With a towering futuristic Space needle as its emblem, Seattle pulsates with energy. A city born of brawny industries--logging, fishing and major maritime pursuits -- even its terrain speaks of strength. The steep hills have spawned generations of sturdy residents unafraid of challenges, from gold seekers and Alaskan explorers to fishermen.

Today, Seattle attracts high-techies to companies like Microsoft; it lures the keen international traders looking to the Pacific Rim; it entices the innovative engineer to the aircraft industry; and invites the active type of resident who loses no opportunity to hike, jog, ski, bicycle or paddle through the trails and waterways

Today's Seattle is fueled by espresso and microbrews and nurtured by the sheer beauty of 14,410-foot Mount Rainier, the towering, snowcapped Cascades mountains and an inland ocean, Puget Sound.

Evergreen forests frame the outer suburbs and accent parks and streets. The major highways I-5 and I-90 intersect in midtown to connect Seattle with the rest of the U.S., but Seattle has a feel of belonging more to the Pacific Rim and Asia than it does to East Coast America.

Yet with roots from the Midwest loggers and Scandinavian and Slavic fishermen who first came here, the life of Seattle has order and substance. There's a joy of living, an appreciation of space that permeates the place, with little of the decadence that comes from too little to do.

Entirely aware of its outdoor charms, Seattle has trail systems throughout the city for hiking and biking. Downtown's Lake Union and its much larger cousin, Lake Washington to the east, have rowboats and sailboats for rent, as well as private boats moored after negotiating the locks from salt water to lakes. Puget Sound and the islands provide hours and days of beachcombing and watersports, while day and night skiing in winter is only an hour away at Crystal Mountain, Snoqualmie summit and elsewhere. READ MORE