From majestic views of Mt. Rainier to the stunning waters of the Pacific Ocean, Seattle is a city unsurpassed in its beauty. The center of western Washington, Seattle is the heart of a region that straddles Interstate 5 from the Canadian border south to the Oregon border. The region offers high-tech and blue collar jobs, boasts an outstanding cultural lineup, features highly-competitive professional and college sports teams and access to almost any outdoor experience imaginable.

Geography
King, Snohomish and Island counties make up the greater Seattle metropolitan area, covering a 4,400-square-mile region that spans 75 miles east from the Pacific Ocean to the Cascade Mountains. Seattle borders numerous bodies of water, including the Puget Sound (saltwater), Lake Washington (freshwater) and Lake Union (freshwater), and is within a car ride of several natural areas including Mt. Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Olympic National Park and Rain Forest, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

The Region
Contrary to popular myth, it is not always raining in Seattle. In fact, its annual rainfall is less than several other major U.S. cities, including Miami, Atlanta, New York and Boston. Seattle enjoys a four-season climate with pleasant spring and fall temperatures, warm summer sun that shimmers off the Puget Sound and mild winter temperatures that bring occasional snowfall. At 1.7 million people, King County is the state’s largest county, while 2.4 million people live in the greater Seattle metro area.

Dozens of recognizable names appear among the list of Seattle’s major employers, including The Boeing Company, Microsoft, Starbucks, Eddie Bauer, REI, K2, Alaska Air Group, Amazon.com, AT&T, SAFECO, and Costco. The University of Washington, another top employer, also is home to a nationally-respected medical community that is only one of the jewels of the city’s health care community, which includes the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Institute, Virginia Mason, Swedish Medical Center and many others.

Recreationally Speaking
Hiking and camping opportunities are close and plentiful in the nearby national parks, forests and other natural areas. Skiing, snowboarding biking, fishing, river rafting, kayaking, sailing and many other outdoor pursuits are also never far away.

Seattle is home to a wide array of professional and collegiate sports teams, including Major League Baseball’s Seattle Mariners, the National NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, the NBA’s Seattle Sonics, the WNBA’s Seattle Storm and the Seattle Sounders soccer team. A handful of minor league baseball and hockey teams are also scattered throughout the Puget Sound region. On the college sports scene, the University of Washington (Pac-10 Conference), Seattle University (Greater Northwest Athletic Conference), Seattle Pacific University (Greater Northwest Athletic Conference) and many other colleges and universities up and down Interstate 5 field a host of exciting men’s and women’s athletic teams.

Next to taking in a Mariner’s game at Safeco Field, one of the summer’s more popular events is the annual Seafair Celebration that culminates with an unlimited hydroplane race on Lake Washington in early August that draws throngs of boaters and tens of thousands of on-shore spectators.

Cultural Amenities
The Seattle Aquarium. The Center for Wooden Boats. Pike Place Market. The Seattle Symphony. Experience Music Project. The Museum of Flight. The list of cultural and educational opportunities goes on and on.

Loaded with nationally-respected opera, ballet, art galleries, museums, festivals and theatre, Seattle’s cultural scene is second to none. It has more theatres than any other comparably-sized U.S. city and its number of total performances trails only New York. Seattle’s annual International Film Festival is the largest in the country. You’re undoubtedly starting to get the picture, but just in case you wanted more, Seattle is also one of only six American cities major resident symphony, opera and ballet companies.

Fun Facts, Courtesy of the Seattle Convention and Visitor’s Bureau

• Washington State Ferries enjoy the distinction of being the nation’s largest ferry system and the state’s number one tourist attraction.
  
  
• Opening Day of Yachting Season (first Saturday in May) marks the beginning of Seattle most active outdoor season with University of Washington-hosted crew races and a witty parade that includes well-appointed yachts and leaky rowboats.
  
  
• Seattle does NOT lead U.S. cities in annual rainfall – that’s just a rumor perpetuated by wily residents. At 37 inches per year, it’s less than Miami (56 inches), New York (42), Atlanta (51) and Boston (41), to mention only a few.
  
  
• Seattle has more two-wheeled commuters than any other American city. Could be due to 30 miles of bike-pedestrian trails, 90 miles of signed bike routes, and 16 miles of bike lanes on city streets.
  
  
• Seattle is the #2 Fittest City in the U.S., according to Men’s Fitness Magazine (2003).
  
  
• With more than 300 courses in the state, golf continues to attract. Seattle hosted the PGA Golf Championships (1998) and the World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational (2002).
  
  
• Artists put the “see” in Seattle, where visitors encounter innovative and approachable public art, often in unexpected places. Some 190 galleries and 14 museums offer feasts for the senses, and galleries walks thrive in almost every neighborhood.
  
  
• Pike Place Market is a nine-acre National Historic District, and home to more than 100 farmers, 150 craftspeople, 300 commercial businesses, 500 residents – and 50 street performers.
  
  
• The world’s first Starbucks opened in Pike Place Market in 1971, and is still brewing up beans at the site.
  
  
• Seattle University was the first school in the nation to offer a Master’s Degree in software engineering (1979).
  
  
• Seattle has the country’s highest percentage rate of residents with a college degree, and one of the highest rates of home internet access.
  
  
• According to a recent Peter Jennings report, there are a million millionaires in the world today, and 10,000 of them are at Microsoft.