How come Seattle isn't a world class city? (pine, racist)

[seattlerain]

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.....

Distant eastern suburb...that is interesting as I can drive from downtown Seattle to MS headquarters in fifteen minutes.

[seattlerain]

Originally Posted by creepsinc

I saw everything Seattle has to offer, and then some. I'm not saying it's a horrible place, I'm saying it's not a "word-class" city and it certainly needs to be taken down a couple notches on this forum.

People either like, or don't like Seattle for what it is...you don't get to decide what cities "need to be taken down a couple of notches in this forum".

[seattlerain]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Wait, wait, wait. If there is a whiny city in the USA, its Seattle. All your rain and gloom, suicide rates and crappy music are the EPITOME of whiny.

So anyways, uh, thanks for Nirvana, you can take them back now. And dont forget your flannel!

Suicide rates? Seattle is not even in the top 10 for suicide rates.

[stilldirrty]

beats Chicago weather.

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Wait, wait, wait. If there is a whiny city in the USA, its Seattle. All your rain and gloom, suicide rates and crappy music are the EPITOME of whiny.

So anyways, uh, thanks for Nirvana, you can take them back now. And dont forget your flannel!

[jr75]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Wait, wait, wait. If there is a whiny city in the USA, its Seattle. All your rain and gloom, suicide rates and crappy music are the EPITOME of whiny.

So anyways, uh, thanks for Nirvana, you can take them back now. And dont forget your flannel!

Well then, I guess we should also take back our Jimi Hendrix, Heart, Sonics, Quincy Jones, Modest Mouse etc. etc. -

[Monumental1]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Wait, wait, wait. If there is a whiny city in the USA, its Seattle. All your rain and gloom, suicide rates and crappy music are the EPITOME of whiny.

So anyways, uh, thanks for Nirvana, you can take them back now. And dont forget your flannel!

It’s almost baffling the ignorance people have about the importance of cities in the U.S. and what they have brought to the table. Seattle is a beautiful major city with global importance, a breathtaking skyline, powerful fortune 500 companies, biotech, top higher learning and medical institutes, musicians, etc., etc. and quite frankly one of the best the cities the U.S. has to offer.

New York and Chicago are not the only great cities in our great nation. Seattle seems to be the most envied /hated on/ major city in our country outside of Los Angeles. Maybe it’s just west coast envy. Personally I enjoy every city for what they are.

PS. Seattle's weather is way better than Chicago - It's Clear blue skies and 71 degrees right now in Seattle as we speak. I'm looking @ the Seattle Seahawks spank the San Francisco 49rs (Go Seahawks)! Just had to throw that in there. Hey St. Louis we want our team back in L.A.

[creepsinc]

Originally Posted by Monumental1

It’s almost baffling the ignorance people have about the importance of cities in the U.S. and what they have brought to the table. Seattle is a beautiful major city with global importance, a breathtaking skyline, powerful fortune 500 companies, biotech, top higher learning and medical institutes, musicians, etc., etc. and quite frankly one of the best the cities the U.S. has to offer.

New York and Chicago are not the only great cities in our great nation. Seattle seems to be the most envied /hated on/ major city in our country outside of Los Angeles. Maybe it’s just west coast envy. Personally I enjoy every city for what they are.

PS. Seattle's weather is way better than Chicago - It's Clear blue skies and 71 degrees right now in Seattle as we speak. I'm looking @ the Seattle Seahawks spank the San Francisco 49rs (Go Seahawks)! Just had to throw that in there. Hey St. Louis we want our team back in L.A.

Yeah, the whole flannel/grunge thing is as outdated a stereotype as Pittsburgh's steel mills.

The things I don't like about Seattle are all based on personal experience (I was even one of those musicians that got paid to play there). The smugness does get old after awhile. And the yuppies (many of whom seem to be ex-hippies I call "huppies") contribute to the overall blandness and sterility of the place. To each his own, though. I don't think it's worth the money to live there, but that's just me.

[downtown1]

Hey, people in Seattle are thought to be intelligent & the quality of life & visitor experience are better than that of NY & Chicago according to a new survey from Travel & Leisure. You'd better stop whining. Not so many people hate Seattle like you thought.

People
Intelligent

America's Favorite Cities 2008 | People | Intelligent | Travel + Leisure

Rank/Score/City

1 4.50 Seattle
2 4.46 Minneapolis/St. Paul
3 4.46 Austin
4 4.44 Portland, Oregon
5 4.40 San Francisco
6 4.38 Boston
7 4.32 Washington, D.C.
8 4.18 Denver
9 4.15 Chicago
10 4.13 New York
11 4.13 Santa Fe
12 4.12 Charleston
13 4.04 San Diego
14 3.93 Honolulu
15 3.87 Nashville
16 3.83 San Antonio
17 3.75 Phoenix/Scottsdale
18 3.67 Philadelphia
19 3.64 Dallas/Fort Worth
20 3.60 Atlanta
21 3.56 New Orleans
22 3.53 Orlando
23 3.49 Las Vegas
24 3.36 Miami
25 3.22 Los Angeles

Quality of Life & Visitor Experience (Overall)

Rank Score City
1 4.24 Portland, Oregon
2 4.17 Charleston
3 4.11 Austin
4 4.09 Honolulu
5 4.08 Minneapolis/St. Paul
6 4.07 San Diego
7 4.06 Santa Fe
8 4.03 Denver
9 4.00 Seattle
10 3.97 San Francisco
11 3.95 San Antonio
12 3.90 Nashville
13 3.81 Chicago
14 3.72 Phoenix/Scottsdale
15 3.71 Boston
16 3.65 Washington, D.C.
17 3.60 Miami
18 3.58 Orlando
19 3.55 New Orleans
20 3.48 New York
21 3.46 Philadelphia
22 3.45 Las Vegas
23 3.44 Dallas/Fort Worth
24 3.40 Atlanta
25 3.16 Los Angeles

Originally Posted by Monumental1

New York and Chicago are not the only great cities in our great nation. Seattle seems to be the most envied /hated on/ major city in our country outside of Los Angeles. Maybe it’s just west coast envy. Personally I enjoy every city for what they are.

[Tangles]

Seattle has an intentionally sleepy, almost complacent vibe. It's unapologetically liberal and TOO noncompetitive. I think these are all things that hold it back from being world class.

[Scraper Enthusiast]

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.

"White bread"? Sounds very racist against white people.