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Old 07-19-2009, 05:54 PM
 
Location: RVA
2,420 posts, read 4,692,803 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PDX_LAX View Post
Yeah I know. I almost **** my pants when I read that.

Unlike Pittsburgh, Seattle actually has a recognizable culture. When people think Pittsburgh they think midwest/rust belt and don't have any idea of how it would be different than Cleveland or any other city back there. When they think Seattle all sorts of cultural offerings spring to mind.
That's simply ignorant. Seattle has plenty of cultural offerings, and Pittsburgh matches them, and in some cases surpasses them.
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Old 07-19-2009, 06:33 PM
 
373 posts, read 1,167,504 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by toughguy View Post
It's like saying "Put Muhammad Ali in an average person's body, and he wouldn't have been anything special".
I think what creepsinc meant when he said, "take the city of Seattle out of its geographical setting and put it somewhere in the Midwest and there would be nothing special about it at all" is that the built urban environment of Seattle is really not that progressive or distinctive. I agree, looking at the cities of Seattle and Pittsburgh independent of their surrounding, Pittsburgh is more unique and is built to a more human scale. Of course, you have to look at the whole picture, but a crappily built urban environment is a crappily built urban environment no matter how beautiful the natural setting.

The Mohammad Ali analogy doesn't fit because you are looking at Ali's fighting skills versus the "average", but his fighting skills are dependent on his body. Whereas, creepsinc was comparing the built urban environment of Seattle versus the built urban environment of Pittsburgh independent of the beauty of the natural surroundings. I think what he was pointing at is that people tend to get caught up with the beauty of the environment but aren't critical enough to observe the built environment.
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Old 07-19-2009, 06:37 PM
 
373 posts, read 1,167,504 times
Reputation: 203
Quote:
Originally Posted by PDX_LAX View Post
Yeah I know. I almost **** my pants when I read that.

Unlike Pittsburgh, Seattle actually has a recognizable culture. When people think Pittsburgh they think midwest/rust belt and don't have any idea of how it would be different than Cleveland or any other city back there. When they think Seattle all sorts of cultural offerings spring to mind.
People's perception shaped by the media are often off the mark from how their perceptions would really be in they were to experience something themselves. People think all kinds of weird stuff, but their thinking it doesn't make it so. Just because Seattle gets a lot of positive media attention it doesn't make it any better than another place that receives less positive media attention.
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Old 07-19-2009, 06:45 PM
 
233 posts, read 750,268 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jzt83 View Post
I think what creepsinc meant when he said, "take the city of Seattle out of its geographical setting and put it somewhere in the Midwest and there would be nothing special about it at all" is that the built urban environment of Seattle is really not that progressive or distinctive. I agree, looking at the cities of Seattle and Pittsburgh independent of their surrounding, Pittsburgh is more unique and is built to a more human scale. Of course, you have to look at the whole picture, but a crappily built urban environment is a crappily built urban environment no matter how beautiful the natural setting.

The Mohammad Ali analogy doesn't fit because you are looking at Ali's fighting skills versus the "average", but his fighting skills are dependent on his body. Whereas, creepsinc was comparing the built urban environment of Seattle versus the built urban environment of Pittsburgh independent of the beauty of the natural surroundings. I think what he was pointing at is that people tend to get caught up with the beauty of the environment but aren't critical enough to observe the built environment.
Well, that would assume Seattle has a crappy built environment, which if that's his opinion than he's entitled to it. I don't agree since I think Seattle has quite beautiful buildings. There are plenty of beautiful homes and historic structures along with some pretty cool modern buildings. Pittsburgh is much older and has more historic structures so if that's what you like than I guess it is all just a matter of opinion. I don't think Seattle is a plain jane city in a beautiful environment. I think it's beautiful environs enhance its beautiful built environment and I think the same about Pittsburgh.
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Old 07-19-2009, 07:03 PM
 
373 posts, read 1,167,504 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jr75 View Post
Well, that would assume Seattle has a crappy built environment, which if that's his opinion than he's entitled to it. I don't agree since I think Seattle has quite beautiful buildings. There are plenty of beautiful homes and historic structures along with some pretty cool modern buildings. Pittsburgh is much older and has more historic structures so if that's what you like than I guess it is all just a matter of opinion. I don't think Seattle is a plain jane city in a beautiful environment. I think it's beautiful environs enhance its beautiful built environment and I think the same about Pittsburgh.
different strokes...
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Old 07-19-2009, 08:53 PM
 
