So, I live in Los Angeles, and I moved here in part because of the geek community, which seems more unified here than it does in my native New York City. I figured I’d moved to the Geekiest Place on Earth!
Aaaaand then I visited Seattle, where geekery isn’t just a hobby, it’s a lifestyle! Here are the Top 5 Reasons Why Seattle is Geektopia!
5) The Geekier You Are, The More Likely You Are to Make a Living!
Seattle and the surrounding Puget Sound area are home to Microsoft, Amazon.com, Pop Cap Games, Big Fish Games, Cheezburger (as in, “I can haz…?”), Fantagraphics Books, Nintendo, and countless other geek-favorite companies. Every person I met in Seattle either works at Microsoft, or knows someone who does! If you want to rock your computer programming skills for a living, or want to work more closely with some your favorite geek properties, Seattle is where it’s at!
This place will be getting its own write-up, too, but leave it to the City of Microsoft to have within it a museum devoted to showcasing Apple IIs and Commodore 64s! From the history of the evolution of the Intel processor, to getting to touch computers that are now older than many people reading this, you can check it out at this quirky little space. It’s housed in a store called RE.PC, where you can purchase/sell recycled computers, laptops, and parts/accessories. So once you’re done being inspired by the computer innovators of the past, you can buy parts super-cheap and get cracking on developing your own technological innovations.
3) You’re Close to the Home of Bella, Edward, and Jacob
Twilight fans will enjoy Seattle primarily because it’s only about 3 hours away from Forks, WA, which is where Stephenie Meyer books take place. Sadly, I didn’t get to make the day trip to Forks, because I didn’t have access to a car. You’ll need to drive to Edmonds, get on the the ferry to Kingston, then drive about two and a half hours to Forks, but it’s a great day trip. The drive from Kingston will take you through Port Angeles, where there are also lots of Twilight-related stops. Once in Forks, you can either take the “official” Twilight tour, or you can download a Twilight audio tour and take yourself around. Either way, you’ll be able to spend a day losing yourself in the world of Twilight.
2) Geek Girl Con!
My reason for going to Seattle in the first place was to attend the first-annual Geek Girl Con, an event that I already had high hopes for and that ended up exceeding them. Geek Girl Con is just any other comics/genre convention except that it focuses a spotlight on female fans and creators. Geek Guys, however, are very welcome, too, and that showed in the con’s robust attendance! It sold out of all of its single-day and two-day passes, and over 2,500 people attended the con over the two days. Geek Girl Con is one of the most inclusive, chill, and inspiring cons I’ve ever been to. It’s not just about selling geek properties and products; it’s about changing the world through media. Your 2012 convention plans should include Geek Girl Con in Seattle!
1) The Seattle Center
The Seattle Center’s 74-acre campus is home to many of the city’s best geeky attractions, including the Pacific Science Center and the EMP Museum (both of which will be getting separate write-ups right here!). The littlest geeks can have fun at the Seattle Children’s Museum and the Seattle Children’s Theater. Then there’s the famous Space Needle, a holdover from the futuristic 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, and now the international symbol of Seattle, the observation deck of which provides the best view in the city. The Needle’s Sky City Restaurant rotates, so as you enjoy their amazing food (Maple lavender butter for the bread! The most amazing stuffed chicken ever! *drools* ), you can continue to enjoy the view, which includes the majestic Mount Ranier, the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, and the beautiful Puget Sound. The Seattle Center grounds are lovely, and with free wi-fi in many public seating areas, including the food court, it’s a bit of a geek paradise.
Stay tuned here at ChinaShop for more glimpses of Seattle geekery, as well as chances to win free tickets to some of Seattle’s geekiest spots!
Words and pictures by Teresa Jusino (@TeresaJusino).
You forgot to mention a few things…which, admittedly, are easy to overlook if you don’t live here.
We have PAX (now called PAX Prime, because an east-coast version has recently started up.) Yeah, sure, there’s Emerald City Comic Con; but – we have PAX!! W(h)il Wheaton comes up here All. The. Time.
Twilight. Forks. We shall speak no more of this. (Aherm.)
Vancouver BC is a daytrip from Seattle. That’s where X-Files, Stargate, The Outer Limits, First Wave, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, and a good chunk of the other geektastic series were (or are) filmed. (Technically not Seattle. But close enough that you can easily visit. And Vancouver stood in for Seattle in the series Dark Angel, so there’s another link.)
The Seattle Public Library is visually amazing. And, oh yeah, it’s full of books.
Facebook and Google are expanding their local operations and are hiring. So more geektastic job opportunities. (And, of course, Amazon.com is bidding to take over the world, so there are jobs there too.)
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