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I think the two cities more or less compliment one another, rather than compete with eachother.
I completely agree.
My BF of over 7 years is in the Vancouver area, and I am in the Seattle area, so I have been through the border once, twice, or two hundred times.
Originally, I am from New York, so I view a "rivalry" as New York and Boston. But, heck, even that rivalry is like a sibling rivalry (who was it, Jimmy Kimmel, a couple of weeks ago who made this reference, that it's all good when one sibling messes with another, but if someone messes with that sibling, the other comes to its defense?).
I can't see any competition between Seattle and Vancouver, with the exception of prices in stores. IMO, it's kind of humorous what "rivalry" is brought out between the two cities, because truth be told, Cascadia should be its own country.
100 or so miles does not make a huge difference. Actually, it does not make a difference at all. Both LOVE being passive-aggressive, but at the end of the day, if you press back on this "passive-aggressiveness", both are the same. Very welcoming, understanding, and a great place to be.
I actually really disagree that there's not fundamental differences between Seattle and Vancouver. They are superficially similar and in the same region, but being in two completely different countries has effected them in some really fundamental ways. Seattle is full of people from all over the USA, whereas Vancouver is settled by people from all over Canada. There's strong regional and economic connections, but Seattle likely has stronger human connections to almost any other American city then it would have with Vancouver. Cascadia should be its own country, but it should be Oregon and Washington. Leave British Columbia out of your nationalist ambitions.
Seems to me like Seattle has a better business climate.
Vancouver also seems to have a larger suburban land area outside of its downtown but what the hell do I know from looking at google maps.
Yeah, not even close. Vancouver has one of the densest metropolitan areas in North America. You can drive from end to end of the metro to the other in approx 60 kilometers (Horseshoe Bay to 200th St in Langley).
Seattle's sprawl on the other hand extends approx 160 kilometers along I-5 from Marysville to Olympia. Seattle has a similar footprint to Ontario's Golden Horseshoe, including Toronto, Oshawa, Hamilton, despite approx being half the population.
As others said, Vancouver is more modern. However the downtown is a total knockout - gorgeous buildings with some space in between them. Also the highrise part of downtown is like 20x bigger than that of Seattle. The first time I was in Seattle I walked back and forth and explored the whole downtown in about 2 hours. There are only 5 avenues and each can be walked within 1/2 hour. Vancouver on the other hand is way larger... it took me good 3 hours just to drive through all the streets (I was cruising around in a convertible and had a real blast... what a beautiful city!)
The surrounding scenery is also way more dramatic in Vancouver. Because the city layout is not so monotonous as a typical US city (not just a core, suburbs, industrial) there are little islands of highrises here and there and a lot more hills and bridges, and there are a lot more parts of the city full of 2-4 story buildings similar to European cities. It is way more interesting city to drive through. I like Seattle ok, but I don't think it really compares to Vancouver even if they seem similar on paper.
To help the OP understanding the differences, I repost my last message on another thread:
Separating Facts from fictions or personal preferences on the Seattle-Vancouver debate.
1) Van has better public transportation.
Partially true, Seattle is catching up, nowadays even if you live far from downtown in many areas you have excellent bus service + train service (especially in the North-South corridor).
In practice, if you live in North-South corridor + West Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, Issaquah, you can as easily use public transport as in Vancouver (me and my wife use public transportation to go to work and we live in West Seattle)
Yes if you live more in the outskirts you are better off in Vancouver...if you are relatively close to the Skytrain.
2) I can live and work without a car in Vancouver, in Seattle is not possible.
False, and this point is in part a corollary of point 1.
You can as easily not owning a car in Seattle as in Vancouver if you live and work in the right place (same as Van).
In Downtown Seattle you have grocery stores, hardware stores, etc...You can live in Bellevue, West Seattle or any other places mentioned and served by Sound Transit and commute to Seattle without owning a car.
The Puget Sound is as bike friendly as the Greater Vancouver area.
3) Vancouver downtown is prettier and it has a nicer waterfront and the closeness to Stanley Park.
