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I have to say, I feel like the "downtown" section of Ballard in Seattle is comparable to E. Carson in terms of number of bars. If you include Ballard Ave., Market Street, and the surrounding side streets, there are tons and tons of bars.
Just Ballard Ave alone has nearly 25 bars (40-50 if you count restaurant/bars)!
It lacks the bustle of E. Carson, though.
However, I would say that 1st Ave and 2nd Ave in Belltown do have that bustle on weekends. The only problem is many of the bars and restaurants are very yuppie/frat oriented. Theyre either too expensive/snooty or geared towards frat types.
Pike/Pine/Olive (south of Broadway) in Capitol Hill has gotten a lot more bustling on the weekends over the last few years.
Still, no Seattle district has the combination of bar volume/proximity, bustle, and cool bars of E.Carson.
As a side note, I never understand why Ballard doesn't have way more people on the streets at night considering the huge volume and variety of bars there.
I'm guessing Ballard isn't that bustling because is located pretty far west and is sort of out of the way. I am also guessing that Seattle's action is dispersed over more areas compared to Pittsburgh.
I'm guessing Ballard isn't that bustling because is located pretty far west and is sort of out of the way. I am also guessing that Seattle's action is dispersed over more areas compared to Pittsburgh.
Actually, I would say overall Ballard is one of the more bustling neighborhoods in the city, especially considering its far proximity from the center.
I agree with the point, though, that for the huge number of bars in Ballard you would expect the streets to be more packed at night.
I'm naturally leaning towards the West Coast...and I love the Pacific Northwest culture...
But everything I've seen of Pittsburgh is really impressive in photos...and the discussion about E. Carson and it's liveliness just makes it sound even better.
Actually this thread is probably one of the more informative interesting threads on the 'city vs city' forum. Usually they aren't really comparing, than just arguing based on regionalism
I'll probably get flamed for this, but 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. The same isn't true of Pittsburgh.
It's like saying "Put Muhammad Ali in an average person's body, and he wouldn't have been anything special".
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.
In Seattle, you won't find much violent crime. Mostly it will be drug busting, domestic spats, and prostitution beats, as well as petty theft like car break-ins. If you get unlucky you'll deal with the black and asian gangs in the Rainier valley, but again, they don't carry out nearly as much violent crime (murders, rapes) than other cities. They are also hiring in this economy and private security firms are abound.
As for the feel of the city, I think that's been pretty much covered. For climate, Seattle is much more mild (anything over 85 is a heatwave, and anything less than 35 in winter is a deep freeze), and you simply can't beat the summers here anywhere in the nation. On the flip side, constant grey skies and misty rain in the "rain" season (Seattle has two seasons, rain and summer) may get to you if you suffer from SADD (Seasonal Anxiety and Depression Disorder).
In terms of future prosperity, I think its a toss-up. Seattle certainly has a lot of big-shot corporations like Microsoft, Starbucks, and Boeing, but they are all in trouble or looking to leave in a big way (MS is on the run from various smaller companies, and the jury is still out on whether they are here to stay or will collapse under their own weight... Starbucks is desperately trying to hold on to its global empire, and Boeing has basically threatened to move elsewhere for manufacturing). On the other hand, green tech is still nascent and is debatable whether Pittsburg will keep attracting green tech companies.
I lived in Pgh. for 10 years when I was in my 20's. I loved it. People go there and never want to leave. The problem is that the economy is terrible. This means that you can buy a lot of house for a little and have a great time on a shoestring. The colleges and universities in Pgh. are fabulous btw. If you go, you will want to live in the East End around the colleges. There is no other reasonable choice for a young single person.
On the other hand, I just went on vacation to Seattle for a long weekend and LOVED it. Seattle is much more hip.
Both cities have great public transportation and a bicycle culture.
Surprising note: Outside of the Skyline shots None of these are pics of Downtown Pittsburgh...Pittsburgh is a VERY Neighborhood City (One of the few), all of this bustling activity is in the Various neighborhoods of Pittsburgh.
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