Seattle is very artsy. Here's 7 reasons for that.
1. Historical artisticness. It's got a history of producing great musicians and artists and performers, and people who want to follow in their footsteps. As a result, a likeminded community forms here, and allows art and culture to thrive.
2. Affordable housing. Living is not too expensive here. The dropoff of house prices is immediate as you drive out of the city core, unlike in Boston where even for the 10-15 mile radius of the city, the numbers barely change and poor artists cannot afford to live. Here, even folks doing gigs or selling their artwork at farmer's markets can dream of owning and living in a nice house they own.
3. Diverse industries. The big four of Microsoft Amazon Starbucks and Boeing rule the roost, but there's a tonne of other industries to be employed in here as well. This does not 'crowd out' the artistic talent, so other folks find the city interesting enough to hang around and do what they enjoying working on the most.
4. Institutions, private. The museums, performance halls, bars restaurants encourage a good mix of artists to put out their shows. They provide a great venue for talent. As a result, culture thrives in here.
5. Institutions, public. The Seattle and Washington governments understand that art and culture are assets to the city, and put great investment in public art, performance, and encouraging those that are artistically inclined.
6. Heritage tourism. Tourists come to Seattle for its art and culture. As a result, they are willing to pay money and patronize the local artists and performers. Which creates a market for them.
7. Mass media. Sort of a corollary of #6. Because mass media portrays Seattle as a center of art and culture, people throng here to make a living in the arts. And audiences come here to become a part of those experience.
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