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The natural environment of Seattle is much better than most others. Some of these other places are just reclaimed desert. Seattle is glacial. And it is wet enough to become green, not dusty. Of course, some people are really more into artificial substitutes. So they'll not be able to appreciate what has been preserved in the Seattle area. Actually, this whole corner of the country is a natural delight.
Yeah right, like another American city (or any in the world for that matter) really can have a skyline/backdrop that can really match these ones:
Mt Rainier and downtown skyscrapers
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Downtown Skyscrapers and Space Needle w/Olympics backdrop
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Wow, isn't Denver beautiful.. Oh wait.. That is Seattle Move over Rockies, the Olympics are rising!
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The Skyscrapers over the Puget Sound:
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I'm sorry, but a downtown built right off the beautiful Puget Sound with the backdrop of one of the most beautiful and highest rising mountains on the Earth? I grew up in Portland, so I use to remember being at awe seeing Mount Hood in the backdrop of the skyscrapers of downtown Portland. However, after seeing Seattle for myself, I can say Portland doesn't even come close to comparing to Seattle. Nor does any American city. Seattle is unique because you have a very beautiful skyline (even without the scenery) combined with some of the most phenomenal scenery on the Earth.
As far as the city, itself? I hate to say it, but the run-down, old, gritty, junky, crime-ridden and dilapidated cities such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit , St. Louis or not beautiful at all! They have some nice old rustic parts, but for the true old-world beauty and architecture you must leave USA and go to Europe. At least Europeans have preserved most of their cities and they are not overrun with gangs and crime. I was in Amsterdam over a decade ago and was amazed at how well-preserved the old buildings, some from 1500s/1600s (maybe older??) were kept. Sadly, a lot of America's old world charm was devastated by the mismanagement of the city governments. Seattle, on the hand, doesn't look dumpy and I find its neighborhoods are charming and well-kept. There is enough turn-of-the-century architecture in Seattle to still give it a bit of old-world charm. Especially, being surrounded on the water and hills, even gives it a bit of that hilly urban beauty I admired when driving around San Francisco, but with more trees and larger mountains.
Last edited by Count David; 08-28-2012 at 04:59 PM..
Reason: possible copyright violations
Seattle skyline is OK, but people who say it is most beautiful either did not se many other, or they are just way to subjective cuz they live here or are born and raised. We all think are home is the most beautiful spot on earth, but in Seattle I must say that is far from the truth. It could be nice, but Seattle Center is run down and even 50th anniversary was not enough to make it look better. They did glass museum but around it is old and smely center house, Pacific Science center needs serious remodeling, and it all looks so bad on a gray fall day. And people who like to dress like they are about to go to gym do not help. SKyline is mostly gray so I feel kinda bad for people who think it is the best. They are just like those New England people. Nothing but their home town is beautiful and all else sucks. Also when you go down to California, pass Frisco and LA and see al the beaches, Seattle starts to look even worse they it is. Sad but true.
Actually, I lived the first 13 wretched years of my life in Los Angeles and can say anything but the opposite is the truth for me. I couldn't believe how beautiful everything looked as soon as I left the Smoggy Inferno state, or, at least its overcrowded, overpriced, polluted, crime-ridden cities. You are complaining about Seattle being run-down? Which it really isn't. How much time did you spend in Los Angeles? Speaking of run-down, you can talk to my father who watched many of the lovely areas he grew up with turn into gang and crime-infested h*ll-holes. You're lucky if you ever get a day clear enough in Los Angeles where you can see the beach or mountains in the backdrop with that dark brown sticky haze that is in the air. People who think Seattle is so run-down haven't been around many other cities recently. Even Rainier Beach, doesn't look so bad, compared to what I am use to seeing in Southern California or even Outer NE/SE Portland/West Gresham.
I've been to San Francisco so many times. What does it have? The San Fran bay isn't as nice as the Puget Sound. You drive 30 min east of San Francisco you are in an ugly desert. You drive North or South you have nice forests, but without the amazing mountains, waterfalls, rivers, lakes that you have any direction in Seattle within 1-1.5 hour drive. Gray? San Francisco is always gray and foggy. I personally, think Seattle and Portland are beautiful in the Autumn with the changing color leaves. The gray sky is a downfall, but the beauty makes up for it. In Chicago they pray that clouds will come during the Winter, so the air can get above 0F. But then the dreaded blizzards. Yeah, no place has that great weather in this country.
I'll take the Olympic mountains and the Oregon and Washington coasts over the overcrowded , polluted and desert beaches in Southern California. They are grossly overrated in my opinion. California beaches has some redeeming value once you go up North.
My distant opinion is that Seattle's environs impress me more than the city itself. But I'm not into tall buildings and lights. I know other cities will outshine Seattle in that. But of them all, Seattle is a place I can imagine living. Those other places wouldnt tempt me as a place to live.
"Overrated" is a subjective term, meaning that from a given vantage point, one person feels that most others think that something is better that they think it is.
Something like a city's beauty cannot possibly be quantified.
On the other hand, when you're talking about an athlete, f.e. it's a lot easier to make your case. F.e. you may think that Jeremy Lin is overrated because he is someone who's gotten a lot of hype because he basically had one good statistical month in the pros - and you can back it up with statistics.
Since beauty of a city (or anything else) cannot be quantified statistically, this argument cannot possibly come to any sort of resolution. Something to think about, though - if one calls it "overrated", all they are doing is giving their personal opinion in that they personally like it less than majority of others. It's still ok to differ in personal preferences, right ?
