37 Questions about Seattle, Part 3

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4. What are your favorite things about living in Seattle?

My favorite things about Seattle include both the tangible and the intangible.

For starters, I love living in a beautiful city situated in a beautiful locale. When I drive through town I am always amazed: at the beauty of Mt. Rainier standing watch over the city; by the craggy splendor of the Olympics and the dominating curves and peaks of the Cascades; by the ever-present water that is such a part of our psyche here in the Great Pacific Northwest.

I love the way we are surrounded by trees and green, that we can feel the beat of nature below the rush of the city. I love that I can jump on a ferry and be in a rainforest in less than half a day. And that I can jump in my car and be hiking in the Cascade foothills a mere 40 minutes later. Sick of 75 degrees and sunny on this side of the mountains? A quick trip across one of our passes and you can be on the eastern side of the Cascades in about 2 hours, enjoying 90 degree weather and world-class hiking and recreating.

I love that Seattle has great food, particularly our ethnic food. Not just located in one District, Seattle's neighborhoods are filled with a plethora of choices for the adventurous foodie. We have particularly wonderful Thai and Vietnamese restaurants, as well as being a mere hour's drive from the Herbfarm, recently rated the #1 destination restaurant in the world by National Geographic.

We also have a number of local small and or organic farms that are represented in our wonderful CSAs and farmers market, producing everything from veggies to fruit, meat, dairy and wonderful cheeses, mushrooms and honey.

I love that we have such a rich cultural scene, from our amazing up-and-coming hip-hop artists, to the art world that supports local artists from every bent, to the theater (we have 28 equity theaters here, and Broadway-bound premieres at the 5th Avenue), film, opera, and symphonic music scenes. We also have amazing festivals - Bumbershoot is known around the country, but we also have many, many smaller fairs and festivals that could keep you busy all summer long.

I love the summers here and how happy they make people.

I love the fall and the winter, that can be so very melancholy and beautiful.

I love the intensity of the area and the people who call it home.

I love that it is such a small town for being such a big city!