Seattle - Dallas - Boston: point of view thread (living, cost, state)

[Champ le monstre du lac]

Here is something different. Describe these 3 very different cities (Seattle, Dallas, Boston) from your point of view. Even if you haven't been there, what comes to mind when you think of them? Describe the character, food, sports teams, topography and scenery, your likes and dislikes, impressions, skyline, economy, and anything else that comes to mind. A bit random yes, but if it catches on I may do some threads for other cities as well.

I'll start. I'll try to keep it balanced with both pros and cons.

Seattle
Perhaps the most scenic and beautiful city in the country in terms of scenery and topography. The cityscape covers some impressive hills, lots of beautiful waterfront, and a lot of trees for an urban landscape. Seattle has a very vibrant downtown and is a very walkable city. The city is very eclectic, full of counter culture and hippies that seem so prevalent in any west coast city, however like San Francisco that seems to be transitioning into yuppie. The skyline is gorgeous, however the architecture in Seattle is not really that outstanding. The city has its charms with neighborhoods full of craftsman bungalow homes and there are some impressive mid to high rise condo buildings but overall the skyline aside the city is architecturally bland. Seattle is a great city for foodies, with fresh west coast produce and an excellent selection of Asian food and cold water seafood. They eat healthier here than most parts of the US. The weather can be a drag which go's without saying with its perpetually damp gray skies, however summers are spectacular and Seattle rarely experiences temperature extremes.

Dallas
Dallas is a very modern and contemporary city. It can be very friendly and yet fairly stuffy and pretentious also. It can be fun and exciting and also dull and boring. Paradox? Well paradoxes exist in all places. I love the Dallas skyline, it's very glitzy and modern and illuminates very nicely at night. The food is fairly good, I wouldn't say exceptional, but there is a large selection of places to eat. Dallas is extremely sprawly and auto dependent. Even downtown is not that inviting for pedestrians. Having Fort Worth up the road is a nice advantage for the metroplex as it has some authentic Texas character and cultural attractions. Dallas has some beautiful neighborhoods with some impressive landscaping and contemporary architecture. It also has some very unattractive cookie cutter sprawl on the periphery. Overall it's not much of a destination for leisure, it's mostly catered to business. A good place to buy into affordable real estate and jumpstart a career. The climate seems tolerable if you can get past the 3 months of inferno during the summer.

Boston
Boston is a very provincial city with passionate sports fans and looks very different from most other cities. Perhaps more than any other city (excluding Philadelphia) it has the largest collection of old and historic architecture. On State Street stands the 18th century Old State House, 2 modern skyscrapers, and a midrise turn of the 20th century art decco building which all blend together seamlessly. To some the architecture in Boston is very impressive, to others it may seem a bit too uniform and the skyline leaves something to be desired. Food is excellent from New England seafood to North End Italian restaurants. The cost of living is ridiculous, driving in Boston sucks as the roads and so much of the infrastructure is antiquated, but it is an excellent city for walking. The climate in Boston is challenging to say the least. The winters are long, damp, and cold. The summers are either wonderful or sticky and humid; sometimes spring comes, other years it doesn't (rather a week of bloom, then summer).