What is so great about Seattle
 

I have a business trip that is taking me to Coeur d' Alene, Idaho. I connect through Seattle. I am trying to convince my husband to meet me in Seattle for 4 days at the end of my trip. He says "I want to have fun. What is so great about Seattle? Meet me in Vegas instead" My point is that we have been to Vegas 7 times, and while we have a great time (friends live there), we have never been to Seattle. So, Fodorites, help me convince him. Thanks!

It's great if you are dehydrated.
Otherwise it's a big city with crime, traffic and a high cost of living.

Your husband knows from past experience that he is assured of a great time if he goes to Las Vegas.

Perhaps if you talk him into spending four days in Seattle, he will be closed to what the city has to offer and obsess over the fun he is missing for not having gone to Las Vegas.

Resentment and marital discord could ensue.

Please don't talk him into meeting you in Seattle. We don't want to have to deal with bugswife2.

I much preferred Seattle to Vegas.... the surroundings are beautiful. Yes, there are vagrants, but we never felt threatened when there and we found the city clean and the people polite and friendly. 'Fraid I don't know about the night life though, bugswife1 - too old to have bothered much with that! :) If you are blessed with good weather though, it's a lovely city.

Can't compete with LV on the fun front. Although... we do have a couple of Indian casinos within easy driving distance, one of which has frequent shows starring performers you haven't heard about in decades. But no sinking pirate ships or erupting volcanoes... oh wait.

Meet him half way - Winnemucca.

Crime, traffic, and a high cost of living in a big city? Color me shocked! You certainly won't find any of that in Las Vegas.

Gardyloo? suze?

Seattle and Las Vegas are about as different as two cities can be. If your husband prefers to spend his leisure time gambling and wandering through gigantic, tacky hotels, he won't like Seattle. If he enjoys the outdoors, sports, museums, great food, natural beauty - he might like Seattle.

Well, it all depends on what you like to do, obviously. I think Seattle and its environs are beautiful; its neighborhoods are interesting and have a cool, laid-back vibe, plus unique shopping; the Pike Market makes for a fun stroll for anyone who likes to eat; you can go up the Space Needle for a bird's eye view; the Experience Music Project is an interactive museum for music lovers; you can take a ferry or drive out of town for a bit of hiking or just viewing; you can take in a baseball game, assuming you'll be there soon-ish. It's not the glitz of Vegas, but then again, nothing is.

This is a lose-lose situation. Your husband will be unhappy about missing Las Vegas even if Seattle met your fondest dreams.

In a previous life as a charter pilot I took groups to Reno and Vegas often enough to learn that I had no desire to spend any time in either place. I'll just be smug and stay here in nice, cool Seattle.

Then there's Vancouver, BC, Canada, one of the most beautiful cities on the West Coast. Bring your passports!

I'd do Seattle instead of Vegas any day, but that's just me. It's so beautiful up there. Lots of water, islands, ferries, a great big ole peninsula - Olympic refers to its name as well as size - lots of little wineries just over the mountain - yup, Seattle is MUCH better than the desert.

However, it does rain a lot - what time of year is your trip?

i wouldn´t spend the full 4 days in seattle.. but organize a trip to orcas or friday harbor also.. enjoy the world reknown waters around the san juans.

i love seattle and its surroundings.. like mentioned. vancouver.. san juans.. and nearby bainbridge island .at LEAST go over across on the ferry there if no further.

<Perhaps if you talk him into spending four days in Seattle, he will be closed to what the city has to offer and obsess over the fun he is missing for not having gone to Las Vegas.

Resentment and marital discord could ensue.>

Is this husband a 10 year old or something?

<What is so great about Seattle?> Tell him you'll be there and that should be good enough. You want to do this, and he can get over not going to Las Vegas and spend 4 days with you in a new city.

why do people say "in a previous life..."

you only have ONE life on earth. I dont know of any mortal that has been granted multiple lifes on earth.

just say, "earlier in my life"..makes more sense.

What about reincarnation. Many people have lived more than once--Elizabeth Taylor, Roseanne Barr, and Anne call-me-crazy Heche to name a few.

Only undeveloped souls are here for the first time...from what I've heard.

The last time we were in Seattle was to attend a Mariners/Yankee game. If your husband enjoys baseball then check the schedule to see if the Mariners are at home and who they are playing.

