Seattle: America's Next Big Gateway

[unobody]

I did use Google Maps, thank you. That's how I found out where Jacksonville was.

Here' some free consulting for the city's revitalization effort: rename "Confederate Park". Things like this have a way of scaring off visitors and investors from other parts of the country, especially the sought-after Millennial demographic. Public perception is half the battle.

[simms3]

^^^Welcome to the forum?   

There are some critical folks on this forum, myself included, but usually a level of criticism is allowed so long as it comes with a dose of maturity AND a backing (I grew up and spent 18 years in Jax, you "can't even place it on a map").  Also, it helps if you offset your harsh and off base remarks with positive contributions.

Per unwritten forum rules (anywhere), you're not allowed to troll and rant and hoot and holler and cry a river until you've contributed positively to the forum and gained some sort of mutual respect from other posters.  Keep that in mind before you go ducking your nose in some other place.  This is a private forum, in a sense, where any moderator can easily remove you and block your IP (and at this point I suggest they do).

My question is what brought you from Seattle to the MetroJacksonville board??  I'm on here by way of San Francisco, where I currently live now.  I took these pictures of Seattle well over a year ago on my first visit to the city - if you have a problem with anything, pictures or commentary, why not just PM me instead of asking to be splooged on the face by a bunch of people probably looking to disgrace you by now.

[ProjectMaximus]

unobody,

just to help you sleep better tonight, let me quickly sum up the purpose of these analyses: to examine how other cities are maximizing their advantages and handling their disadvantages so we can learn from both the successes and the struggles. I doubt anyone here, ESPECIALLY THE AUTHOR, has any intention of trashing Seattle to build up Jacksonville...quite literally in fact it often seems like it's the opposite. Anyway, no need to get so defensive and please reread slowly. Maybe even read through the "Learning From" section, which is the genesis of this style of articles on this site.

you're welcome to stay and contribute your thoughts, in fact we often have folks wander in here to help add information and perspective to our discussions of their particular region, but remember this isn't a competition so there's really no need to attack any city, be it San Francisco or Jax.

[spuwho]

I used to live in Seattle myself, Queen Anne to be exact.

Like all cities in the US, they all have pluses and minuses.

Pros?
- Great bus system
- Good sense of what they want to be
- Very International in their thinking
- Entrepreneurial
- Great places to eat
- Willingness to embrace transit
- Neighborhoods with character
- Good TOD/Urban zoning

Cons?
- Extremely provincial
- Inferiority complex
- Heavily taxed (transit, highways, sports)
- Litigious
- Traffic is terrible now
- Waterfront losing it character (more like giving it up)

I still remember the near umbrage when I decided to move back east...it was like a collective "Huh? Why would you leave this place?"

Lack of knowledge of the rest of the US.  Most people were stunned when I told them it took 35 hours just to drive to Chicago from Seattle. No concept of just how big the country really was beyond Spokane.

Greater King County most definitely has a sprawl problem. That is why they have a chronic traffic problem. From Alderwood in the North to Fife in the south, I-5 is busy.  I know people who are moving to Enumclaw or Black Diamond beyond Kent. No different than Jaxson's moving to St John's county.

So while we can all type in stereo in this blog, I would say go tend your own garden, we already know what we are working with here.

Stephen, when did you live in U-District? We used to go over to Azteca for tex-mex over there and a bunch of other spots.

[I-10east]

This is a private forum, in a sense, where any moderator can easily remove you and block your IP (and at this point I suggest they do).

I think that he shouldn't be blocked. Let him continue to make a complete ass of himself, it's kinda enjoyable LOL. Uno definitely fits that typical Seattle persona in being all condescending, high-brow, and D-baggy; Nice job buddy, keep it up.... 

[bencrix]

I was struck by how colorful the high rise architecture is in Seattle, especially in the aerials. Never been there, but don't recall ever seeing a city w/ that particular architectural signature. Is that accurate? If so, is it a response to what this native Floridian assumes to be a terrifying sunlight deficit?

As for public funding for the NFL, as an emerging fan of "real" football (i.e. Association Football), I've been struck by how stadia are financed in Europe. It is generally the responsibility of the "club" (i.e. team). In fact, generally, I would say that association football as practiced in Europe is far more reflective of the "free-market" than America's "football" league. The contrast between the political stereotypes and the athletics of the two regions is fascinating to me. 

[ProjectMaximus]

As for public funding for the NFL, as an emerging fan of "real" football (i.e. Association Football), I've been struck by how stadia are financed in Europe. It is generally the responsibility of the "club" (i.e. team). In fact, generally, I would say that association football as practiced in Europe is far more reflective of the "free-market" than America's "football" league. The contrast between the political stereotypes and the athletics of the two regions is fascinating to me.

It's far from an apples to apples comparison though. For starters, the free-spending, negligible revenue-sharing, economics of european clubs theoretically means your local economy benefits only from what your fanbase pays for. In theory, the Jags franchise (and therefore the money poured into the local economy by players, execs, and the owner) is subsidized by the larger NFL markets. And European cities often will have multiple clubs. You really don't see the threat of club relocation as often as you do with American teams.

[prahaboheme]

Seattle is a bit ahead of San Diego in terms of cohesiveness, but not really by that much.  The urban area of San Diego is as dense and walkable as Seattle, and the historic core of San Diego is a much more vibrant residential area (day and night).  Additionally, San Diego's inner city neighborhoods (Hillcrest, Uptown, University Heights, Mission Hills, Little Italy, Golden Heights, Banker's Hills, South Park, and especially, hipster paradise North Park) are all seeing an abundance of dense infill development similar to what you'll find in Seattle.  This does not take into account the "other" San Diego, the ever densifying city beaches (particularly Pacific Beach which will soon be connected to the trolley via the blue line extension to UCSD/La Jolla).

San Diego has had the second highest percentage growth rate in downtown residential population over the past 30 years, trailing only, you guessed it, Seattle!  These two cities actually have more in common than they have differences.