cities similar to Seattle? (Burlington, Pacific: school, live, to move)

[packet]

Originally Posted by brandonlee206

Agreed! I lived in Boston once and it's like Seattle in some ways (High IQ's, Top Schools, Patented Research/IP, Banks, Tech, Seafood, Liberal, etc.) but downtown Boston is like a walk through Memory Lane while Seattle is like a space-ride into the future (or something like that).

Maybe Pittsurgh (skyline) or Miami (skyline on the water)

I'm in Pittsburgh at the moment for business. The city seems to have quite a different feel than Seattle and is quite a bit more gritty. It does seem to get overcast a lot though.

[seattlenextyear]

Boston yes, but there's some satellite cities near Boston which might work better. Places like Manchester, NH would get you closer to the outdoors. NH and Vermont are beautiful.

There's also Providence, which definitely has an educated population and a nice coastal charm. Its a little more crime-ridden though.

[movingwiththewind]

Vancouver, BC, of course.

[seattlenextyear]

Last time I checked, Vancouver was on the West coast.

[Zizza]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I visited Providence recently, and think that it could be a real possibility for me. It's a very livable city -- easy to get around, not nearly as jam-packed as most Eastern cities. Also, I had some dynamite meals there (much to my surprise). Still, I wasn't exactly wowed by the overall aesthetic, and wasn't sure if it would keep my interest for very long.

I've also been to Boston a few times. It's a great city, but I worry that there just won't be enough elbow room for my taste. Not that this is entirely accurate, but when I look at Google Earth, there just seem to be a real lack of green spaces. No doubt there are parks, but as a frustrated person who frequents Central Park in NYC on a regular basis, I'm really looking forward to the kind of parks where it's less about people doing activities, and more about being in nature. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm concerned that Boston could be just like New York-light in that respect, whereas I'm looking for a bigger departure than that. Maybe Helsinki would be more to my liking, as suggested above, but it simply wouldn't work with my job. Gotta be in the Central or Eastern time zones.

I've actually never been to Chicago. It definitely lacks mountains, but maybe the lakes would make up for it. I'll have to add that to my list.

I'm heading to Burlington, VT in a few weeks... maybe that will appeal to me. It's supposed to be beautiful, but it's certainly a much, much smaller city than Seattle. I've never lived in smaller city before. I think I could like it, but I'm just not sure.

[XXclimberX]

Basically your kinda screwed if you want to live near mtns on the east coast. Maybe somewhere in Vermont? I duno.

[seattlenextyear]

Does your job necessitate a big city? If you don't mind smaller cities, that would open up your options if you wanted to live in the mountains.

[guylocke]

I have several friends that go to school in Providence, they say the city is SCARY violent and crime and drugs is a huge problem.

I don't know the truth to all that, but they wouldn't be caught dead walking in downtown Providence at night.

[SaltyDawg]

I love Chicago. It's a tradeoff though - you get added wonderful big-city amenities, but you give up a ton on the nature side. Featureless & flat, with one giant lake.

[jenlion]

Second that Salty. If I ever have to leave this area, it's going to rip my heart out. There's just nothing else like it, anywhere.