We then took an overnight trip to Victoria, B.C. which is a very attraction, easy to navigate city. Take the Victoria Clipper from Seattle to Victoria.

We rented a car for one day and took a drive to visit Mt Rainer Nat'l Park. Have visited it before and we have more beautiful scenery where we live, however we did enjoy the day.

The foregoing was it but we had fun. However Seattle closes down when the sun goes down with only a few scattered pubs, etc. The waterfront holds little attraction and Pike Market is good for maybe an hour. After you see them throw fish for a few minutes it doesn't take long to view the other very cheesy shops. The food of the Space Needle Restaurant is overpriced and not too good but the trip to the top is nice and will kill maybe an hour. The Experience Music Project is O.K. but again not jump up and down fun.

Both Seattle and Vancouver are loaded with vagants. I don't know why but San Francisco is the only place I know that has more. Vancouver is a beautiful city, however due to the Olympic games coming to the that city the folks in Vancouver are trying to firgure out how to clean up a large portion of the city. This is a good side trip however some areas advertised as tourist spots, as in Seattle, are to be avoided. In Vancouver a location around Stanley Park is very nice with many attractions.

If your husband enjoys shopping then Seattle does have great shopping but then again Las Vegas has quality outlet centers.

My pick would be L,V, unless there was a game in Sdattle that I would want to see but for "fun" as your husband indicates you better stick with L.V.

After I posted my previous message my wife and I drove down to the south end of Lake Washington (natural, not man-made) and walked along a waterfront trail looking across at Seattle and Mercer Island while watching sailboats, float planes, and ducks. Temp was 75, sky was blue with fair-weather cumulus. Could you match that in the Nevada desert?

Among other things, that's what is great about Seattle.

I would agree with a lot of the previous posters. As a Seattle area resident, I value the proximity to natural beauty (Cascades, San Juan Islands, Olympic Peninsula) very highly, but if you're looking for "urban fun," Seattle is probably too low-key for someone who loves Vegas. For romantic getaways, the San Juan Islands in the summer are great.

I love *living* in Seattle. I wouldn't try to convince someone to vacation here, quite honestly. Go to Vegas.

I am considering a Northwest trip next year and I am including Seattle in the trip. I love old cities on the water
and I like nightlife that is vibrant without being overwhelming, I have NO desire to go to LV. Can anyone tell me about Seattle nightlife, what city would you compare it to atfer 10pm?

In response to TKT, for me, the nightlife here is about going to hear live music, which we have a wonderful variety of, esp if you like jazz. I'm going to see Eartha Kitt later this week and in recent months I've seen Branford Marsalis, Stanley Jordan and Jane Monheit, all at Jazz Alley, a great intimate jazz venue. The summer months have lots of outdoor concerts at venues like the zoo and the Chateau Ste Michelle winery.

Teatro Zinzanni is another cool thing to do at night (dinner theater with acrobats, etc). It's closing this week for a move but will reopen in Nov so it should be open for your vist next year.

Seattle is truly unique. I can't think of another city to compare it to. The Triple Door and Jazz Alley are both great clubs for live music downtown.

But hard to say without knowing your age and music preferences. Maybe a club like The Crocodile or Chop Suey is more what you seek?

I am 44 and a huge jazz and blues fan and I will check out the places mentioned. What about late night places to eat and relax and generally are people out and about walking at night?

I'm not looking for specific places, more a sense of the pace of life at night, I'm assuming it is nothing like NYC

I heard Wynton Marsalis at a small club in NYC, what a treat.

No, it is nothing like NYC here!!

Sure there a lots of places to hang out later at night. The Belltown area has lots of choices, as example.

Seattle is more neighborhood-centric than one single urban area. For instance for me and my friends, we'd likely just go down the street somewhere on Capitol Hill for a meal, then some drinks afterwards. On to a dance club, if it was that kind of night.

In the summer there are some great venues like the winery (as mentioned above), concerts at the Zoo, Folklife and Bumbershoot arts festivals, etc. for a wholesome Northwest-y vibe.

To the original question "what is so great" all this is why some people love it here & others think we're a podunk city.

If you're still around, poor bugswife1 (and not wishing by now that your business trip was to Chicago instead of Cd'A) - when is your trip?

Some weeks are funner than others hereabouts. In a couple of weeks we'll have the annual dog-tormenting festival (Blue Angels) and at other times of the year we have naked cyclists, pirates that kidnap people on the beach, a Wurst festival, a "folk life" festival featuring people in Birkenstocks playing dulcimers, or various street parades, pet parades, pride parades, or last weekend torchlight parades (fortunately not the Nuremberg kind.) What's not fun about that?