Actually, I lived the first 13 wretched years of my life in Los Angeles and can say anything but the opposite is the truth for me. I couldn't believe how beautiful everything looked as soon as I left the Smoggy Inferno state, or, at least its overcrowded, overpriced, polluted, crime-ridden cities. You are complaining about Seattle being run-down? Which it really isn't. How much time did you spend in Los Angeles? Speaking of run-down, you can talk to my father who watched many of the lovely areas he grew up with turn into gang and crime-infested h*ll-holes. You're lucky if you ever get a day clear enough in Los Angeles where you can see the beach or mountains in the backdrop with that dark brown sticky haze that is in the air. People who think Seattle is so run-down haven't been around many other cities recently. Even Rainier Beach, doesn't look so bad, compared to what I am use to seeing in Southern California or even Outer NE/SE Portland/West Gresham.
I've been to San Francisco so many times. What does it have? The San Fran bay isn't as nice as the Puget Sound. You drive 30 min east of San Francisco you are in an ugly desert. You drive North or South you have nice forests, but without the amazing mountains, waterfalls, rivers, lakes that you have any direction in Seattle within 1-1.5 hour drive. Gray? San Francisco is always gray and foggy. I personally, think Seattle and Portland are beautiful in the Autumn with the changing color leaves. The gray sky is a downfall, but the beauty makes up for it. In Chicago they pray that clouds will come during the Winter, so the air can get above 0F. But then the dreaded blizzards. Yeah, no place has that great weather in this country.
I'll take the Olympic mountains and the Oregon and Washington coasts over the overcrowded , polluted and desert beaches in Southern California. They are grossly overrated in my opinion. California beaches has some redeeming value once you go up North.
So bascially everywhere else on the West Coast sucks except for Seattle... Sure...
And yes, beauty is subjective, but there's as much beautfiul scenery to see in an hour and a half of San Francisco as there is in Seattle, IMO. It's just different. And I love the Cascades and Olympics as a climber/hiker/skier--but I love a good beach to go surfing or nice weather too or a nice sort of Mediterranean-looking valley with dry oaks(not the same as a desert, though I like some parts of the desert too).
I think there are beautiful spots all up and down the Pacific Coast. Few if any are in the LA megalopolis. It started out as desert, and flourished as a real estate developer's hothouse. Pretty dingy through and through. San Francisco, to me, a totally different story. Big Sur, not in the same category. But as far as CITIES go, I don't think there's much in California you'd call beautiful. So maybe its not so much that Seattle is beautiful as that the overdeveloped areas on the West Coast are so dreary. I don't think people moving in there demand that much. Probably the weather fulfills most of what they want.
I drove an hour through the Seattle metro area and all I saw was thick and lush trees, water , hills and mountains. I felt like I was in a beautiful forest even though underneath was a crowded metro area. I remember driving an hour through the LA and SF Bay area metros and all I saw was concrete, buildings, track homes, graffiti, chain-link fences and cinder-block walls with almost no trees and an only an occasional glimpse of the water. I just don't get how anyone can think any cities in California or most of this country really have any comparable beauty with Seattle. The only redeeming value of the Bay area is San Francisco when you drive over the Bay and Golden Gate bridges. San Francisco has a lot of nice scenery and gives you a nice Mediterranean feel. However, once you leave San Francisco, the rest of the Bay area is sterile and ugly. However, the entire Seattle metro area is beautiful and lush, even the dumpy industrial towns in Seattle are surrounded by thick and lush forests and beautiful green valleys.
North of San Francisco is the Redwood forest and Southwest of San Jose is the Redwood forest of Santa Cruz mountains. Both, are beautiful places, but these are forests that are outside of what can be considered the city or metro area. The original thread was, "Seattle's beauty is underrated". We are comparing one city to the other, not the surrounding forests that are over 60 miles away to another. I think the Cascades east of Seattle has any place beat in that category too, except for Alaska or Montana.
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Originally Posted by Deezus
So bascially everywhere else on the West Coast sucks except for Seattle... Sure...
Deezus, I never said everywhere else on the West Coast sucks. After all, I really like Portland, where I lived for many years, I am a native Oregonian .
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Originally Posted by Deezus
And yes, beauty is subjective, but there's as much beautfiul scenery to see in an hour and a half of San Francisco as there is in Seattle, IMO. It's just different. And I love the Cascades and Olympics as a climber/hiker/skier--but I love a good beach to go surfing or nice weather too or a nice sort of Mediterranean-looking valley with dry oaks(not the same as a desert, though I like some parts of the desert too).
I enjoy the beauty of dry oaks and rolling hills, but it just doesn't compare to the beauty of large towering trees, thick vegetation and jagged mountains and massive peaks you see in Seattle. It like silver is a precious metal, but gold is even more precious. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There are people who would trade their silver for gold, but not many.
If you're an avid surfer, then obviously you would be happier in even Venice Beach than living right next to Mt Hood Meadows. But being a hobbyist is different than being appreciative of the beauty of the environment.
Last edited by EastMeetsWest7; 08-27-2012 at 03:52 PM..
But don't tell it to the Seattle natives. Its the only thing that keeps them going in their dreary little town. Seattle shouldn't even exist. The whole place should be razed and the land returned to its natural state.
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Originally Posted by 415_s2k
And I can drive from Beverly Hills to DTLA or the beach in about 20 minutes during off-peak hours. LA traffic is bad but if you live here long enough to figure out routes other than the freeway home, you can get to your destination in half the time, sometimes less.
Diversity, food, culture, arts, music, are all areas that LA is extremely tough to beat, and was one of the big reasons that my attempt to live in Seattle again after having spent six years in LA was a failure.
Shhhh, keep it on the DL, lets not ruin a good thing. We don't need any more Seattle escapees. Its bad enough seeing all the RVs with WA plates invade California every winter. Good grief, who taught these idiots how to drive?
Last edited by Count David; 08-28-2012 at 05:00 PM..
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Move over Rockies, the Olympics are rising! 
