How come Seattle isn't a world class city? (Rainier: live, gardens)

[SouthCali4LifeSD]

Originally Posted by allforcats

How come Seattle isn't a world class city?

BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO BE.
Go away. We don't want the world here, and there's no room.
We are the end of the pioneer trails, the end of the road. Go back where they like your concrete, your stresses, your conflicts, your whining. Leave us alone.

...actually, because YOU don't want it to be. seriously, how can u represent your city with that kind of attitude? you don't want the world there? there's no more room? how egocentric can you be? concrete? stresses? conflicts? whining? please tell me ur kidding. seattle has LOTS of concrete, to go along with its political whining and stress as well as its conflicts (remember the WTO riots? and now boeing is on strike?). leave you alone? then move to a town!

[JakeDog]

Seattle isn't the size of a world class city, nor does it feel like a world class city. It's a very nice city, though.

[jjbradleynyc]

Well, I think Seattle is just as world class, if not more, than Atlanta, for example. Atlanta has some serious work to do. Seattle's skyline alone is better than Atlanta's, imo. I think Seattle is also more urban and feels like a real city, more than Atlanta. Atlanta is very suburban, in comparison. Boston and Seattle are on par...I think.

[SeattlitefromNC]

Originally Posted by creepsinc

Too late! The world (aka California) has been coming there since at least the late '80s. Also, there's PLENTY of whining in Seattle and also plenty of concrete. There are surprisingly few trees inside the city limits, except for maybe in the northern part, although you can see plenty of trees off in the distance.

Where in Seattle have you been?

I can think of only three parts of the city that don't have very many trees: Downtown, Belltown, and SODO. Outside of those places (which make up the downtown core, natch), trees are more than abundant. From the south (Beacon Hill, Rainier Beach) to the north (Haller Lake, Broadview) and points in between, the place is overrun with trees!

In fact, this is the most tree-filled place that I have ever lived. The one place where people actually give a darn about the greenscape of their city ... to compare that to ANYPLACE in California is quite a stretch, indeed.

[SeattlitefromNC]

Originally Posted by creepsinc

Seattle is a nice, clean midsized city with an impressive skyline in a beautiful setting. Beyond that, it's possibly the blandest and most white bread town in the country. Billionaires, high home values and a few Asian people do not a world-class city make. Sorry. A definite plus is the proximity to Vancouver, which is almost a world-class city.

If you think Seattle is bland, then you don't know the right people and you aren't doing the right stuff. Seriously.

[hsw]

"World-class" is a vague term....

Would argue only regions in world that have first-tier economies/concentrations of smart professionals are NYC and SiliconValley; LA, Chic and London are second-tier regions on those metrics; lots of other urban regions have a few bucks but lack many brains...and some towns like Paris and SF merely exist as tourist attractions/playgrounds for the global wealthy...

Seattle is a one-company town...only co. of signif value is Microsoft, which is in distant Eastern burbs; many of affluent live in Bellevue/Medina, so City of Seattle is fairly irrelevant in economy of region (much like City of SF)

Microsoft's lack of innovation/execution is well-known to anyone who uses Windows/Vista; its stagnant share price has created no new wealth in nearly a decade; so, most smart engineers retired from MSFT yrs ago....and nearly no smart Stanford CS grad would want to start his career at MSFT today, as it's a dying co. w/little likely future wealth creation...and few smart colleagues for any intellectual challenge at office....unlike SV, Seattle is a town w/very few tech cos.; MSFT alums have failed to show any creativity by starting own valuable cos., unlike alums of Oracle, Sun, Apple, etc

Besides, the alleged females in Seattle make generally unattractive SF talent seem as talent-rich as LA's Westside/Manhattan.....

[allforcats]

Originally Posted by hsw

"World-class" is a vague term....

