hey im trying to start a debate thing between seattle portland and Vancouver? Anyone wanna add anything which one is better and why? Maybe some pics or soemthing i dont know...

Seattle: 567,000 Metro: 3,570,000
Vancouver: 573,000 Metro 2,204,000
Portland: 536,000 Metro 2,042,000

Personally I like Vancouver a little more becus its my hometown and it has grown on me, plus the surrounding coast mountains and the ocean make vancouver a key city. 2nd is Portland. Portland is beautiful and is awesome! Not a big downtown but a very beautiful historical and green one.
Lats but not least is Seatle. Seattle is a bit confusing. Nice mountains, but im not trying to offened anyone but ppl in Seattle and Washington state seem to be a little full of them selves... but thats just what i have found out myslef. Seattle is a very sport hyper town and has a lot of sport fans and crazy drivers lol pretty congested but then again vancouver and portland can be too so dont wanna be hypocritical.

More..?

I've been living in Seattle for the past couple of years from Washington D.C. Been to Portland and Vancouver and I have to say I love Vancouver the best. It just seems IMO funkier, hipper, faster, bigger and better downtown, better stores, more street life, more nightlife, cleaner and more friendly. Seattle, though it looks big has a small town feel to it. Way too many locals complaining about how Californians ruined their city. Still amazed with the number of people who never go downtown. For example, took one of my neighbors downtown to Palimino's for lunch. He was amazed. He is 40 and said he hasn't been downtown since he was in high school. Glad I came here though. Plenty to do here. Just take advantage. I love Portland too. Pretty nice downtown, great neighborhoods. Seattle and Portland are more alike, with Vancouver being a cut above IMO. :)

I've been living in Seattle for the past couple of years from Washington D.C. Been to Portland and Vancouver and I have to say I love Vancouver the best. It just seems IMO funkier, hipper, faster, bigger and better downtown, better stores, more street life, more nightlife, cleaner and more friendly. Seattle, though it looks big has a small town feel to it. Way too many locals complaining about how Californians ruined their city. Still amazed with the number of people who never go downtown. For example, took one of my neighbors downtown to Palimino's for lunch. He was amazed. He is 40 and said he hasn't been downtown since he was in high school. Glad I came here though. Plenty to do here. Just take advantage. I love Portland too. Pretty nice downtown, great neighborhoods. Seattle and Portland are more alike, with Vancouver being a cut above IMO. :)

I been to all three cities and I agree with everything you have said


.

Vancouver is the densest and most worldly. The condo towers and scenery are both incredible. And Vancouver has lots of "high-streets". Best in-town freeway system in NA. Best international airline connections of the three.

Seattle is the biggest and has the most big-city toys (cultural institutions, etc.). Second densest and second most worldly. By far the biggest downtown in terms of workers. The most and biggest headquarters. We've stolen a big chunk of Vancouver's cruise ship industry in the last couple years.

Portland is the most pleasant. Its identity is mostly conceptual (a well-planned, progressive city full of trees...), rather than tied to certain enthnic groups, companies, sports teams, or geographic features.

If I ever left Seattle, Vancouver would be a likely new home. Portland would be on my top-10.

Portland, Seattle and Vancouver could easily have been one city as they are so simular. Each city has relatively the same population. We have nearly the same weather patterns, we have the same outdoor recreational life. These trhee cities are all surrounded by incredible mountains, forest and waterways. But instead of having one great big city a la LA, we have 3 separte cities, because the residents of these cities all enjoy a certain lifestyle without living in a huge metropolis. I think Vancouvers' population size is ideal. Of course I love big developement as much as you guys do, but I hate to see our cities boundaries spreading into the abyss.

Vancouver and seattle tend to be a litle more popular with the younger kids whilst portland is a little more hidden and unknown in a way. I think portland is a good retiring city

I like Portland because people there are more friendly than Seattle or Vancouver. I like vancouver because of it's density and amenities it offers. Seattle is an exciting place to be right now because of all the changes that are happening. Seattle in 10 years will be a very cool place, more than it is now.

well, I'm Basque but I was in Portland and Seattle a couple of years ago and I've to say that both were wonderful (I don't know about Vancouver, sorry ;) ).

