About Seattle...

Are you planning a Seattle vacation, a business trip to Seattle, or perhaps even moving to Seattle? Maybe you already live in Seattle but never veer far off your beaten path. Either way there may be things about The Emerald City you may or may not have discovered on your own. You may not even care. Whatever, these are just some of the things I've gleaned over the 20 odd years I've been calling Seattle home.

No, I'm not a native. I'm fond of saying, "I have to leave in order to stay." Seattle is beautiful, laid back, progressive, diverse, and relatively hip. Far from perfect but I'm not moving any time soon. Perhaps my perspective is skewed because I have three kids born and raised here, I have a buncha close friends in town, and I live and work in West Seattle, Seattle's best neighborhood IMHO. I like the place. A lot.

Mention "Seattle" and most people think of Starbucks, grunge, the Space Needle, salmon, and Microsoft. Oh yeah, and Boeing (though upper management fled to Chicago several years ago). Let me throw my own cliches on the table: a "town" that thinks it's a world class city, founded by uptight Scandinavians, grappling with a generation of influx much of it by fueled immigrants (read: non-white), on top of a shifting economic landscape (planes, lumber, & fish then vs. high tech & international trade now). Oh yeah, and the natives all think the University of Washington is big shit. I moved here from Boston, land of Harvard, MIT, Tufts, Boston Univ., et al. and personally I don't think UW is worth shit. It will come as no surprise that I tend to avoid the natives and gravitate towards other ex-pats and out of state refugees. Suits me just fine. But hey, like I said, I genuinely like the place. Really, I do.

I'm going to share some tips on orienting yourself and getting around Seattle, where to eat and drink, what to see and do, and other misc. tips and tricks. I know my way around town and have a rep for giving great driving tours. While these modest pages aren't meant to be an end-all-be-all guide they do offer things you won't find downtown on the blue map. If nothing else, the tips herein will help you break out of the rote tourist circuit, orient you to your new home, help you decide if you want to visit, or let you do some armchair traveling from the comfort of your own home. This might even inspire you to write up something about your hometown (hint, hint).

There are less trees here than you'd think. White folks cut them down a long time ago. The beaches in town are pristine compared to elsewhere. No, it's not as rainy or cloudy as you think. If it keeps you from moving here, I won't disagree with you or present meteorological evidence to the contrary. The traffic sucks and is getting worse. The default politeness practiced here flips New Yorkers (and others) out. Finding a good microbrew is way easier than finding a good bagel. Living here so long has left me bored with salmon. There are bald eagles and coyotes in my neighborhood. No, like 3 or 4 blocks away. People bike everywhere, all the time. If you like raspberries, you'll be glad to know that they're weeds here. The good news is that very few people, including the city, spray poison on plants.

Enough of me blathering on and on about Skeedattle. Use the navigation on the left to learn how to get around, what to put in your mouth, how to keep from getting bored, and how to spend your money. Good luck and enjoy!

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