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A Tale of Two Cities
We work in commodities; they work for
Microsoft. They earn more; our real estate costs more.
We have less violent crime; they have less property
crime. Seattle and Vancouver have major differences,
sure, but you could also argue that no two cities are
more alike, right down to their kooky burrito joints,
touristy public markets and gentrifying port-side neighbourhoods.
By Rosemary Poole and Lucas Lee
SEATTLE |
VS. |
VANCOUVER |
Grey’s Anatomy |
As seen on |
Battlestar Galactica |
| 573,000/3,460,400
|
Population city/
region (2005) |
583,267/2,155,880 |
| 33 |
Median age |
37 |
14.3%, making it the fittest
city in the U.S. |
% of the population
considered overweight |
12%, making it the fittest
city in Canada |
Microsoft, Amazon
Washington Mutual, Starbucks |
Home of |
Telus, Canfor, West Fraser
Timber, Teekay Shipping, Goldcorp |
Bimbos Bitchin’
Burrito Kitchen
506 E. Pine St., Belltown, 206-329-9978 |
Hole in the wall
burrito joint |
Budgies Burritos
44 Kingsway Ave., Mount Pleasant, 604-874-5408 |
Pioneer Square, a long-troubled
historic neighbourhood by the port |
Hot neighbourhood |
Gastown, a long-
troubled historic neighbourhood by the port |
June 6, 1889 |
Date downtown burned
to the ground |
June 13, 1886 |
“Skid Road” |
Invented the term |
“Skid Row” |
Seattle Art Museum
Just expanded, reopens
May 17 |
Largest art gallery |
Vancouver Art Gallery
Looking for new digs |
Seattle Seahawks
Estimated value:
$823-million (U.S.) |
Biggest sports franchise |
Vancouver Canucks
Estimated value:
$192-million (U.S.) |
Greg Nickels
Nationally recognized for taking Seattle green
and adopting the Kyoto protocol |
Mayor’s green
record |
Sam Sullivan
Wants his new ecodensity initiative to be nationally
recognized |
30% |
Voter turnout in last
civic election |
32.4% |
On Mercer Island, an exclusive
enclave with multimillion-dollar water views |
The city’s wealthiest
residents live… |
In West Vancouver, an exclusive
enclave with multimillion-dollar
water views |
Bill Gates
Net worth: $53-billion (U.S.)
Latest project: Windows Vista |
Richest local |
Jimmy Pattison
Net worth: $4.5-billion
Latest project: 24 Hours |
Pike Place, which opened in
1907 |
Public market the
tourists flock to |
Granville Island, which was
inspired by Pike Place |
A ghastly crime or house fire
|
Typical lead story
on nightly newscast |
Used to be the weather,
now it’s the Pickton trial |
30 |
Number of murders
last year |
15 |
39,787 |
Property crime
incidents last year |
49,736 (but down 4.7% from
last year) |
Going from bad to worse
Commute times from the outer suburbs, such as
Bellevue, have risen 14 minutes in the past two
years—it now takes 56 minutes for a one-way
trip |
Commute times |
Holding steady—and going
down? Last summer, Statistics Canada reported
commutes in Greater Vancouver take roughly the
same time or a little less than they did in 1992—bucking
the national trend |
$72,250 (U.S.) |
Average household
income |
$56,200 |
Tom Douglas
Inventory: six restaurants, a bakery, a catering
business, three cookbooks, a radio show, an
Iron Chef America victory, and a line of
sauces and spice rubs |
Superstar chef |
Rob Feenie
Inventory: two restaurants (a third one rumoured
to be opening in Toronto soon), an Iron Chef
America victory, an American Express campaign
and three cookbooks |
READ MORE IN THE SEATTLE SERIES:
36 Hours
in Seattle: Where to eat, drink,
shop and sightsee.
Bed Check:
Reviews of three very different Seattle
hotels.
Culture
Crawl: Our ranking of Seattle's
independent coffeehouses, and listings of the best local
books and music acts.
The New Seattle:
What Vancouver can learn from its
Pacific sister.
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