Portland looked clean, green, modern.. you know, pleasant. However, it seemed that nobody lived (I mean live, not work) downtown (well, I don't know if anyone lives downtown in the USA outside Manhattan....). That sides you call the ghettos were kinda shock to me too. But it was nice, the waterfront is incredible!!!

I loved Seattle (however i didn't know how to pronunce it when I arrived there (sitel, siarel.... you know, we call it SITEL here). I think I'd never seen skyscrapers like those ones. Well, maybe the ones in Paris, but sure they're not so high. It looked like a lively city, full of people, the market was incredible (fishes flying over my head.... a man selling scotish "kilts"... people singing on the corners... . The only thing I didn't like very much was the space needle, too expensive for me... and that "thing" under it was a bad copy of the Guggenheim Bilbao. The view of the skyline was wonderful though.

If I had to choose... I'd say Seattle is the best.

The only thing I didn't like very much was the space needle, too expensive for me... and that "thing" under it was a bad copy of the Guggenheim Bilbao. The view of the skyline was wonderful though.

The space needle was built decades before the Guggenheim so if anything its the other way around

I sort of prefer Vancouver. It is alot more diverse in population and style.

The people in Seattle often seem a little full of themselves which is a big downer.

I can't really speak for Portland.

portland Is a mix of both.

All three are very similar in a lot of ways but i think Jada explained it best IMO.

Homer J. Simpson, hmm i dont think its more diverse than Seattle it has more Asians like Chinese & Indians but Seattle has more Blacks, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders i'd say they are about equal they just have a different minority ethnic/racial make up. Of course Van City has more foreign born though the majority of which are from East & Southeast Asia & India of course. While many in Seattle are from East/Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Central America, & Africa.

hey im trying to start a debate thing between seattle portland and Vancouver? Anyone wanna add anything which one is better and why? Maybe some pics or soemthing i dont know...

Seattle: 567,000 Metro: 3,570,000
Vancouver: 573,000 Metro 2,204,000
Portland: 536,000 Metro 2,042,000

Personally I like Vancouver a little more becus its my hometown and it has grown on me, plus the surrounding coast mountains and the ocean make vancouver a key city. 2nd is Portland. Portland is beautiful and is awesome! Not a big downtown but a very beautiful historical and green one.
Lats but not least is Seatle. Seattle is a bit confusing. Nice mountains, but im not trying to offened anyone but ppl in Seattle and Washington state seem to be a little full of them selves... but thats just what i have found out myslef. Seattle is a very sport hyper town and has a lot of sport fans and crazy drivers lol pretty congested but then again vancouver and portland can be too so dont wanna be hypocritical.

More..?

How old are you? Have you been outside of the Northwest?

Yah I have been outside the Northwest, I Have been Hawaii, California, Alberta, NWT and etc. But Iam Talking about the northwest since it is in The Northwest section. I just like these 3 cities so much that is why I like talking about them and see if anyone agrees with me. If you have a problem with that well then I'm sorry because thats who I'am.

Way too many locals complaining about how Californians ruined their city.

??? I've never heard about this, care to elaborate? Thnx :)

Seattle is by far the strongest economically of the 3 cities. I sometimes feel that Vancouver relies on the tourist business a little too much (plus it clogs up traffic, stupid tour buses). Seattle's starting to take a big chunk of our cruise business so maybe that'll force people from being so complacent (we've been talking about building a new convention centre since forever, geez).

I have to confess that I don't hear that much about Seattle up here in Vancouver unless I watch local Seattle channels. The local newstations talk more about Toronto and Ottawa which are thousands of kilometres away while Seattle's just a couple hours drive. I think the whole region should work better as a unit, even though there's a border in the way.

The only thing I didn't like very much was the space needle, too expensive for me... and that "thing" under it was a bad copy of the Guggenheim Bilbao. The view of the skyline was wonderful though.

The space needle was built decades before the Guggenheim so if anything its the other way around

He said the thing under the Space Needle, not the Space Needle. He was referring to the EMP. Blame the architect for that, he made both buildings. All of his buildings look the same. Like crumpled up peices of paper.



I like all three cities. They are all better than the other 2 in some aspect, but whatevvverr.

I don't see how people from Seattle are "full of themselves." I think Seattle sucks in a lot of ways, damnit, they're only just starting to get some REAL mass transit (fuck buses), the city isn't dense enough, the suburbs are still sprawling like crazy, etc. If you want people who are full of themselves just go to California.

