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Chicago. If you want Seattle's size, go to Minneapolis or Denver which are a lot cheaper. If you want a big city, Seattle is a no no.
If the only reason you are moving somewhere is due to its size than I think that's strange. People move to Seattle for many other reasons than it's size. The geographic location, clean air, diverse economy, the vibe. If what you find in Seattle is something that connects with you, you will not find the same exact thing in Denver or Minneapolis and vice versa. I am by no means wealthy and have a great life here. Plus it's here that I want to be for other reasons too. BTW- I love Boston and Chicago, both great American cities.
Seattle has a better skyline (similar building number and heights, but Boston's financial district is pure ugly and the Back Bay skyline does not integrate well into the city). But the skyline is the only thing Seattle is better than Boston. For all other aspects Boston wins hands down. Seattle is very overrated on this site. Its downtown is good but public transportation is way behind. Even LA, Atlanta, Dallas are way ahead of it in terms of rail transit. It is a joke to compare with Boston which is very mature in that aspect. Other aspects, history, walkability, architecture, museums, popularity, theater, Seattle just doesn't compare.
Boston is indeed a great city, can't argue with that. Seattle is also an amazing city and is definitely not overrated. Seattle has transit problems for sure and is behind a lot of cities in that area, but it's still amazing IMO. Besides the downtown, it is very walkable in almost all of it's neighborhoods. Architecturally it's more modern but it is not by any means uniformly new and shiny, with no historical buildings. Boston is a true gem architecturally due to it's importance in early U.S. history but Seattle is no slouch. Seattle also has a huge theater scene, amazing opera, the PNW ballet, great local music scene, etc.etc.. I think you need to do your homework about Seattle.
For me Seattle is too far from everything. I know it's got Vancouver and Portland nearby but other than that it's a 900 mile drive to San Francisco. Boston is a short drive from New York City and just a little further to Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C.,etc..
I'm not fond of dark, dreary days. Rain doesn't bother me but I don't like the kind that last all day for days.
Also, being from the East, I hate to say but, Seattle is just far too white bread for me.
For me Seattle is too far from everything. I know it's got Vancouver and Portland nearby but other than that it's a 900 mile drive to San Francisco. Boston is a short drive from New York City and just a little further to Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C.,etc..
I'm not fond of dark, dreary days. Rain doesn't bother me but I don't like the kind that last all day for days.
Also, being from the East, I hate to say but, Seattle is just far too white bread for me.
If by everything you mean big cities and not massive amounts of beautiful nature with a few great cities sprinkled in to the mix. I love cities or else i wouldn't be on this forum, but I love nature more and consider it to be more everything than what we here in our cities cherish most. Seattle is 900 miles of pure gorgeous nature away from San Francisco and I wouldn't want it any other way. Maybe that's the west in me.
For me Seattle is too far from everything. I know it's got Vancouver and Portland nearby but other than that it's a 900 mile drive to San Francisco. Boston is a short drive from New York City and just a little further to Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C.,etc..
I'm not fond of dark, dreary days. Rain doesn't bother me but I don't like the kind that last all day for days.
Also, being from the East, I hate to say but, Seattle is just far too white bread for me.
Me being black and from chocolate city D.C. and born in Newark, living in Seattle for me is an eye opener, and a good one. Seattle is such a beautiful, clean, progressive city with so much to do. Yes we do have Portland and Vancouver nearby. IMO the drives to these two cities are so much more enjoyable than driving up I-95 and the smelly NJ Turnpike. And driving to San Francisco? Its a short, cheap flight to one of North America's most charming and beautiful cities. I'd rather have winters with cloudy days and temps in the 40's and 50's than the bitter cold long winters of the east that seem to last for months.
Excellent point. I have a friend who lives in Ballard (the old Norwegian neighborhood in Seattle), and much of the area has a very clean, new, but not generic feel. They live on a quiet, almost-suburbanish street with a lot of unique houses and a really cool vibe. Up the street theres a commercial node with several bars and a couple of food joints and stores. About a 20 minute walk is "downtown Ballard" which offers tons of bars and restaurants. Beach isn't too far away, as is Greenlake. A couple of other cool neighborhoods, Phinney Ridge and Fremont arent too far ..And you can hop on a bus and be downtown in 25-30 minues.
Not the most urban living, but a great halfway point for people not wanting the dense craziness and cramped living arrangements of NYC, Chicago, or San Francisco, but also not wanting the bland sprawl of places like Phoenix and Charlotte.
Seattle is a very comfortable alternative!
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Originally Posted by TheseGoTo11
two great cities
one thing that gets overlooked with Seattle is how new so much of it is, unlike SF or Boston where you pay big $ for a creaky old apt, you can find new places throughout Queen Anne, Fremont, Ballard, Capitol Hill, and other cool Seattle neighborhoods
I live in Seattle now and spent almost 5 years trying to move here from Chicago and also went to school in Cambridge so I am speaking from experience, although I am a little biased towards Seattle.
Seattle is like Boston in a lot of ways (high IQ's, biotech, tech, finance, liberal) but different (less blue-collar Irish history, more skyscrapers in Seattle, bigger stadiums) too.
If it's snowing in Boston in the winter, you need to fly 1000 miles away to get in the sun where in Seattle it doesn't snow and you can drive 20 minutes up I-90 and hit the slopes.
The seafood in both cities is great - end of discussion. I like Penn Cove mussels just as much as New England chowder.
Traffic is the same in both cities although downtown Seattle is less chaotic than downtown Boston streets as far as the urban design (although this would be obvious considering the era's in each cities history where they laid design/infrastructure).
If nearby cities is your qualifier, then it depends if you like Van or NYC. I like NYC for a vacation every few years - that's about it. Vancouver I could spend months inside of every year and it never gets old.
Portland is to Seattle as Providence is to Boston so go figure...
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