Who’s YOUR City? Blog

I was very happy to read that Seattle was ranked #5 on the Creativity Index, but surprised we didn’t have a listing here yet! I’m wondering if the Creativity Index has been updated since the booked was published, as I’m guessing we’ve moved up a notch or two.

The creativity coming out of Seattle right now is really amazing. We’re focusing a lot on collaborative arts events with musicians, dancers, live painters, slam poets, and more. Fremont Abbey Arts Center is one place those sorts of events have been nurtured but there are many other venues and nonprofits supporting the ‘multi-arts experience’. Youth Speaks, Seattle Poetry Slam, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, not to mention lots of fun gallery and art spaces in Georgetown and Beacon Hill. Come visit!

Sent by Nathan from Seattle

Spokane, Washington is an outstanding city. I grew up in the Spokane Valley, lived in downtown Spokane after college, moved away, and came back to live in a historic neighborhood on the South Hill.

We have a vibrant downtown with an expanding set of housing options (www.downtownspokane.net); four-season recreation; the beautiful Spokane River running right through the heart of downtown (www.friendsofthefalls.org); five higher education institutions, from the community colleges to a research university campus (Washington State University Spokane); cultural offerings from theater to symphony (www.spokanesymphony.org) and more; outstanding local restaurants (e.g. www.mizuna.com, www.latahbistro.com, www.catacombspub.com to name just three); historic neighborhoods with wonderful homes; a park system designed by the Olmsted Brothers firm; award-winning schools (www.spokaneschools.org); big, fun community events including the world’s largest 3-on-3 street basketball tournament (www.hoopfest.org) and the largest individually timed road race (www.bloomsday.org); and an active civic culture with lots of opportunities to volunteer.

That’s just for starters. I’m a fan.

The city isn’t without its challenges, including high poverty rates in some parts of town. But the community leaders are engaged and accessible, the local Chamber of Commerce (Greater Spokane Incorporated) takes quality of life issues seriously as part of its overall agenda, and there are tremendous opportunities here.

For more:
www.visitspokane.com
www.greaterspokane.org
www.downtownspokane.net

Sent by Barb from Spokane, Washington

I lived, loved and laughed in gorgeous, fun and hip Eugene, OR, for 20 years. Then…I met this man (music swells.) Well, he lived here in the Tri-Cities and had a great job, so I made the compromise. I moved to a place that I thought would suck my soul dry for so many, many reasons. No green, no culture of cool, no decent artisan bread bakery…OH! the list was endless for this dry, dusty, windy void of a desert. I cried for the first 6 months solid a nd just wanted to wither and die (and pretty much felt like I was going to get my wish.)

I do not remember the moment it came to me, but on one particular day, a little after my morning tears and coffee dried up, I heard myself tell myself: girlfriend, the grace that is to be found in ANY place on earth is the grace you BRING to it. I suddenly felt incredibly selfish and utterly childish. It is true…there are great matches between the personality of a city and the preferences we have for where we live. That was my Eugene experience all the way. But this little epiphany helped me to understand that if you offer your grace to the people and place you are at any moment you begin to be the instrument of change rather than sitting back and expecting it all to be laid out banquet style for the fulfillment of your desires.

I went forth, oh children, and made this place my own. I offered “me” to it, rather than standing with hands on hips reciting the mantra, “What’s in it for me??” No, it still can’t hold a candle of cool to my beloved Eugene, but it does hold my beloved….and, as I have since discovered, a vast canvas to paint my own vista upon.

May you all bring your grace to your place…

Sent by Lynn McDougal from Kennewick, WA