And it's not that the Californians are ruining Seattle and Washington. Its just that some of them are extremely annoying becuase they move from California and then complain that Washington sucks. Its like, FUCK OFF AND GO BACK TO CALIFORNIA.

Yah and People think that everyone from california are all cool and sexy, they arent much different from BC, Canadas California.

I've visited three on a little tour last year - I liked Portland the best. Though the city has been over-hyped due to it's position as the new urbanists dream town, the downtown was a perfect combination of friendliness, walkable, park setting, & things to do. Unfortunately, combining the population growth of the 1990's, climbing real estate costs & the dot com burst - I'm not so sure about Portland now.

Seattle & Vancouver were great too, wonderful downtowns & beatifully lush residential neighborhoods (Seattle's north side & around UBC in Vancouver).

As for some responses - bgwah, if Atlanta can support a hard rail system, Seattle can definitely support a large transit system. I do think Seattle is dense enough... The issue with California exiles is also a problem in Denver, on a trip there people warned us in addition to media of complaints about the 'outsiders' moving in.

??? I've never heard about this, care to elaborate? Thnx :)

Seattle is by far the strongest economically of the 3 cities. I sometimes feel that Vancouver relies on the tourist business a little too much (plus it clogs up traffic, stupid tour buses). Seattle's starting to take a big chunk of our cruise business so maybe that'll force people from being so complacent (we've been talking about building a new convention centre since forever, geez).

I have to confess that I don't hear that much about Seattle up here in Vancouver unless I watch local Seattle channels. The local newstations talk more about Toronto and Ottawa which are thousands of kilometres away while Seattle's just a couple hours drive. I think the whole region should work better as a unit, even though there's a border in the way.

When I first moved here that is all I heard from the locals, and still do. My neighbor across the street said she's moving to Wenatchee because Seattle has turned into a big mess. PLEASE!!! My 2 brothers and niece are visiting from L.A. and Englewood N.J. at this very moment and they think Seattle is absolutely beautiful.

Don't know about Portland, but Holler at http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=119909
for pics of Seattle and Vancouver

Yes its a link to a link to a link.

It would be a toss up between Vancouver & Portland. I don't really care for Seattle that much.

Portland is a great laid-back place. It's popular becuase it's cheap and it's a lot like Austin with it's high density of young hipster types. It's also really friendly too.

But Vancouver wins nature-wise, and the sheer energy of stuff i saw going on there in summer.

I haven't spent enough time in Vancouver to make a judgement, but I've been to Portland and Seattle plenty of times. I prefer both cities equally. Seattle for it's awesome architecture (Space needle, EMP, Skyline) and Portland for it's scenery. I don't know why, but I just love all of those hills in Portland... they're the shitz! I don't know why, but I also felt a little better about walking around in Portland than in Seattle.



For Vancouver, I just want to a couple of clubs a few times.

what i love most is that all the people in seattle/portland/vancouver are really humble towards themselves.


ie - there's no hate between any of the 3 cities - GENERALLY people in vancouver don't try to bring seattle down and talk about how much better vancouver is, and people in seattle don't try to bring vancouver downa nd talk about how much better seattle is.


I think it's part of the whole northwest lifestyle that is just unique across the state AND country border.

people in seattle have more in common with people in vancouver then they do with people in new york. And people in vancouver have more in common with people in seattle than they do with people in toronto.




I think we should start our own country. BC, Washington, Oregon, Idaho (for the potatoes), Yukon (for the gold/oil)

California will invariably want to join and so will nevada and alaska. New Mexico will want to tag along too but we won't let them. The same goes for Alberta.

This new country will be the most powerful on the planet and definetly by far the coolest.

I think we should start our own country. BC, Washington, Oregon, Idaho (for the potatoes), Yukon (for the gold/oil)

Viva Cascadia :D

Great idea, its too bad the US would never allow it.

why not?

Here are some pics of the three NW beauties.

Seattle:

http://www.struat.com/here/skyline.jpg

http://www.igougo.com/photos/journal_photos/fog(1).jpg

Seattle Library:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/art/news/local/seattlepubliclibrary/12.jpg

Vancouver Library and skyline
http://www.pwgsc.gc.ca/db/text/archives/2003/fall2003/images/image13.jpg

http://www.jimtardio.com/vancouver/vancouver-aerial-view-big.jpg

Portland:
http://graphics.worldweb.com/PhotoImages/BrentBradley/portlandskyline.jpg

Seattle Library:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/art/news/local/seattlepubliclibrary/12.jpg

Vancouver Library
http://www.pwgsc.gc.ca/db/text/archives/2003/fall2003/images/image13.jpg


kick-ass!

find me a better pair of libraries anywhere.

