[darmok]

While growing up in the Seattle area in the 70's & 80's, I always thought Seattle was the coolest city in the world. It's still fun for me to visit and I do miss the trees, lakes, and Mt. Rainier, but to me it has completely lost its charm. All that was once cool and unique has been monetized and whitewashed.

[kelukelugames]

Whitewashed? I think this is the most diverse Seattle has ever been. Just a smudge above Portland.

[monknomo]

I think darmok is using whitewashed to mean "sanitized" or "cleaned up" not "has a greater percentage of white people".

Like when congressional testimony whitewashes a friendly fire incident, it generally means that they are covering it up or making it look better.

[kelukelugames]

Oh I agree. I was in Seattle in 2005. My girlfriend was here in the 80s to 90s.

[sburrito]

Out of curiosity, where have you lived after you left Seattle, and how did you like those places? I've been to a few places and liked Seattle a lot :)

[darmok]

My earlier comment is definitely clouded by nostalgia :-) I loved the Seattle of the past, but the Seattle of today to me seems more about horrible traffic, ridiculous home prices, and omnipresent materialism.

But that's a perspective based on my unrealistic expectation of the past. Seattle truly is a beautiful city and people who see it for the first time will probably fall in love with it. So I'm glad you liked Seattle!