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Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
8,128 posts, read 7,552,695 times
Reputation: 5785
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pwright1
Downtown Seattle is not like it was in 2003 either. I lived in both. Still have property in DC and go there at least twice a year. Tiers has absolutely nothing to do as to with which one is better. To me downtown Seattle has everything at your feet or steps away. It has a major waterfront withe the 4th largest ferry system in the world. It has the largest Market in the United States that sells everything from fresh fish and produce to soaps, flowers and art. Does downtown DC even have a market or a waterfront? It's symphony hall is dt. It's major shopping puts dt DC's to shame. Apts and condos will be found on every st in dt Seattle from Pioneer Square to South Lake Union. Mariner and Seahawks are dt. To me it feels more like a live, work and play dt. DC's downtown is big but that doesn't necessarily make it better.
Also beyond dt I love Seattle being sandwiched between two bodies of water. It's neighborhoods are pretty dense and walkable. Though it lacks a subway, I lived in Seattle carless for years and had absolutely no problem getting around.
It actually has both...You people need to actually visit Washington DC 2015!! I am baffled how little people actually truly know and simply understand about their own Nations Capitol. The SW Waterfront in Washington DC is blocks away from the monuments and museums of Downtown DC. It's been there for decades. Not to mention the multi billion dollar RE-development of Washington's Downtown waterfront. Get with the program guys seriously.
Downtown Seattle is not like it was in 2003 either. I lived in both. Still have property in DC and go there at least twice a year. Tiers has absolutely nothing to do as to with which one is better. To me downtown Seattle has everything at your feet or steps away. It has a major waterfront withe the 4th largest ferry system in the world. It has the largest Market in the United States that sells everything from fresh fish and produce to soaps, flowers and art. Does downtown DC even have a market or a waterfront? It's symphony hall is dt. It's major shopping puts dt DC's to shame. Apts and condos will be found on every st in dt Seattle from Pioneer Square to South Lake Union. Mariner and Seahawks are dt. To me it feels more like a live, work and play dt. DC's downtown is big but that doesn't necessarily make it better.
Also beyond dt I love Seattle being sandwiched between two bodies of water. It's neighborhoods are pretty dense and walkable. Though it lacks a subway, I lived in Seattle carless for years and had absolutely no problem getting around.
Just out of curiosity, you come back to D.C. twice a year, do you actually leave your place and see the city? I ask because you seem to be living in a different decade from the DC that exists now in 2015. You mentioned Waterfronts, do you have any idea what DC is building right now? Also, the stores opening in downtown DC don't even have a presence in the entire Seattle metro area. These stores only open in select major markets across the world. Why are people trying to even compare Seattle to DC, they're in different tiers. Kennedy Center is in downtown DC too.
I think one major problem with comparing DC to cities with small urban development cores is areas in Seattle for instance that are downtown all have downtown level intensity and once that intensity drops off, you have clear boundaries for what constitutes downtown Seattle. DC, on the other hand, builds commercial grade 8-14 story apartment, condo, office, and hotel high-rises over such a massive footprint that people make the claim this can't all be downtown DC just because it all looks alike. Well, what visual marker dictates where downtown DC begins and ends? That reason alone proves why DC is so much more urban and developed in comparison to other cities. DC's urban core of buildings will be so massive in 5 years only Manhattan itself will cover a larger area. From Union Market to Foggy Bottom and from Columbia Heights to Buzzard Point, the footprint will be enormous.
Last edited by MDAllstar; 01-31-2015 at 07:46 PM..
I lived in Seattle (4 yrs) and DC (2 yrs) and liked both cities, but they are so different...
OP, I would highly recommend visiting both cities to see for yourself which one is a better fit for you. At least for me, comparing statistics on size and density have almost nothing to do with the pros and cons of living in a beautiful city in the NW or the nation's capitol (also beautiful, in a different way). I'd also think about which region of the country you'd prefer to live in, what weather you like, what is nearby for day trips, where your family and friends are, etc. They both have a lot to offer, but which one is "better" depends entirely on your preferences.
It actually has both...You people need to actually visit Washington DC 2015!! I am baffled how little people actually truly know and simply understand about their own Nations Capitol. The SW Waterfront in Washington DC is blocks away from the monuments and museums of Downtown DC. It's been there for decades. Not to mention the multi billion dollar RE-development of Washington's Downtown waterfront. Get with the program guys seriously.
This is only one tiny part of the Waterfront developments
Lol! I've been to the little sw fish market. It's nice that they're redeveloping the waterfront. But if you think that little thing compares to Pike Place then you need to take a trip out to Seattle. Plus Seattle's Downtown Waterfront is also being redeveloped. Plus across the bay is Alki Beach which doesn't need to be touched by any kind of development. Head 10 minutes east and there's miles of coastline along Lake Washington. I think some of YOU need to take a trip to Seattle at least once in your lifetime.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
8,128 posts, read 7,552,695 times
Reputation: 5785
Quote:
Originally Posted by pwright1
Lol! I've been to the little sw fish market. It's nice that they're redeveloping the waterfront. But if you think that little thing compares to Pike Place then you need to take a trip out to Seattle. Plus Seattle's Downtown Waterfront is also being redeveloped. Plus across the bay is Alki Beach which doesn't need to be touched by any kind of development. Head 10 minutes east and there's miles of coastline along Lake Washington. I think some of YOU need to take a trip to Seattle at least once in your lifetime.
My post was to PROVE that DC has a fish market and a waterfront, not to compare the fish market or waterfront to Seattle's. The earlier post was if DC even had one which it clearly has for decades. There has already been a recent DC vs Seattle thread where DC was ahead in the poll by a 2/1 margin (just as in this one). This thread however, is about which has more "big city lifestyle" not who's waterfront is better.
Last edited by the resident09; 01-31-2015 at 08:07 PM..
I've been there but at that time we were talking about downtowns and that little dot of a market I didn't really think of being in the heart and soul of dtdc. If you want to call that a downtown market then ok I guess.
The pictures of DC are actually old(like decades)...The pic from Seattle is actually google Earth from 2012 and much newer than the DC pics, it doesn't change the fact that Seattle's downtown is actually smaller than DC's even with the skyscrapers and ferris wheel, i'm wondering to figure if Baltimore's downtown is probably at least as large if not larger than Seattle's also in terms of radius.
That's awkward the Seattle big wheel was built in 2011 and opened in 2012.
The pictures of DC are actually old(like decades)...The pic from Seattle is actually google Earth from 2012 and much newer than the DC pics, it doesn't change the fact that Seattle's downtown is actually smaller than DC's even with the skyscrapers and ferris wheel, i'm wondering to figure if Baltimore's downtown is probably at least as large if not larger than Seattle's also in terms of radius.
South Lake union park opened 2010 buts not even under construction either lol.
I've been there but at that time we were talking about downtowns and that little dot of a market I didn't really think of being in the heart and soul of dtdc. If you want to call that a downtown market then ok I guess.
The Wharf, Yards, and Buzzard Point will be five times the size of Seattle's redeveloped waterfront. You really should pay attention to the master plans for these developments.
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The SW Waterfront in Washington DC is blocks away from the monuments and museums of Downtown DC. It's been there for decades. Not to mention the multi billion dollar RE-development of Washington's Downtown waterfront. Get with the program guys seriously.