We rock.

why not?

ever heard of the civil war?

Yes, I don't think we want all that nastiness in this country again. Most of us do have relatives in other parts of the country as well as Canada.

Schizo Seattle
BY KNUTE BERGER

THE LATE COLUMNIST Emmett Watson invented Lesser Seattle, a nifty literary device by which he could voice concerns of Seattleites who were tired of change and newcomers. "Keep the Bastards Out" was Lesser Seattle's stirring motto. I naively believed that Watson really believed in Lesser Seattle, so I was shocked to learn this was not the case.

--------------Greater Seattle was a booster organization back in the 70's I believe, Lesser Seattle being the snide literary grassroots opposition, another interesting point, the federal money which built the Atlanta MARTA system was originally sent to Seattle, but the money was rejected. Oy vey!----------------------

The last time I saw Watson was about a year or so before he died in 2001. I bumped into him at an eatery on First Avenue, and we shared an impromptu lunch. As we looked out on bustling, Amazon- bubbled Skid Road, I asked him if all this yuppification wasn't driving him nuts. No, Watson said, he actually quite enjoyed it. It gave the city energy.

Watson embodied a classic Seattle duality: We want the vitality of a growing, innovative, vibrant city, but we want to pull up the drawbridges when we want to. We want to be a model world citizen, yet underneath beats the heart of a xenophobe--or should I say a mossback? In the Northwest, mossback was an epithet newcomers used to taunt the old settlers.

This tension reflects the frontier experience here. As early as 1854, mere moments after the city's founding, some early Seattleites were already complaining about the newcomers (we can only imagine what the Indians were saying). Of course, in a city named "New York Alki," you'd think everyone would know the plan. But many folks came West to escape the world, while others came to re-create it. Both were starting over.

I've never been to Portland so I won't even bother saying anything about it. I like Seattle because everything is very close. Most things you want are right in downtown. I like the waterfront and oldtown. I love the markets near the waterfront. Vancouver does have this but it is Granville island which I don't like. It's too crowded, but I do like it because everything there is close together and not spread out too much. I love Vancouver downtown life way more than Seattle. Both cities have something great in common, don't have to walk more than a block for a coffee. ;)
Vancouver has a better nightlife but not a nice looking downtown. Most areas of Seattle are cleaner than Vancouver but not as nice stores. Vancouver is the worst for traffic. I know Seattle clogs up easily too, but Vancouver is bad everywhere. I can't say which city has an overall nicer skyline though. Vancouver and the mountain view is amazing, but Seattle has a taller skyline with a lot of nice office towers. Vancouver doesn't have enough good looking office towers, IMO. I can't decide which skyline impresses me more. I really think Stanley Park is the highlight of Vancouver though. It is second to none when it comes to parks. Seattle doesn't have a park better than it, and won't either. Overall I would rather live in downtown Westend of Vancouver. It's got a great streetlife too, and it is just a 5 minute walk from downtown. The apartments are great and the views are great and the stores there are great. I know Steattle is trying to do the same. I noticed when I walked from downtown to the Space Needle that there were a lot of apartments and stores. It doesn't have a strong streetlife though.

I like Seattle. It felt alot cleaner to me. Somebody said Vancouver was clean, well maybe out of downtown. There was alot of ghetto that I saw, and even had people trying to sell me drugs, watches, etc. etc. Portland is nice. I went there about 1 month ago and it seemed alot cleaner then it was a few years ago.

Was the second etc cheap?

Yes, Vancouver has a big etc problem.

Yes, I don't think we want all that nastiness in this country again. Most of us do have relatives in other parts of the country as well as Canada.

yep, all of my granfathers cousins and other relatives ended up in vancouver (from england) while his family moved to new york.

Vancouver's traffic is not that horrible, except for a few trouble spots...Lion's Gate, Hwy 1, 99, Kingsway, Granville, Port Mann. I like how there's so little highways...too bad the public transit still goes to too little places.

