting this idea to put Seattle above these cities?

Now Seattle is probably more scenic, better restaurants, better music scene, higher qol, more literate, certainly trendier...all that stuff. But that doesn't mean it is a higher caliber city...

I am not even sure if Seattle is *on the rise* either. It lost its biggest company Boeing, and WaMu/Safeco the past decade, which were 3 of its Fortune 500s, as well as their NBA team which went to Oklahoma City.

I'm going to disagree with most things here. You seem to have not even a fundamental knowledge of anything in relation to Seattle except sports teams. Pittsburgh and St. Louis definately do not compare to Seattle in terms of arts. Seattle Opera is the only opera company in the Western Hemisphere to perform the complete Ring cycle. PNB has one of the top three ballet training institutions in North America, and Seattle Symphony is one of the worlds most recorded orchestras, plus Northwest Sinfonia is an ensemble that is used extensively for soundtrack recording, especially with Michael Giacchino. Seattle has the most equity theaters outside of NYC, and Pioneer Square is one of the nations foremost art gallery districts with numerous galleries. Cleveland has the better orchestra, by far, but thats the only thing any of the cities have over Seattle arts. Also, Seattle is home to grunge music and garage rock and such people as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Jimi Hendrix, Soundgarden, and, unfortunately, Kenny G, plus many more.
I'm generalizing here, but I believe most people would say better scenery, better restaraunts, better music scene, higher quality of life, more literate, trendier and "all that stuff" would certainly mean it is a higher caliber city, I mean, those are things that make a city better than others.
If you don't recognize that Seattle is on the rise, then you have been living under a rock since the mid-90's. Port os Seattle was the only port in North America in '08 that exported more to China than it did import. Seattle is strapped in and ready for the future what with its relationship with Asian countries, especially China. It's also one of the only cities in the nation to actually gain population rather than lose it.
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Old 07-09-2010, 11:02 PM
 
Location: Lower East Side, Milwaukee, WI
2,943 posts, read 5,045,217 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by toughguy View Post
Also, is there some sort of objective ranking on arts that I'm not aware of, that places lower tier cities like pittsburgh, cleveland and st. louis ahead of Seattle? Does that even figure into this argument at all?
Again, because you've decided to ignore what's being presented to you, what is Seattle's equivalent to the Carnegie Institutes, Forest Park, or University Circle?
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Old 07-09-2010, 11:03 PM
 
Location: Seattle
571 posts, read 1,166,237 times
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^^
I agree, especially given the fact that Seattle is a Pacific Rim city and as Asia grows in prominence the major West Coast cities will prosper in turn. Seattle is the dominant city economically for a very vast region and will continue to prosper. People scoff at our CSA population of over 4.1 million, but after looking at what metro and micropolitan areas are included in that number its really not far fetched; it's a fairly tight knit group of cities and towns surrounding central Puget Sound for the most part - the 12th largest urban area in the country. I feel that Seattle really influences the country as a whole much more than many cities others are claiming to equal or better it.
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Old 07-09-2010, 11:05 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX/Chicago, IL/Houston, TX/Washington, DC
10,138 posts, read 15,945,245 times
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Seattle belongs in Tier 1-AA.

It's got a great percentage of growth, and it's economy is stable and growing. It's a very important point for trade/regulations, and immigration from Asia (is becoming).

Seattle has outgrown the cities in Tier 1-A.
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Old 07-09-2010, 11:07 PM
 
Location: Lower East Side, Milwaukee, WI
2,943 posts, read 5,045,217 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by seattlefanatic View Post
I'm going to disagree with most things here. You seem to have not even a fundamental knowledge of anything in relation to Seattle except sports teams. Pittsburgh and St. Louis definately do not compare to Seattle in terms of arts. Seattle Opera is the only opera company in the Western Hemisphere to perform the complete Ring cycle. PNB has one of the top three ballet training institutions in North America, and Seattle Symphony is one of the worlds most recorded orchestras, plus Northwest Sinfonia is an ensemble that is used extensively for soundtrack recording, especially with Michael Giacchino. Seattle has the most equity theaters outside of NYC, and Pioneer Square is one of the nations foremost art gallery districts with numerous galleries. Cleveland has the better orchestra, by far, but thats the only thing any of the cities have over Seattle arts. Also, Seattle is home to grunge music and garage rock and such people as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Jimi Hendrix, Soundgarden, and, unfortunately, Kenny G, plus many more.
I'm generalizing here, but I believe most people would say better scenery, better restaraunts, better music scene, higher quality of life, more literate, trendier and "all that stuff" would certainly mean it is a higher caliber city, I mean, those are things that make a city better than others.
If you don't recognize that Seattle is on the rise, then you have been living under a rock since the mid-90's. Port os Seattle was the only port in North America in '08 that exported more to China than it did import. Seattle is strapped in and ready for the future what with its relationship with Asian countries, especially China. It's also one of the only cities in the nation to actually gain population rather than lose it.
I agree with grapico, Seattle seems like it peaked in the 90's with Nirvana, Microsoft, and Starbucks. Also, losing 3 Fortune 500 Companies and an NBA franchise is a pretty big deal.
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Old 07-09-2010, 11:14 PM
 
Location: Lower East Side, Milwaukee, WI
2,943 posts, read 5,045,217 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OmShahi View Post
Seattle belongs in Tier 1-AA.