Unequivocably true, we are dismantling the Alaskan Viaduct in our waterfront and it will replaced with a surface park so we should get better.
We have as many parks and green areas (Arboretum is beautiful) but we do not have one as close to downtown as Stanley Park.
However in terms of nice little bays and waterfronts (a la Deep Cove to give you an idea) where to take nice walks in the Puget Sound we have probably even more spots like that than GV.
Vancouver downtown is newer which can be an advantage or disadvantage in terms of personal preference, many thinks downtown Seatlte has more interesting legacy architecture...again, matter of personal preferences.
4) Vancouver (in general) is prettier
False (for many is the "logical" conclusion from the above point which is true) Vancouver downtown is prettier than downtown Seattle.....Greater Vancouver is not prettier than the Puget Sound. The Puget Sound is as clean and green as GV.
In Vancouver mountains are closer, in Seattle they are a bith farther but still very visible, "dramatic" and of scenic significance (The Cascades, the Olympic mountains, Mount Rainier)
5) I can go ski one day after work, sailboating the next day and kayaking the next after that in Vancouver...not so in Seattle
False...Vancouver has no advantages in terms of access to recreation activities or more different activities than Seattle.
When it comes to skiing, Yes in no traffic, if you can afford to live Downtown/Kits/North Van/West Van, you are about 15 minutes away from Grouse mountain where in Seattle you need 45 minutes of easy freeway driving to Snoqualmie Pass. Snoqualmie during week days is full of "afterworkers"....
6) Vancouver has less crime
False, especially burglaries and grand theft auto.
7) Vancouver has better schools for the kids, more uniform standards
Only partially true (on the more uniform standards issue). Yes the Puget Sound has few school districts not really good (White Center for example) but they are few and usually located in places where a professional Canadian expatriate would not live anyway.
8) Vancouver road system sucks compared to Seattle
Absolutely true, not disputable.
9) Cost of living is higher in Vancouver, especially when you include insane housing
True
10) Vancouver is more urban, more "denser"
True. But many people leave in condo in Van for economic reasons (they cannot afford a house). I find many suburban areas of Vancouver not as nice as Seattle because the homes are too close to each other (for example Burnaby), very little space, small lot sizes.
11) Professional salaries are lower and, especially, career opportunities are scarcer in Vancouver compared to Seattle
True, when it comes to the business environment, comparing Vancouver to Seattle is like comparing Portland to San Francisco.
12) Seattle has a more active arts scene, it spends much more for the arts
True
13) Vancouver has better Asian food, especially Chinese.
True
14) Vancouver has in general better ethnic food, superior international dining experience across the board
False
15) Vancouver is more cosmopolitan
False, Vancouver has just a bigger Asian population, we actually have some ethnic groups better represented here than in Van (from Africa and Latin America for example)
16) In Seattle ethnic minorities are better integrated with the mainstream culture, in Vancouver they tend to keep more among themselves
True
Culturally/personality wise, there are similarities between Vancouverites and Seattlelites, both tend to be very respectful of the environment, polite (but not necessarily friendly, very different concept), passive aggressive, Vancouverites tend to be even more reserved and less friendly (in my experience).
Please feel free to add other points if I forgot something......
Last edited by saturno_v; 05-17-2013 at 12:08 PM..
To help the OP understanding the differences, I repost my last message on another thread:
Separating Facts from fictions or personal preferences on the Seattle-Vancouver debate.
1) Van has better public transportation.
Partially true, Seattle is catching up, nowadays even if you live far from downtown in many areas you have excellent bus service + train service (especially in the North-South corridor).
In practice, if you live in North-South corridor + West Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, Issaquah, you can as easily use public transport as in Vancouver (me and my wife use public transportation to go to work and we live in West Seattle)
Yes if you live more in the outskirts you are better off in Vancouver...if you are relatively close to the Skytrain.
2) I can live and work without a car in Vancouver, in Seattle is not possible.
False, and this point is in part a corollary of point 1.