1,025 posts, read 1,742,834 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jzt83 View Post
People's perception shaped by the media are often off the mark from how their perceptions would really be in they were to experience something themselves. People think all kinds of weird stuff, but their thinking it doesn't make it so. Just because Seattle gets a lot of positive media attention it doesn't make it any better than another place that receives less positive media attention.
I definitely can agree on that. The media perception of a place versus reality can be way off. The perception I had of Pittsburgh from the media was a rust belt city barely surviving with abandon factories everywhere. I was shocked, when I got there and saw that it had a vibrant neighborhoods and very vibrant downtown surrounded by natural beauty. Needless to say it exceeded my expectation. The media really hypes Seattle (and the Pacific Northwest in general) so when I went there, I was kind of let down and didn't really exceed my expectations. Don't get me wrong, Seattle is a nice city, but the media (especially Forbes and Money) made Seattle seem like this "hip, cool" place to be, but to me it was like any other place. It's got breathtaking scenery, but as far as culture, it seemed like any other major city to me anyway.
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Old 07-19-2009, 09:23 PM
 
373 posts, read 1,167,504 times
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Even so-called less cultured cities have had light-rail before Seattle such as Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, and others.
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Old 07-19-2009, 10:23 PM
 
Location: Macao
16,284 posts, read 42,954,513 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by e2ksj3 View Post
I definitely can agree on that. The media perception of a place versus reality can be way off. The perception I had of Pittsburgh from the media was a rust belt city barely surviving with abandon factories everywhere. I was shocked, when I got there and saw that it had a vibrant neighborhoods and very vibrant downtown surrounded by natural beauty. Needless to say it exceeded my expectation. The media really hypes Seattle (and the Pacific Northwest in general) so when I went there, I was kind of let down and didn't really exceed my expectations. Don't get me wrong, Seattle is a nice city, but the media (especially Forbes and Money) made Seattle seem like this "hip, cool" place to be, but to me it was like any other place. It's got breathtaking scenery, but as far as culture, it seemed like any other major city to me anyway.
I wonder if you felt that way because you'd been to Pittsburgh before Seattle.

Generally speaking, Seattle DOES blow away a mass majority of U.S. cities...so it is very deserving of its title...compared to 95% of the cities.

But there are a few cities that a person might come from, and then visit Seattle, and think 'oh, it's pretty much like everywhere else' based on where it was they came from.
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Old 07-19-2009, 11:45 PM
 
1,025 posts, read 1,742,834 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiger Beer View Post
I wonder if you felt that way because you'd been to Pittsburgh before Seattle.

Generally speaking, Seattle DOES blow away a mass majority of U.S. cities...so it is very deserving of its title...compared to 95% of the cities.

But there are a few cities that a person might come from, and then visit Seattle, and think 'oh, it's pretty much like everywhere else' based on where it was they came from.
Actually I went to Seattle before I went to Pittsburgh. Seattle is nice, but I don't know, I was just expecting more, from all the hype you hear from the media. I guess I wasn't expecting too much from Pittsburgh and that's why I was blown away, when it exceeded my low expectation.

What's different about Seattle (other than the natural scenery, and I actually think Vancouver, BC blows them away in that category) than any other major city like DC, Chicago, or Pittsburgh in this case? They all have great and interesting neighborhoods, museums, entertainment, and culture. Again not putting Seattle down, but I just think we all get to caught up on fads from the media. Like which city is "cool" or the "best".
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Old 07-20-2009, 01:02 AM
 
233 posts, read 750,268 times
Reputation: 269
Quote:
Originally Posted by e2ksj3 View Post
Actually I went to Seattle before I went to Pittsburgh. Seattle is nice, but I don't know, I was just expecting more, from all the hype you hear from the media. I guess I wasn't expecting too much from Pittsburgh and that's why I was blown away, when it exceeded my low expectation.

What's different about Seattle (other than the natural scenery, and I actually think Vancouver, BC blows them away in that category) than any other major city like DC, Chicago, or Pittsburgh in this case? They all have great and interesting neighborhoods, museums, entertainment, and culture. Again not putting Seattle down, but I just think we all get to caught up on fads from the media. Like which city is "cool" or the "best".
What exactly were you expecting? Seattle gets attention for having a lot of technology comapanies. Okay, check. It gets attention for having great coffee and fresh food. That's there. Beautiful scenery and lots of rain. That's true. Seattle is known for having an active, educated and literate population. A great music scene and the Space needle. I can't think of anything that the city is hyped for that it doesn't meet expectations. What makes Seattle different than other cities? It's a different city! It has a different vibe. It's all about the vibe of a city, because your right, all cities have cool neighborhoods, etc... But I'm sure your aware, the vibe you feel in New York is different than Chicago and the way they live life in Pittsburgh is not the same as how they do it in New Orleans. The reason we have a forum dedicated to different cities is because there is something special about each one and they all bring something new and different to the table.
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