It's got a great percentage of growth, and it's economy is stable and growing. It's a very important point for trade/regulations, and immigration from Asia (is becoming).

Seattle has outgrown the cities in Tier 1-A.
IDK, Seattle seems right at home in the company of Denver, Phoenix, SD, and Portland.
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Old 07-09-2010, 11:34 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX/Chicago, IL/Houston, TX/Washington, DC
10,138 posts, read 15,945,245 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jjacobeclark View Post
IDK, Seattle seems right at home in the company of Denver, Phoenix, SD, and Portland.
I think I know what you're trying to say. It's just that I've always viewed Seattle as a step up from Portland & Denver by size, and by amenities, importance as well.

Like what I'm saying is, if Minneapolis (which Seattle greatly draws connections with) is Tier 1-AA, I think Seattle can make itself at home in that tier as well.

It's metropolitan population is 15th largest in the country, just one space higher than Minneapolis.

It's always interchanged with Minneapolis for highest literacy rate.
It's home to quite a few F500's.
It's a growing port of entry and trade point with Canada.

Not to sound like jerk, but I feel Seattle really has outgrown the cities in 1-A as of recent years. It's also got a very large GDP.
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Old 07-09-2010, 11:38 PM
 
Location: Minneapolis
2,528 posts, read 3,034,597 times
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To begin with, these are not subjective figures coming from Rand- McNally. They are figures derived by objectively crunching numbers. Unless one wants to call into question the criteria used, there really isn’t much room for discussion.

Secondly, Seattle rates as a 1A city based largely on the fact that it doesn’t exert a lot of economic or cultural influence outside of its’ CSA. To the west is a big ocean. To the north is another country… and a city with nearly the same level of influence. Portland is to the south and is large enough to stay out of Seattle’s shadow. Even heading east, Spokane is big enough to provide the basic amenities of a city. Someone who lives in Vancouver or Portland doesn’t need to travel to Seattle. Even if one argues that Seattle’s amenities are at a slightly higher level than those of these two cities, the difference is fairly minimal.

An interesting comparison between Seattle and Cleveland: Seattle has a CSA of about 4.1 million, yet its’ economic area is only 4.6 million. This means that less than 11 percent of the Seattle EA population is found outside of the CSA. Contrast that with Cleveland which has a CSA of about 2.9 million and an EA population which is virtually identical to that of Seattle’s. Almost 37 percent of Cleveland’s EA population is outside of the Cleveland CSA. That’s why Cleveland is a 1AA city: it has an economic and cultural influence which goes well beyond the city.
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Old 07-09-2010, 11:52 PM
 
1,989 posts, read 6,580,426 times
Reputation: 842
Quote:
Originally Posted by rogead View Post
To begin with, these are not subjective figures coming from Rand- McNally. They are figures derived by objectively crunching numbers. Unless one wants to call into question the criteria used, there really isn’t much room for discussion.

Secondly, Seattle rates as a 1A city based largely on the fact that it doesn’t exert a lot of economic or cultural influence outside of its’ CSA. To the west is a big ocean. To the north is another country… and a city with nearly the same level of influence. Portland is to the south and is large enough to stay out of Seattle’s shadow. Even heading east, Spokane is big enough to provide the basic amenities of a city. Someone who lives in Vancouver or Portland doesn’t need to travel to Seattle. Even if one argues that Seattle’s amenities are at a slightly higher level than those of these two cities, the difference is fairly minimal.

An interesting comparison between Seattle and Cleveland: Seattle has a CSA of about 4.1 million, yet its’ economic area is only 4.6 million. This means that less than 11 percent of the Seattle EA population is found outside of the CSA. Contrast that with Cleveland which has a CSA of about 2.9 million and an EA population which is virtually identical to that of Seattle’s. Almost 37 percent of Cleveland’s EA population is outside of the Cleveland CSA. That’s why Cleveland is a 1AA city: it has an economic and cultural influence which goes well beyond the city.
I don't get understand your argument at all. Cleveland is about the same distance away from Detroit and Pittsburgh as Seattle is from Portland and Vancouver. The exact same points that you made for Seattle would then also apply to Cleveland.

To the west is a big ocean, no s*** sherlock. That's where a very large part of Seattle's economic engine operates: trade with Asia. I don't understand how this keeps getting glossed over: having a major port is a big deal. It facilitates global trade and lucrative international partnerships. No one in Tokyo or Hong Kong has ever heard of Cleveland or even knows that it exists. The Port of Seattle is a major part of what allows Seattle's economy to dwarf Denver, Portland, St. Louis, Cleveland, etc... That's one of the main things that separates Seattle from the rest of the pack IMO.
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