Would argue only regions in world that have first-tier economies/concentrations of smart professionals are NYC and SiliconValley; LA, Chic and London are second-tier regions on those metrics; lots of other urban regions have a few bucks but lack many brains...and some towns like Paris and SF merely exist as tourist attractions/playgrounds for the global wealthy...

Seattle is a one-company town...only co. of signif value is Microsoft, which is in distant Eastern burbs; many of affluent live in Bellevue/Medina, so City of Seattle is fairly irrelevant in economy of region (much like City of SF)

Microsoft's lack of innovation/execution is well-known to anyone who uses Windows/Vista; its stagnant share price has created no new wealth in nearly a decade; so, most smart engineers retired from MSFT yrs ago....and nearly no smart Stanford CS grad would want to start his career at MSFT today, as it's a dying co. w/little likely future wealth creation...and few smart colleagues for any intellectual challenge at office....unlike SV, Seattle is a town w/very few tech cos.; MSFT alums have failed to show any creativity by starting own valuable cos., unlike alums of Oracle, Sun, Apple, etc

Besides, the alleged females in Seattle make generally unattractive SF talent seem as talent-rich as LA's Westside/Manhattan.....

You're absolutely right about Seattle. Your research is impeccable, exhaustively complete, all-inclusive, and unquestionably based on long-term residence there. Your details are spot-on correct. Everything you said mirrors reality perfectly. Way to go!

[Monumental1]

Originally Posted by hsw

"World-class" is a vague term....

Would argue only regions in world that have first-tier economies/concentrations of smart professionals are NYC and SiliconValley; LA, Chic and London are second-tier regions on those metrics; lots of other urban regions have a few bucks but lack many brains...and some towns like Paris and SF merely exist as tourist attractions/playgrounds for the global wealthy...

Seattle is a one-company town...only co. of signif value is Microsoft, which is in distant Eastern burbs; many of affluent live in Bellevue/Medina, so City of Seattle is fairly irrelevant in economy of region (much like City of SF)

Microsoft's lack of innovation/execution is well-known to anyone who uses Windows/Vista; its stagnant share price has created no new wealth in nearly a decade; so, most smart engineers retired from MSFT yrs ago....and nearly no smart Stanford CS grad would want to start his career at MSFT today, as it's a dying co. w/little likely future wealth creation...and few smart colleagues for any intellectual challenge at office....unlike SV, Seattle is a town w/very few tech cos.; MSFT alums have failed to show any creativity by starting own valuable cos., unlike alums of Oracle, Sun, Apple, etc

Besides, the alleged females in Seattle make generally unattractive SF talent seem as talent-rich as LA's Westside/Manhattan.....

I wasn't even going to comment on this thread because I knew anyone with a fourth of a brain would know Seattle is a world class city and one of the finest the U.S. has to offer along with several other great cities in our great nation. not to be mean "But this post was just rediculous"!

Either you live in the same cave as Bin Leiden or your resume was rejected from Microsoft and you’re scarred for life because how is your logic Microsoft is the only thing in town going on for Seattle then state it’s not in Seattle it’s in the burbs? With all the technology at your finger tips to do research on Seattle a you come up with this? I guess the other fortune 500 companies in Seattle don’t matter?

I heard people say Seattle is only Starbucks, then Seattle is only Boeings, then Seattle is only Microsoft, I guess it’s only Amazon.com, Washington Mutual, Real Networks, Safeco insurance, on and on and on etc. etc. too. If Seattle is only MSFT than L.A. is only Hollywood and San Fran is only Apple and D.C. is only politics and New York is only fashion and Chicago is only publishing, and Atlanta is only Coca Cola.

One company doesn’t define a city on the scale of Seattle are you serious? Please people these threads are getting ridiculous.

[MachineKnownAsLosAngeles]

as long as SF exists ...seattle cant compete


its just not as urban, not as much culture, not as big economy as the bay area

[SteelCityRising]

Say what you will about Seattle, but its skyline is absolutely breathtaking. It ranks right up there with Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Dallas, and other U.S. skylines that I regard very highly.