On the other hand, I found the I-5 & Seattle quite jammed. Of course, I guess the situation becomes much better during the weekend.

Vancouver's East side needs to be rejuvenated...it's quite rundown, & leaves quite a negative impression.

Vancouver is big, and has the potential to grow really big.

Vancouver is big, and has the potential to grow really big.

All cities have the potential to grow really big. What does that have to do with anything?

Seattle is big, and has the potential to grow really big.
Portland is big, and has the potential to grow really big.
Marysville isn't big.. but has the potential to grow really big.... :ohno:

Facts: Seattle, Vancouver, and Portland all have between 500-600k in the city. Vancouver is of course more dense because it only has like 55 square miles and has tons of condo/aprt towers. Seattle has 84 sq miles and Portland has like 130.

If anything, Vancouver has less potential of growing more populous than Portland....

^ i dont want to disagree, but I dont think Portland will grow more than Vancouver.

No Vancouver will grow faster than Seattle and of course portland Vancouver is one of the youngest cities in North America. With all the international attention being paid to Vancouver with the Olympics and all there is little doupt that it will continue to grow at an amazing rate. Not every city has the potential to grow there are cities shrinking.

No Vancouver will grow faster than Seattle and of course portland Vancouver is one of the youngest cities in North America. With all the international attention being paid to Vancouver with the Olympics and all there is little doupt that it will continue to grow at an amazing rate. Not every city has the potential to grow there are cities shrinking.


P O T E N T I A L !! Even shrinking cities have potential my friend and neither Seattle nor Portland are shrinking. Seattle, Vancouver, and Portland have all been about the same population give or take 100,000 for the past 60 years. Vancouver was incorporated in 1884?... Seattle was incorporated 20 years earlier in 1865.

these are from memory so bare with me but they're a pretty close est.

1910 Pop for Seattle 210,000 Vancouver 150,000 Portland 237,000
1950 pop for Seattle 465,000 Vancouver 345,000 Portland 370,000
1980 pop for Seattle 493,000 Vancouver 444,000 Portland 372,000.
2000 pop for Seattle 565,000 Vancouver 550,000 Portland 535,000

As far as youngest cities in NA? What is that supposed to mean? Its funny, Seattle-Tacoma Intl Airport serves more cities than Vancouver, so I bet many of those people will have to fly into SeaTac and either jump on a plane to Vancouver or drive through Seattle.

Yes Thats true, but according to those statistics, Portland is growing the slowest and it only grew by 2,000 in 1980. Vancouver Looks like it gre the most.
1910 Pop for Seattle 210,000 Vancouver 150,000

1950 pop for Seattle 465,000 Vancouver 345,000 = Vancouver grew by 195,000 and seattle grew by 255,000

1980 pop for Seattle 493,000 Vancouver 444,000 = Vancouver grew by 199,000 and seattle grew by 28,000

2000 pop for Seattle 565,000 Vancouver 550,000 = Vancouver Grew by 106,000 and seattle grew by 72,000

Average, Vancouver grew by 133,000
Average, Seattle grew by 118,000

Vancouver Grew More over the years, but Seattles Population was higher. So if that keeps up, Vancouver will surpass Seattle in years to come.

P O T E N T I A L !! Even shrinking cities have potential my friend and neither Seattle nor Portland are shrinking. Seattle, Vancouver, and Portland have all been about the same population give or take 100,000 for the past 60 years. Vancouver was incorporated in 1884?... Seattle was incorporated 20 years earlier in 1865.

these are from memory so bare with me but they're a pretty close est.

1910 Pop for Seattle 210,000 Vancouver 150,000 Portland 237,000
1950 pop for Seattle 465,000 Vancouver 345,000 Portland 370,000
1980 pop for Seattle 493,000 Vancouver 444,000 Portland 372,000.
2000 pop for Seattle 565,000 Vancouver 550,000 Portland 535,000

As far as youngest cities in NA? What is that supposed to mean? Its funny, Seattle-Tacoma Intl Airport serves more cities than Vancouver, so I bet many of those people will have to fly into SeaTac and either jump on a plane to Vancouver or drive through Seattle.

you want to talk about airports, for what? isnt this funny Vancouvers airport was ranked best. wheres seattles? thats so irrelevant.

Yes, Vancouver has a big etc problem.

It's getting out of control, I sort of got into etc when I was there last.