You can as easily not owning a car in Seattle as in Vancouver if you live and work in the right place (same as Van).
In Downtown Seattle you have grocery stores, hardware stores, etc...You can live in Bellevue, West Seattle or any other places mentioned and served by Sound Transit and commute to Seattle without owning a car.
The Puget Sound is as bike friendly as the Greater Vancouver area.
3) Vancouver downtown is prettier and it has a nicer waterfront and the closeness to Stanley Park.
Unequivocably true, we are dismantling the Alaskan Viaduct in our waterfront and it will replaced with a surface park so we should get better.
We have as many parks and green areas (Arboretum is beautiful) but we do not have one as close to downtown as Stanley Park.
However in terms of nice little bays and waterfronts (a la Deep Cove to give you an idea) where to take nice walks in the Puget Sound we have probably even more spots like that than GV.
Vancouver downtown is newer which can be an advantage or disadvantage in terms of personal preference, many thinks downtown Seatlte has more interesting legacy architecture...again, matter of personal preferences.
4) Vancouver (in general) is prettier
False (for many is the "logical" conclusion from the above point which is true) Vancouver downtown is prettier than downtown Seattle.....Greater Vancouver is not prettier than the Puget Sound. The Puget Sound is as clean and green as GV.
In Vancouver mountains are closer, in Seattle they are a bith farther but still very visible, "dramatic" and of scenic significance (The Cascades, the Olympic mountains, Mount Rainier)
5) I can go ski one day after work, sailboating the next day and kayaking the next after that in Vancouver...not so in Seattle
False...Vancouver has no advantages in terms of access to recreation activities or more different activities than Seattle.
When it comes to skiing, Yes in no traffic, if you can afford to live Downtown/Kits/North Van/West Van, you are about 15 minutes away from Grouse mountain where in Seattle you need 45 minutes of easy freeway driving to Snoqualmie Pass. Snoqualmie during week days is full of "afterworkers"....
6) Vancouver has less crime
False, especially burglaries and grand theft auto.
7) Vancouver has better schools for the kids, more uniform standards
Only partially true (on the more uniform standards issue). Yes the Puget Sound has few school districts not really good (White Center for example) but they are few and usually located in places where a professional Canadian expatriate would not live anyway.
8) Vancouver road system sucks compared to Seattle
Absolutely true, not disputable.
9) Cost of living is higher in Vancouver, especially when you include insane housing
True
10) Vancouver is more urban, more "denser"
True. But many people leave in condo in Van for economic reasons (they cannot afford a house). I find many suburban areas of Vancouver not as nice as Seattle because the homes are too close to each other (for example Burnaby), very little space, small lot sizes.
11) Professional salaries are lower and, especially, career opportunities are scarcer in Vancouver compared to Seattle
True, when it comes to the business environment, comparing Vancouver to Seattle is like comparing Portland to San Francisco.
12) Seattle has a more active arts scene, it spends much more for the arts
True
13) Vancouver has better Asian food, especially Chinese.
True
14) Vancouver has in general better ethnic food, superior international dining experience across the board
False
15) Vancouver is more cosmopolitan
False, Vancouver has just a bigger Asian population, we actually have some ethnic groups better represented here than in Van (from Africa and Latin America for example)
16) In Seattle ethnic minorities are better integrated with the mainstream culture, in Vancouver they tend to keep more among themselves
True
Culturally/personality wise, there are similarities between Vancouverites and Seattlelites, both tend to be very respectful of the environment, polite (but not necessarily friendly, very different concept), passive aggressive, Vancouverites tend to be even more reserved and less friendly (in my experience).
Please feel free to add other points if I forgot something......
Just to make in clear to the OP, if he/she has any doubts about it at all, that the above post is based NOT on facts but merely on the personal (and highly biased) opinion of the poster.
Just to make in clear to the OP, if he/she has any doubts about it at all, that the above post is based NOT on facts but merely on the personal (and highly biased) opinion of the poster.
Take it with the grain of salt.
Tell me what are my "opinions" and what are the "facts"...I'm curious....
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