Thank you for making it to part 5 of my review of Seattle. In this post I’ll talk about what I loved and didn’t like, plus I’ll take you to one more stop and that’s the Woodland Park Zoo.
They way our trip has been going – I had a feeling we were going to need a “vacation from our vacation”
By now we were exhausted and we decided to take it easy since we’ve been hitting the city hard. We slept late and decided to do only one thing and it was check out…
SEATTLE’S WOODLAND PARK ZOO
There’s really not much to say about the zoo other than I was glad the kids on school trips were headed back home – which meant we had the place pretty much to ourselves.
As mentioned in my part 1 I didn’t think I’d use my 70-200mm lens as much as I did and being in a zoo I’m glad I had it with me! Especially when it came to taking photos of birds.
And if you were to ask me out of the hundreds of photos I took of the zoo – which one is my favorite, I’d reply by saying this one…
I’m not sure why, perhaps it has something to do with the chunky hand!
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT SEATTLE
To end on a positive note, first I’ll tell you what I didn’t like.
Remember this sticker?
Well in all honesty it should end with homelessness as you’ll see a lot, I mean a lot of homeless people. It’s just as bad as in San Francisco and you have to see it for yourself to believe it.
Our hotel was located downtown near a lot of high end stores. And if I’m spending $10,000 on a purse, I don’t want to walk outside and see homeless people.
I asked a Lyft driver “what’s up with all the homelessness?” and he said part of the reason is the climate, as it’s nice year round and some people chose to be homeless.
He also felt a lot of people aren’t willing to work two jobs to survive there, so they’d rather be homeless. I wouldn’t be surprised if Seattle was in the top 5 most expensive places to live in the USA.
The driver also said the city doesn’t do anything other than – wait for this – give them tents!
The funny thing is I wondered how these homeless people had gotten their hands on fancy tents – turns out the local government gives it to them.
If you have a few moments check out this video as it will put everything into perspective.
The other thing I wasn’t crazy about – is that Seattle can be a bit pricy. But nowadays no matter where you go the same thing can be said. Even when I go to Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic I wonder to myself – how do these people survive?
Plus now that I think about it Seattle smells really bad. There’s a lot of alley ways and sometimes when you walk by all you smell is a strong smell of urine.
I’d hate to have a window facing an alley as you won’t be able to open the window!
Another thing I have to mention is that it seems like everything closes early there. Pike Place Market (one of the main tourists attractions) starts wrapping up shop around 4:30 / 5:00! And good luck finding a restaurant open in downtown after 10!
WHAT I ABSOLUTELY LOVED ABOUT SEATTLE
Coming from NYC and now living in Boston (at the time of this trip) I’m often asked “how do I like Boston?”.
And depending on who’s asking and how honest I can be – I’ll reply by saying the number one thing I don’t like is the lack of diversity in Boston.
Seattle is much like New York City as you’ll find people from all places and colors so if feels much like home.
It’s also a very, very inclusive place in terms of the LGBTQ community. As a quick example while shopping in Target, the employee at the resister was wearing t-shirt with a flaming unicorn with the pride colors on the background – and this shirt was a company issue employee uniform.
All I’m going to say is if you’re homophobic and don’t like LGBTQ diversity – don’t go to Seattle. And believe it or not – I think it’s more gay than San Francisco!
While we were on the harbor cruise we saw seals that head up to Seattle during the warmer months to get fat and mate.
Well if you’re looking to fatten up, Seattle is the place for you! As no matter your preference in food – you’ll definitely find something you’ll love. Especially if you love seafood!
Now the architecture there is amazing as you have a lot of old structures and new.
In Seattle they’re literally cranes everywhere! If you go now and come back in 5 years you won’t even recognize it. How many cranes do you see? I count at least 7!
In this one I see about 10…
In this photo I see at least 11…
And many of the long time locals I chatted with lament what the city has become. The cost of living there is out of control and the construction is endless.
Seattle is also surrounded by a lot of natural beauty, plus it’s relatively close to Vancouver (which is on my must-see places list). If you’re into nature there’s several national parks in the area.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS ON SEATTLE
Well when it comes to reviewing places I keep things simple. It’d be foolish to review a place that you’ve only spent a handful of days there.
So I always review places by answering “would I go there again?”. And the answer is a resounding HELL YEA!
I’m actually planning to go again as I want to go kayaking with killer whales.
Yes you heard me right – kayaking with orcas! The optimal time is around late spring / early summer and it’s about a 3 hour drive north from Seattle to the San Juan Islands.
Overall I really LOVE LOVE LOVE Seattle. My only knock on it is the homelessness issue and high cost of living.
ON A FINAL NOTE
I hope you enjoyed reading this post and if you’re ever in need of a photographer to document your vacation don’t hesitate to reach out. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter for more posts like these!
And if you stumbled upon this page be sure to check out the other parts from my amazing trip to Seattle!