Vancouver was founded in 1886 so its not even 120. Seattle is almost 155 so what im saying is that is likey one factor in why seattle is bigger in population than Vancouver. And if your facts are accurate then Vancouver has grown the fastest.

As for the airport serving more cities im not sure how thats relevent, but I do know Vancouver is the best airport in its size catigory and Seattle is in the same catigory.

Yes Thats true, but according to those statistics, Portland is growing the slowest and it only grew by 2,000 in 1980. Vancouver Looks like it gre the most.
1910 Pop for Seattle 210,000 Vancouver 150,000

1950 pop for Seattle 465,000 Vancouver 345,000 = Vancouver grew by 195,000 and seattle grew by 255,000

1980 pop for Seattle 493,000 Vancouver 444,000 = Vancouver grew by 199,000 and seattle grew by 28,000

2000 pop for Seattle 565,000 Vancouver 550,000 = Vancouver Grew by 106,000 and seattle grew by 72,000

Average, Vancouver grew by 133,000
Average, Seattle grew by 118,000

Vancouver Grew More over the years, but Seattles Population was higher. So if that keeps up, Vancouver will surpass Seattle in years to come.


Thats possible and propable. I never said it wasn't.

Here are the population statistics for Van, Sea, Port. They are rounded off.

Population of Vancouver Seattle & Portland proper this time i looked them up.

Vancouver Seattle Portland
(yr) ------------(yr)
1891 19,000 --- 1890 --- 43,000 --- 46,000
1901 58,000 --- 1900 --- 81,000 --- 91,000
1911 100,000 --- 1910 --- 237,000 --- 207,000
1921 117,000 --- 1920 --- 315,000 --- 258,000
1931 250,000 --- 1930 --- 365,000 --- 301,000
1941 253,000 --- 1940 --- 368,000 --- 305,000
1951 344,000 --- 1950 ---467,000 --- 374,000
1961 384,000 --- 1960 ---557,000 --- 373,000
1971 426,000 --- 1970 --- 530,000 --- 379,000
1981 414,000 --- 1980 ---493,000 --- 368,000
1991 472,000 --- 1990 --- 516,000 --- 438,000 (1983 Portland annexed 115,000)
2001 546,000 --- 2000 ---565,000 --- 513,000
2004 565,000 --- 2004 --- 573,000 --- 535,000

The good things for both cities is the fact that they both turned declining populations around. Vancouver dropped to 404,000 in the early 1986 and Seattle dropped to 484,000 in 1984. So yes, Vancouver proper may overtake Seattle before 2006 if not, by 2011 for sure.

Here are statistics on the international airports:

Sea-Tac Airport searved 26.8 million passengers in 2003.
Vancouver Airport searved 14.3 million passengers in 2003.
Portland Airport searved 12.4 million passengers in 2003.

you want to talk about airports, for what? isnt this funny Vancouvers airport was ranked best. wheres seattles? thats so irrelevant.

I never said it was the best. I said that more airlines searve Seattle than they do Vancouver. Seattle has over 10 million more passangers a year than Vancouver. Vancouver's airport was built in 1975. Seattle's was 1949.

I went onto Vancouver Intl's website. They say they are expecting to have 23 million passengers by 2013 and have a 1.4 billion canadian dollar expansion plan for the next 10 years. Seattle is also expanding and totally revamping the central terminal, north and south satelites. There will be a shopping center added called Pacific Marketplace and several full service restraunts will be part of that as well. SeaTac expects to have 34 million passengers by 2015.

I know porland has light rail to their airport and Vancouver is building skytrain to our airport are there any plans for rapid transit to SeaTac?

I know porland has light rail to their airport and Vancouver is building skytrain to our airport are there any plans for rapid transit to SeaTac?

YES. Phase one takes it within 1 mile of the airport entrance, but the Port of Seattle does not want the line built into airport property until they have completed the expansion of the airport, which "may" include a seperate area for International flights.

wow i didnt know PDX airport was so close to Vancouvers as far as passenger #'s... thats interesting. cool statistics.

Nice name portlandexpos, too bad they're in DC now. >(

Portland is my favorite, probably because I live here. :omg: Never been able to spend too much time in Vancouver but from what I've seen I like it more than Seattle. :)

Portland:

http://home.comcast.net/~nick.nelson/Docs/portland.jpg

there doesnt seem to be many high rises or skyscrapers in Portland like Vancouver or Seattle, but i could be wrong though.

