Is Seattle's beauty overrated? (Vancouver, Bellevue: extended stay, homes, live in)

[Adrian71]

Originally Posted by tobester

My favorite drive is northbound on I5 coming around the bend and seeing my beautiful city. It is beautiful in sunshine, gray skies and rain. It is home.

YES! That was our first view of Seattle as well -- seeing the skyline unfold as we were driving north on I-5. It was love at first sight.

[jm31828]

Seattle's beauty is definitely not overrated. As others have said, I have been all over the country, and Seattle is definitely the most beautiful major city in the US- and probably in a debatable tie with Vancouver for that title for all of North America.
The evergreen forests, the water, the hills, the jagged mountain ranges on two sides, topped off with beautiful volcanic Mount Rainier down to the south- there is no other setting like it. I moved here 3 years ago and am still in awe of how beautiful this place is whenever I am out and about.

My jaw drops when going across the I-90 floating bridge seeing Rainier looming over the south end of the lake, or when coming up I-5 seeing the downtown skyline there with the water and the Olympic Mountains in the distance.

[movingwiththewind]

World's Most Beautiful Cities - Forbes.com

[seattlerain]

Originally Posted by movingwiththewind

World's Most Beautiful Cities - Forbes.com

Exactly what are you trying to prove by posting a link to this article?

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

No.

[mrman78]

No. I don't believe it's overrated at all.

[EastMeetsWest7]

I've lived all over Oregon and Washington and even Idaho and I will tell you that Seattle's beauty is underrated, not overrated. I was shocked at how beautiful the scenery was, both immediate in the city, as well as all the beautiful mountains in the horizon. Portland's scenery I would say is bit overrated, but not Seattle. The entire city is so lush and green, despite being so crowded and large. I was shocked how I could drive an 1 hour through the densely populated metro area and feel like I was still driving through the forest. Even in Portland, when you are in the city you are driving through mostly buildings with a few small urban planted trees. In Seattle, they have done an amazing job preserving the natural feel, not only in the nice areas, but even in the slummy areas. Seattle's beauty also makes it harder to identify which area is a slum from an upscale area, until you spend a bit of time driving in the area. That is what through me off about Rainier Beach at first ,was how green and lush the vegetation was surrounding all that barbwire and runned-down neighborhoods.

I just don't see how anyone can think any city surrounding by two mountain ranges, which a giant 14,400 ft mount in the backdrop with a downtown built around the water can be ugly. I think all American cities don't hold a candle to the beauty of Seattle.

Another amazing thing about Seattle, is despite being a city of about 4,000,000 (if you include Olympia), there is so much rugged and amazing wilderness just 1 hour drive east, because the metro runs from North to South , rather than vertical and horizontal, such as Portland. That means you can find some real, amazing wilderness within just an hour drive from most parts of the metro area. Not many cities will have such an amazing wilderness such as the Northern and Central Cascades and Mount Rainier NP.

As far as architecture is concerned, well the West Coast of USA was never known for old and rustic architecture. Indeed, if we are talking about urban beauty, then no place in USA really has that type of beauty. But, if we are talking nature integrated with an urban area, then Seattle is on the top of the list worldwide.

If you want some cities with overrated beauty, here's a list:
1. Boise , Wow, everyone says how beautiful it is, but it really appeared as one of the uglier and sterile places I ever seen. Large brown hills with no vegetation and a town full of endless strip malls , beautiful.

2. Portland: Sorry P-Town. It is a beautiful city in certain parts, but all and all, most of Portland is not impressive or ugly, run-down and crime-ridden (82nd East to Gresham) or overpriced and trendy (Pearl, Albina, Alberta, Belmont, Hawthorne). Except for Forest Park, Hawthorne, Belmont, Brooklyn, Irvington and Laurelhurst, most of the city lacks the natural beauty you find in most Washington cities, including Seattle. Not to say Portland is ugly.. It is BEAUTIFUL, but just not as much as people say, that is, it is OVERRATED. One thing I do miss is walking around Hawthorne in the Spring/Summer and enjoying the amazing gardens and flowers. Vancouver, WA to the North actually has more scenic beauty within the city limits, itself.

3. Eugene (Gosh, what an ugly and depressed town), SPringfield to the East has more natural beauty once you get into the McKenzie River Valley.

[texastrigirl]

Took a sunset sail on Puget Sound out of Bell Harbor a few weeks ago. Rainier was out, the Olympics and the Cascades were completely in view and the skyline with the Big Wheel and the Space Needle was absolutely magnificent. The others who were with me (visiting Seattle) took turns one by one expressing their complete and absolute awe about what a beautiful city Seattle is.

Next to parts of Hawaii, the Sea to Sky Highway and certain views of SF...it's one of the prettiest places I've ever been.

So overrated? No way!

[movingwiththewind]

Well, it looks to me that the majority of people in this thread talk about the beauty of Seattle's natural setting, not about the "beauty" of the city itself.

You may argue that you cannot take the city out of it's geographical location, but I don't find much beauty in the city of Seattle itself. However, I do find the city's geographical setting spectacular.

I just find it a shame that the city itself does not even come close to the beauty of it's geographical location. Take that away, and I'm not sure Seattle would be even in the top 10 of the most beautiful ciites in the US.

Would Seattle be able to stand alone as a city without all the gorgeous nature around against cities like SF, Chicago, Boston, NYC, DC, Philadephia and so on?

[Champ le monstre du lac]

Originally Posted by callmemaybe

I've always found Seattle kind of disappointing whenever I pass through there. People say its skyline is stunning, and it looks beautiful in pictures, but I find that the city has a depressing look to it. The location of the Space Needle is disappointing too, it's pretty detached from the rest of the skyline. And nature is well removed from the city.

I disagree with every single point in this paragraph. The skyline is stunning, after living there for five years every single time I drove I-5 or I-90 into the city I was always captivated by how gorgeous the skyline is. The view from Kerry Park is divine.

And nature far removed from the city? Pardon my candor but what the hell does that mean? With so many trees, beautiful parks, and bodies of salt and fresh water along with stunning mountain views I can't think of a major city in the US that is more integrated with nature.

Seattle has an exceptional skyline and exceptional natural features. I can think of many moments of my life in Seattle where I was mesmorized by it's beauty. Sure the city has many flaws but its beauty is incredibly palpable. This thread topic along with the original post is total crap.