Comparing Seattle and Denver - The Cities

While the two NFL football teams from Seattle and Denver square off this weekend in the Super Bowl, here is a comparison of what the two cities are most known for - not everything, but the major items these areas are most know for to most people.

Both are often rated as some of the most livable cities in the United States. Lets see how the two metropolitan areas compare...

DENVER

• Nearby Rocky Mountains - winter and summer sports.
• Good pro sports teams - the Denver Broncos have been in the Super Bowl six times before, winning two of them; the Colorado Avalanche NHL hockey team has won multiple Stanley Cups; the MLB Rockies usually competitive and have appeared in the World Series and the NBA's Denver Nuggets are decent most years. 
• Colorado University - in nearby Boulder, this school is one of the best public institutions in the country.
• Beer - both the old school Coors variety, but more importantly Denver (and Colorado) is one of the best places in the nation to get microbrews.
• Cold weather. But, Denver is quite sunny - clocking in with more than 300 days of sun each year on average.
• Being one mile above sea level.

SEATTLE

• Music scene - many, many famous musical acts have come from the Seattle area. Ones many know of are: Jimi Hendrix, Ray Charles, Heart, Kenny G, Queensryche, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Alice in Chains, Mudhoney, Presidents of the USA, Death Cab for Cutie, Brandi Carlisle, Macklemore.
• A diversity of world-leading business - many global companies you have heard of started and/or are headquartered in the Seattle area: Microsoft, REI, Amazon, Expedia, Nordstrom, Eddie Bauer, Costco, Tommy Bahama, Starbucks, Cutter & Buck, Holland America Cruise Line, T-Mobile, Nintendo, Brooks Sports, just to name a few.
• Coffee - Starbucks certainly, but the city is innudated with smaller, gourmet coffee roasters and outlets.
• Outdoor and recreation - from Seattle, people have easy access to mountains (winter/summer sports), the Pacific ocean, desert, great wine country and Vancouver, BC and northwest Canada.
• Rain - it does rain a lot in Seattle between November and April, but there are other cities that get more rainfall each year...New York City for example.
• Iconic landmarks - Space Needle, Mount Rainier
• Microbrew beer - perhaps second only to Portland (hate to say it), Seattle has a large volume an wide diversity of locally brewed beers.

Everybody loves the city their from or where they live. Understandable. And by all means Denver strikes me as a really great place to live and work.

However, I'll take Seattle...more culturally interesting, bigger and more diverse economy, more to do and see in the region and - as of Sunday - a Super Bowl champion football team (here's hoping)!