^No, you're right.

All three cities are beautiful, but Vancouver is too dense, Seattle too spread out, and Portland could have a slightly taller skyline. Vancouver could have a freeway leading into the CBD area and Seattle could have a better monorail.

Way too many locals complaining about how Californians ruined their city.
??? I've never heard about this, care to elaborate? Thnx :)
Scratch 'Californians', replace with 'Torontonians', and you may be able to relate. ;)

Vancouver could have a freeway leading into the CBD area
Trust me, you don't want to do that. That will encourage more people to drive and worsen the congestion and pollution. It'll be the first step towards turning the area into another LA.

As for the airport serving more cities im not sure how thats relevent, but I do know Vancouver is the best airport in its size catigory and Seattle is in the same catigory.
But you have to pay the annoying AIF (Airport Improvement Fee) for flights at YVR, for all the improvements made to the airport to double it as an overpriced shopping mall.

But you have to pay the annoying AIF (Airport Improvement Fee) for flights at YVR, for all the improvements made to the airport to double it as an overpriced shopping mall.

If you live in Seattle, get a flight to Victoria. They don't have an Airport Improvement Fee.

If you live in Seattle, get a flight to Victoria. They don't have an Airport Improvement Fee.

or just drive, it's a bit cheaper...

or just drive, it's a bit cheaper...
or take the Clipper. It's still cheaper than airfare and probably quicker, security checks considered.

I'd say Portland is the most underrated city of the three. Although it's skyline is definitely the least impressive, there is more to it than meets the eye, especially when you're looking simply at a skyline picture. To walk around downtown is a nice experience. The mass transit is superior to Seattle, so it's easier to get around if you're not driving, and even if you are, since there are less cars. It's quieter than Seattle from my experiences but if you prefer that than Portland would be your choice. And if you're ever in downtown Portland, don't forget to go to Powell's!

That does make sense, but Portland doesn't have many tourist attractions. A few more and should be well known throughout America though.

Is anyone interested in this forum anymore?

No?

The West Coast Forum has been slowing down lately. :(

I love all three cities. I'm glad I made the move to the pacific northwest. I live in Seattle and travel to Portland and Vancouver quite often. Vancouver seems to be the most cosmopolitan imo. Seattle just simply big and beautiful and Portland just laid back, yet vibrant, clean, walkable with nice people and the least known. If you ever visit any of the three you will not be dissappointed.
Portland
http://mayhem-chaos.net/photoblog/images/portland.jpg

Vancouver
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/pwright1/seattle2/Picture102Small.jpg

Seattle
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/pwright1/cloudyseattle305Small.jpg

I like those buildings.

Looking at the pics, they practically look like the same city, lol. Same laid back style & atmosphere, same beauty. :D

Portland, Seattle and Vancouver are so different from each other.

Portland, Seattle and Vancouver are so different from each other.
They're not. The only things that are really different are the locations of the cities and their populations.

My view is that Seattle is the best, but that's mainly because it's right in the middle within a quick easy drive of both Vancouver and Portland. You can experience all the great things Seattle has to offer while living there, yet you can *also* enjoy quick trips to YVR and PDX as often as you'd like. :)

If I'm going to rank the cities though, I'd probably go with tie Vancouver and Seattle, while placing Portland third. Vancouver & Seattle are big large cities, exactly what I like. And I enjoy their skylines immensely. Portland is incredibly beautiful in the downtown, but I just need a little more water surrounding me, something Vancouver & Seattle have in abundance. But I really think all three cities are crown jewls for both the US and Canada. :)

One is in Oregon, one is in Washington, and one is in British Columbia, lol. That's all I've got.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/pwright1/seattle2/seattle3127.jpg

That photo is one of the things that people love about Seattle.

Does anyone remember the Madonna movie Body of Evidence? She played an artist living on a houseboat in Portland. It was a kind of cultural signifier in suggesting Portland's hipness. (Yeah, the movie was AWFUL. Madonna is a terrible actress). It came out about 10 years ago or so. Since then, Portland has gotten even hipper but it still flies beneath most people's radar. In the coming decade, I wager Portland/Seattle/Vancouver will become a tourist draw as the three capitals of Ecotopia.