How come Seattle isn't a world class city? (Rainier, Starbuck: buying, living in)

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by seattlerain

Let me start out by saying I'm not a fan of Nickels, however we have to remember that the viaduct is not the sole responsibility of the city of Seattle.

In my opinion the state is just as much to blame as the city of Seattle.

Anyway, I too miss the old Seattle...

I know, we can blame Gregoire and her lack of leadership as well, the city council, probably the county council as well, but I didn't want to get started on that rant

[allforcats]

Originally Posted by Jennibc

I just read the Weekly article from three years ago and it is spot on.

WAHOOO!! Love your post! And I am one of those who would love to keep it alive!

Man, I hate Nickels. It really does seem like this city is now a playground for the affluent.

As the article aptly points out, Nickels never met a huge, outrageously expensive, massively inconveniencing project designed to help the wealthy, that he didn't love.

I really miss the old Seattle, when parts of it still had a blue collar feel to it.

When I first arrived here in December 1982, many (nearly half?) of the men who walked past me in "the downtown core" wore full-face beards. Lots of the men looked as though they might be deckhands or lumberjacks. All that grizzled "coastal" blue-collar feel, y'know? Where did they all go?

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by allforcats

When I first arrived here in December 1982, many (nearly half?) of the men who walked past me in "the downtown core" wore full-face beards. Lots of the men looked as though they might be deckhands or lumberjacks. All that grizzled "coastal" blue-collar feel, y'know? Where did they all go?

Yup, I got here in '85 when you could rent a huge 2 bedroom apartment on capital hill just eight blocks up from downtown for $475, heat and hot water included. My roommates and I had a Boeing machinest living next door, an artist and hairdresser living across the hall, and we were poor students/restaurant workers.

Seattle became so popular that seemingly everybody wanted to move here in the late eighties, then again in the mid to late nineties and if this board is any indication, now despite the dismal national economy. Lots more bodies, not enough increase in housing and it drives the prices up. Blue collars, unless they purchased homes before the pricing went crazy, were priced out. Additionally, the logging industry took a big hit in the nineties. I don't know about the fishing industry. You will still see some of the old crusty types if you stop in for breakfast at the Salmon Bay Cafe down by the docks.

Remember when Wallingford was a working class neighborhood? An old roomate of mine bought a craftsman for 98K back in 1987. It had doubled in value by 1989. Remember when you could by a house in Ballard for like 60K? When Belltown had the divey old bars that catered to the merchant marines and other sailors?

I suppose I can't complain, after all, I am one of the people that moved here from somewhere else creating the phenomenal growth. I was just slightly ahead of the stampede by about three years.

[movingwiththewind]

Originally Posted by allforcats

When I first arrived here in December 1982, many (nearly half?) of the men who walked past me in "the downtown core" wore full-face beards. Lots of the men looked as though they might be deckhands or lumberjacks. All that grizzled "coastal" blue-collar feel, y'know? Where did they all go?

They all are still in Seattle. They just shaved their beards.

[seattlerain]

Originally Posted by Jennibc

I know, we can blame Gregoire and her lack of leadership as well, the city council, probably the county council as well, but I didn't want to get started on that rant

Good idea!

I could go on and on...but I'm not going to go there...

[seattlerain]

If I remember correctly this thread was started in the General Forum, and was recently moved to the Seattle Forum...and I'm not sure if the OP is even a Seattleite.

Having said that I think the better question would be, "Do you want Seattle to be a world class city"?

[Ira500]

World class cities don't have to proclaim how world class they are.

[olynative]

I don't care about any "world-class" designation, I just like Seattle. I've been to a lot of cities in this country and some places in Europe, Australia and Canada and still consider Seattle a very unique city. However the very fact that everyone is debating this topic so much means that the city leaves some sort of impression on your mind. As for people who see Seattle as lacking diversity........you haven't been to the right places. Uwajimaya anyone? Rainier valley, White Center, Beacon Hill.........very diverse neighborhoods.

[Neal2009]

I spend alot of time in Germany and Austria and have many friends there, and every time they ask me to name 3 cities/regions in the U.S which are absolutely must sees, Seattle and the northwest are always number 1 or 2. This is coming from a person who is not a native and has lived in many other cities in the country, and visited most major cities as well. I am genuinely surprised that so many of my friends over there give me a blank look when I mention Seattle. They are so used to hearing about Chicago, New York, San Francisco, but not Seattle. There is no way Seattle should not be on that list.

What other city in this country has the mountains, forests/rainforests, ocean, volcanoes, culture, food scene and much much more that Seattle has to offer? Most of the things people are looking for in a city or landscape will be found in Seattle and it's surrounding area. That is a fact that 95% of the other major cities cannot claim

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by Neal2009

What other city in this country has the mountains, forests/rainforests, ocean, volcanoes, culture, food scene and much much more that Seattle has to offer?

San Francisco.