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Just spent time in both, and have to say, the Seaplane between the two cities is definitely the best way to get to one from the other. Just an over an hour at 1,000 feet above the San Juan Islands, can't beat it.
Both are great cities. Have to give the edge to Seattle though because the business environment is far more advanced. Also has slightly better weather.
But it's funny how many Canadian tourists go to Vancouver and American tourists visit Seattle, both offer urban physical settings that you don't get elsewhere in either country. In both Canada and the U.S., the West is definitely best.
An investigation by former Deputy Commissioner of the RCMP found large amounts of money being laundered in BC real estate, causing prices to go up.There is plenty of information out there on this, but little initiative being shown by local and provincial government to do anything.
The topic is which city is better, of course Seattle's cultural options/contributions are relevant. Why would they not be? Cities are more than just collections of buildings with people in them. What those people create and where they do it is relevant. Most of those people I mentioned previously not only came from Seattle but created their art/music here.
Do you think people from Austin shouldn't point out their incredible live music scene when discussing their city?? because... "like, who cares about that stuff?" or someone from New Orleans their incredible food?
Of course it doesn't affect YOUR daily life, that's not the point, you're in Boston. I don't think your sitting there on the east coast dwelling on Seattle culture BUT if you were deciding on which city to visit or live in that might come into play.. and before you mention a zillion other cities that have culture, once again we're talking about Seattle and Vancouver here. That's..one more time.. Seattle and Vancouver
Good point.This is about the comparisons between Seattle and Vancouver 'culturally wise'. But I don't think bringing what famous musicians once dominated the music scene in Seattle throughout the years, adds up to being a *culture* one is dealing with in the here and now, while visiting or living in either city. It would be like saying that LA is the best city in the US because so many famous musicians and actors have impacted one's daily life while living there. You might bump into one downtown or while hiking, but how does this affect you 'culturally'? The museums, music clubs, historical buildings and history, etc. might, but the famous people don't.
I would not visit either Vancouver or Seattle for 'cultural reasons'. I lived in Seattle for 3 years and loved it. And I plan to visit Vancouver next year. But neither city has a list of cultural options to choose from. Just having Jimi Hendrix or Nirvana floating around inside your head while in Seattle is not going to help one find cultural places to immersed one's self with.
By the way, I lived in Seattle in the late 60's/early 70's. At that time, it struck me how FRIENDLY everyone was. It had a hippie vibe and every one and his brother was a musician. The sun would come out and transform everyone into joyous people. I know...Seattle received an influx of *others* and more business, making it a more successful city, but it is sad to read on here, that the people don't seem friendly to outsiders there.
Vancouver, because prostitution is legal in Canada. Here in the states, the government thinks it's their business to tell two adults they can't have sex if one of them is paying for it ...
1) Prostitution ISN'T legal in Canada. Not fully, at least.
2) The federal government of the US obviously doesn't think that, considering Nevada has fully legalized prostitution
The one thing that did catch me off guard in Downtown Seattle one time is how early things close, in Downtown Vancouver everything stays open quite late into the night - more of a european style.
God, the frequency with which everything desirable gets associated with "being European" on city data is just ridiculous, lol.
That's not "European style". Most European cities close earlier than most major American ones.
Seattle's light rail is awesome because you can take it all the way from downtown to the airport for $2.75--very cheap. Well, almost to the airport. For some reason they decided to stop it about a quarter mile from the terminal so all the riders can drag their luggage thru the parking garages for 20 minutes :-(
And it doesn't even approach rapid. Nearly all of the rail line is shared with cars and/or buses, so it gets stuck in traffic a lot too (especially the parts closer to downtown).
We are in the process of doing that. Just doing it really, really slow because our tunneling machine broke down and got stuck underground for over a year.
According to the latest report from Forbes, Vancouver has the second worst traffic in North America, trailing only Los Angeles. Seattle comes in at number 5 though, so traffic is nearly as bad down here and like you mention at least Vancouver has grade-separated rapid transit.
that tunnel has nothing to do with transit--it is a highway replacement. We are, actually, digging two other tunnels for transit (to expand that light rail line further north) and they are both ahead of schedule (an extremely long schedule, 10 years to extend a line 7 miles, 5 stations).
We do have a tram line though that is a year behind schedule because the tram car manufacturer screwed up all the orders. And a recent study shows that our other tram (the south lake union streetcar) has the worst on-time performance of any transit line in the country because it partially shares its rail line with street parking, so a badly parked or slightly large car totally takes it out of commission. Can't wait for the new tram line :-(
gonna have to disagree with you here. Hendrix, Nirvana, coffee, outdoor culture, HUGE concert events, Sir Mix-a-Lot, northwest seafood, Seahawks, Hating on David Stern, Hating on Californians, PAX, etc. Seattle has exported a lot of talent and always seems to have something going on. :-)
Seattle definitely has a vibrant cultural scene, including historic jazz clubs, grunge, and alternative rock, a notable garage rock scene, and notable record labels like Sub Pop.
As is the case with most American cities, I'd definitely say it's much more culturally unique than Vancouver
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