1) I haven't lived in Seattle since I was little, but I live up in the northwest about 2-3 hours away from it and have spent a lot of time there. :) Seattle has a very strong feeling to it, particularly to someone- like me- who's somewhat of an outsider there. If you've ever seen Advent Children, the lighting of Seattle is very similar to the lighting of edge- very gray and bright, particularly in the autumn and winter, and tending towards cold. It tends to sprinkle a lot- wussy, drizzly rain-, with the occasional dump of rain, and less snow than you'd expect (in general, in the northwest, snow is actually a surprise).
It also varies a lot from area to area. Downtown and places like West Lake have a lot of sky-scrapers, big stores, and things like that (West Lake is, unless I'm getting my Seattle geography turned around, where the Gap, Nordstrom's, and Macy's are). But if you go over to the University District, everything has a much more quiet, local feel to it. I don't recall the name, but I've been to a tiny local coffee shop in a backalley in the U-district (and it was a very nice place, warm and comfy and with great food, even though you had to leave the place and go around to some stairs to get to their balcony seating). There are a lot of little local bookstores and thrift stores, as well as cafes and coffee shops.
In general, Seattle has a very... well, northwest feel that sort of hard to pin down (probably because I live here). It's often cold even if it's sunny, because you spend a lot of time in the shade, although every so often it's hot. A lot of people wear Converse and Doc Martens and knock-offs of both, despite them being pretty impractical for the usual weather. There tends to be a vaguely subdued feeling, as well, with gray skies being more common than blue ones.
Also, as a landmark, consider the Seattle Center- home of the Space Needle (http://www.spaceneedle.com/), Experience Music Project, Science Fiction Museum, and a lot of other attractions.
I hope the above rambling helps at least a bit... :D;
Re: Seattle and Los Angeles Help, Especially Japanese and Hispanics
It also varies a lot from area to area. Downtown and places like West Lake have a lot of sky-scrapers, big stores, and things like that (West Lake is, unless I'm getting my Seattle geography turned around, where the Gap, Nordstrom's, and Macy's are). But if you go over to the University District, everything has a much more quiet, local feel to it. I don't recall the name, but I've been to a tiny local coffee shop in a backalley in the U-district (and it was a very nice place, warm and comfy and with great food, even though you had to leave the place and go around to some stairs to get to their balcony seating). There are a lot of little local bookstores and thrift stores, as well as cafes and coffee shops.
In general, Seattle has a very... well, northwest feel that sort of hard to pin down (probably because I live here). It's often cold even if it's sunny, because you spend a lot of time in the shade, although every so often it's hot. A lot of people wear Converse and Doc Martens and knock-offs of both, despite them being pretty impractical for the usual weather. There tends to be a vaguely subdued feeling, as well, with gray skies being more common than blue ones.
Also, as a landmark, consider the Seattle Center- home of the Space Needle (http://www.spaceneedle.com/), Experience Music Project, Science Fiction Museum, and a lot of other attractions.
I hope the above rambling helps at least a bit... :D;