I think if you moved to the city post 2010, you probably don't realize what "old Seattle" was like.
Who are these other "culturally important folk" and why are they so important? Not denying they exist, I just don't know who you are talking about.
I still see a lot of opportunity for middle (or possibly upper-middle) class families to live in Seattle although it is not easy. It seems a lot easier than SFO and entirely within reach to me. Something should be done to make sure this stays within reach but we have to be realistic about how that looks. A single family home on a 1/4 acre isn't gonna fly. You're probably going to be sharing at least one wall with someone.
You are echoing the concern I hear often and I have no doubt that you feel what you are describing but I'm just not convinced that it reflects reality.
I lived in Seattle for the summer of 2009 and while I didn't explore a lot of it back then I don't think it has changed much culturally. I hear the "it's an old Seattle thing you wouldn't understand" cliche a lot too. I'm just surprised nobody can articulate what was different then.
Also,
> There's an art gallery across the street from me. Many coffee shops and restaurants have locally created art for sale.
There's a ton of those in SF, too. Gentrifiers enjoy the old culture and all its signifiers; that's why they moved there in the first place. (IDK what you mean by street performers but there sure aren't those in SF.)
I’m not sure how to reconcile “all the artists are leaving” with “gentrifiers like art” and the presence of many forms of art all over the place. Which is it? Are artists not supposed to sell art? I really don’t get it.
Grunge didn’t really start here, it just blew up here. It’s more of a Pacific Northwest thing than a Seattle thing. If you ever come visit check out the Nirvana exhibit at MoPop (previously EMP), it does a great job explaining the evolution of grunge.
There are several local bands who are doing well on the national stage. The biggest is Macklemore although he’s not really my style.
The music scene in Seattle seems healthy to me, you can get a variety of shows any night of the week. The metal scene is supposed to be big but not my deal so I don’t know a lot about it.
I was at a backyard/underground wrestling show (hosted by a local band) last summer where the heel taunted the audience by telling them they’re a bunch of people who moved here 8 years ago and are mad at the people who moved here 5 years ago.
From where I sit Seattle has a multitude of healthy subcultures. It’s just fashionable to complain.
Change is just constant I guess.
Of course, that's true of a lot of US cities that are growing these days. Certainly NYC or Boston were much grittier in the 80s/90s than they are today with a net outflow of population.
I visited with my girlfriend in 2015 and stayed in the suburbs where her girlfriend's guy was working for MS. The burbs seemed pretty peaceful and green (older suburb—but I don't know the city). Maybe they were in Redmond proper.
It was a beautiful area, and I could definitely live with that. It's too bad it's pricing people out like that.
We were there only too briefly so we just hit some touristy options like the market and some hipster arcade bar, the Army/Navy, etc.
We live in Toronto and it felt pretty similar overall (though I'd give major points to Seattle for scenery). The same thing is ultimately happening here, too, though. Rents are skyrocketing but wages aren't.
With a lot of the political commotion and the desire for more outdoors activity, I haven't seen much of Canada mentioned in this thread and I'm curious if its landed on the map for anybody. And where?
If other countries are up for comparison, I would really love to move to Brisbane someday.
If I left Seattle (and the US) it would be for something completely different like Taipei.
I’m also a bit too patriotic to move out of the US while I can still build a life here.