getting around Seattle

All About Seattle (according to me!)

Are you planning a Seattle vacation, a business trip to Seattle, or perhaps moving to Seattle? Maybe you already live in Seattle. 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 20 years of 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.

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 vs. high tech & trade). 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 I don't think UW is worth shit. As you might imagine, I avoid the natives and gravitate to other ex-pats and out of state refugees. Suits me just fine. But hey, like I said, I genuinely like the place.

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. This is not meant as a comprehensive, end-all-be-all guide but a collection of hints to round out whatever else you're reading or hearing. Or perhaps you live in SeaTown and want to second guess me. Be my guest.

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!