Washington DC vs Seattle. More desirable to live in? (comparison, versus, bigger)
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Other than Chinatown/Gallery Place, Mount Vernon Square, City Center, and the nightlife section of K Street, Downtown DC is kinda boring and mostly office-oriented I'll admit but you are spot on in saying that a majority of the more interesting action in The City takes place in its neighborhoods. LA for many years seems to have had a similar story as well.
I will say I think DC is very underrated. When people think of DC they only think of The Mall and maybe Georgetown, when I feel that the more interesting parts IMO are the actual neighborhoods. I actually feel DC is in some ways the most European city in the US, something you really only discover when you go out the main tourist area.
I feel sometimes Chicago is a victim of that as well. Chicago has an awesome downtown, but I really think that areas like Wicker Park, Pilsen, Logan Square, offer are really cool urban and authentic experience.
Well let me tell you all something. Seattle was once a great place. Unfortunately it is being shaped into something else and it is not the same city it was, even one or two years ago.
I have to remember that the only constant in life is change but it is difficult for me as a local to accept this. Seattle is in the hands of developers, corporations (amazon), and transplants. It is all money now. Local middle and lower class families are being displaced by higher paid tech workers, old historical buildings are being torn down in replacement for 450 foot tall glass/ concrete blocks, in the U district, the homeless are no longer aloud to loiter (even stand or sit harmlessly), in fact Seattle just called for a state of emergency for our homeless problem, neighborhoods are becoming gentrified and sterile, the worst is downtown, even the gum wall has been steam cleaned, it is now just a wall.
It's disappointing and sad.
Although Seattle's history I have to realize has always ran off this concept of new comers and displacement of original people starting with the pioneers and the native americans. It's just hard to see a once thriving and beautiful unique place turn into a corporate, sterile, soulless mass of people and buildings.
So that is my opinion of Seattle. The nature is still stunning, but our ecosystems are also having a really hard time adjusting. I have hope though.
So just for anyone who moves here, I am not against transplants, but please have respect for the local way of life so we can preserve and perhaps enhance what is left of our culture.
As far as D.C. goes I have never been there but I wish for it to become as desirable because the west coast is taking in more people than it can handle at a very fast rate. And the quality of life here is going down.
Sorry for the rant but had to get that out there, Seattle isn't what it used to be
I live in DC, sort of, but voted for Seattle. DC is a great, underrated city, especially along the P Street corridor from Georgetown through Logan Circle. Also has rapidly improving neighborhoods like Nats Park/Navy Yard that are filled with interesting bars/restaurants/things to do, and were run down 10-15 years ago.
So what's the problem? The ridiculous government-driven economy. The work culture here is more bureaucratic than reputation, and we're at once one of the most educated, but least innovative places in the world. I'd retire here for the urban amenities that come without NY levels of hassle, but Seattle crushes us in terms of corporate culture.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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DC punches at a MUCH higher weight than Seattle, in fact at an Alpha world city level and a de facto Tier 1a level city much like SF, Chicago etc. Seattle is vastly improved and may have a factor or two to argue vs DC (like waterways) but let's not make it seem like it's on the same tier as DC the city or the DC area. There are only 4 or 5 other cities that can maybe claim being a "better" place overall and Seattle is not one of them.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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One large contrast I noticed between DC and Seattle is the green space at the core. With the National Mall, all the parkland along the Potomac, and Rock Creek, DC to me often times feels like a city in a park. L'Enfant's design was brilliant and made DC a very attractive city.
Seattle on the other hand as undeniably tied to nature as it is, ironically doesn't have very much greenspace or parkland at all, in and around the downtown core. Just small patches. The early city planners missed an opportunity. You really need to venture to the outer neighborhoods to get access to good parkland in Seattle.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 11-03-2015 at 09:54 PM..
DC is closer to a lot of cool cities such as NYC and Philly and semi close to beaches.
DC is the Capitol of our country, rich architecture, great museums. DC is a beautiful city with a lot to do. Seattle is great too, but I don't think it can really level up to DC's level.
DC has Georgetown, Maryland, George Mason, etc in the area for schools which are all great schools. A lot of education opportunities here.
DC punches at a MUCH higher weight than Seattle, in fact at an Alpha world city level and a de facto Tier 1a level city much like SF, Chicago etc. Seattle is vastly improved and may have a factor or two to argue vs DC (like waterways) but let's not make it seem like it's on the same tier as DC the city or the DC area. There are only 4 or 5 other cities that can maybe claim being a "better" place overall and Seattle is not one of them.
This has nothing to do with a city bring more desirable. I'll take Seattle's for food, festivals, live music and nightlife, downtown, weather, crime, beaches, parks, people, cost of living, traffic, natural beauty and outdoor amenities. I would also take Puget Sound, and Lake Washington over the murky Anacostia and Potomac rivers. Was just in DC last month. Still don't understand why DC people are stuck up and pretentious. No thanks to that new yuppiefied, overpriced market on Florida Ave. Pike Place Market blows it to smithereens. Went to the H Street Festival. Give me the Bite Of Seattle over that crap. For a city with such a great subway system, traffic seemed to be probably the worst in the nation. Also with all the new development taking place around DC, very little seems to be taking place across the Anacostia River. I really wonder how many grocery stores there are across the river, or even movie theaters.
This has nothing to do with a city bring more desirable. I'll take Seattle's for food, festivals, live music and nightlife, downtown, weather, crime, beaches, parks, people, cost of living, traffic, natural beauty and outdoor amenities. I would also take Puget Sound, and Lake Washington over the murky Anacostia and Potomac rivers. Was just in DC last month. Still don't understand why DC people are stuck up and pretentious. No thanks to that new yuppiefied, overpriced market on Florida Ave. Pike Place Market blows it to smithereens. Went to the H Street Festival. Give me the Bite Of Seattle over that crap. For a city with such a great subway system, traffic seemed to be probably the worst in the nation. Also with all the new development taking place around DC, very little seems to be taking place across the Anacostia River. I really wonder how many grocery stores there are across the river, or even movie theaters.
I do agree that Seattle wins for restaurants and live music, and is a hair better for bars/nightlife as well. Also, you are correct that Seattle is very underrated for having some pretty nice beaches. But DC wins easily for public transit (although Seattle is making fast progress there), overall urbanity, museums, having a more cosmopolitan/worldly feel, and architecture. It is definitely one of the "big 6" in those categories. Seattle may be near the top of the list of cities approaching the big 6, but those 6 are still pretty far ahead of any other city in terms of urban fabric, transportation, and walkability. There are reasons one might prefer Seattle, though.
No contest for me...DC is a notch superior....Seattle is just another overrated West Coast city (through the scenery is beautiful) to me....It can't compete with what DC has to offer....
The Seattle metro area is 73% non-Hispanic White. Large city propers tend to be relatively diverse.
That said, I wonder what the least diverse large city is. Salt Lake City is 76% non-Hispanic White but I'm not sure I'd consider it "large." Portland is 77% White.
Pittsburgh. And with a big gap to the second-most least diverse city. Few recent immigrants combined with a relatively low black population moving in the early and mid 20th century. Data is 2007, though.
Nashville stands out as rather white for a southern city. Seattle has an image for being whiter than it is because its city proper is among the whitest largest cities in the country, even though its not an outlier by metro. If you look at other west coast metros, you'll see the city proper - suburban racial % gap is rather small. [Biggest San Jose, but it's a rather odd center city]
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