The same organization that figures out the country’s richest persons has put the Seattle area No. 2 on a list of “coolest cities.”
The article published today on Forbes.com didn’t offer a precise definition of the concept. But the factors weighed–including arts and culture opportunities, recreation, foodie options, average age and net population growth–suggests a happening place appealing to younger adults New To Seattle, or new to wherever.
Forbes.com reckoned that Seattle ranked just behind the Other Washington–you know, the one with the White House. Just behind. The article said Seattle “could have edged out D.C. for the number one spot were it not for its fairly low diversity: 72.7% of the metro area is white, 13% Asian, and 5% black.”
The article lauded Seattle for its foodie culture. “The crunchy city,” it said. “has a relatively high preponderance of farmer’s markets, breweries, & CSAs [community supported agriculture networks] per capita, compared to other metro areas, and 81.6% of its restaurants are local rather than chains.”
Across the country, 60 metropolitan areas were evaluated. (I won’t quibble with the fact that this list was labeled as a city-by-city evaluation, even though it wasn’t.) The Seattle area included Bellevue and Everett, but not Tacoma. Behind Seattle on the list were the environs of Austin, Tex.; Houston and San Francisco.
In its evaluation of places to eat, Forbes.com, to which I sometimes contribute, gave pluses to local establishments. “Chain establishments like TGI Fridays tend to be less exciting than home-grown bistros,” the article declared.
There was no immediate word on how Forbes.com in its Seattle area evaluation treated the 400-plus Starbucks Coffee shops hereabouts, where you now can get a meal and whose home-grown parent is headquartered locally.