My trip to the Coeur d'Alene resort is Sept 7 to 12, and Seattle would follow that.
We are not into night clubs, but my husband loves theater and fine dining.
We will be going to a Marinars game if we go to Seattle because our cousin gets comp seats.
I think a boat ride for a day, not overnight, would be a good thing. What do you suggest?
And, my husband would not throw a tantrum if he didn't like Seattle, nor would he hold too much of a grudge. I just might end up going someplace less appealing to ME on the next trip. And such is marriage.

Let me suggest the boat trip to Tillicum Village on Blake Island (leaves from the waterfront). You get a nice tour of the harbor, great scenery coming and going, and on the island you get a salmon bake and Indian interpretive dance. Every visiting relative gets the tour.

I agree with lennyba, but I love Seattle and you couldn't pay me to go to Las Vegas. But if DH loves Las Vegas, he may not like Seattle. As a good friend of mine says, "There's no accounting for taste."

Picking up on the Mariners...

They are at home to Oakland 9-10 to 12, to Tampa By from the 13th to the16th, then go on the road. All night games except for the 16th.

The thing is, my husband has always enjoyed both kinds of vacations. That is why I am at a loss for why he is not more eager to see Seattle. We go to vegas to visit friends and for a business convention every year, and we enjoy it for the shows and the dining.
We go boating and wave running on Lake Mead, which is beautiful. And, we have been to Costa Rica, Africa on Safari, Morocco, Tahiti, and all over Europe sightseeing, hiking, etc. So, it is not the concrete jungle vs nature kind of thing. I think a boat ride to the San Juans might appeal, I just have to get more info on that.

See if you can find the recent Smart Travels show on Seattle. If that doesn't get him interested, nothing will. (It made me about die of homesickness).

google "roche harbor", friday harbor, rosario resort, orcas island, anacortes.. should do the trick.

or whistler.. also a gorgeous place up from vancouver.

does he golf??
check out furry creek golf course. it is unreal, as are the ones at whistler.

Argosy Cruise runs various boat tours on Lake Washington and on Puget Sound. Check those out for a nice trip but just nearby and for a few hours.

Thank you. I have my research cut out for me this weekend. He doesn't golf, but if he did, he would be coming to the Coeur d'Alene to golf on the floating green.

If you could find one, a boat trip from Seattle to the San Juans and back would be an all day non-stop trip...65 miles straight-line at 10 knots? 20 knots?

Go to www.argosycruises.com and pick out a trip that gives you some time on shore.

If DH is into dining then you might want to plan a dinner at the Dahlia Lounge: http://www.dahlialounge.com/ or Wild Ginger: http://www.wildginger.net/.

"Lone Star Love" will be at the The 5th Avenue Theater:
http://www.5thavenue.org/showsandtickets/
Tony Bennett will be at the Paramount:
http://www.theparamount.com/

Other to do's:
Take the ferry to Kingston.
Drive out to Snoqualmie Falls
http://www.salishlodge.com/
Pacific Science Center & IMAX Movie theater
Seattle Art Museum

And everything that has already been mentioned:
Mariner's Game
Harbor Cruise
Pike's Place Market (check out the Mac 'n Cheese at Beechers Cheese)

I think Seattle would make a great 4 day getaway & I live just a ferry ride away.

Pike Place Market, halfapair, Pike Place Market. It does not belong to anyone named Pike.

I mean no disrespect to Seattle, but IMHO it is Cleveland with bumps in the earth.

A little more scenery and a little less classical culture. And believe it or not, I think you'll find the weather more agreeable in Cleveland.

However, if you've been to Vegas 7 times and you'll be there 7 more times, give Seattle, as well as Cleveland, at least a weekend. It's worth it just to say you did.

Then tell us what YOU think.

Weather in Cleveland is more agreeable than in Seattle if you like it colder in the winter, hotter in the summer, and more rain April through October! (Source: Weather.com's Travel Planner).

Who was it who said of Cleveland, "I spent a lovely year there one weekend."

I wouldn't even try to persuade someone who wants to go to Vegas to come to Seattle - he wouldn't like it. If, however, if you want a low key and lovely place with great hotels and restaurants and no bling, visit Seattle.