To christen this weblog, I figured I ought to write a little something about the main inspiration.  The fact of the matter is I could probably list a million and one reasons why Seattle is ‘the best city in America’, but it would be a long, didactic, undisciplined post.  So instead I’ll focus on one aspect at a time, and do my best to enumerate the myriad benefits found in each one.

The first answer to “Why Seattle?” has just a little bit to do with this site, hence why I’ve chosen it.  Seattle is the most literate city in the United States. Well, okay, so technically it’s tied for most literate city with Minneapolis currently, but in prior years it has donned the crown solo, which leads me to deem it the undisputed champ.

The most well-known definition of “literate” means simply a knowledge of how to read and write.  However the study that ranks the “most literate” cities isn’t just judging literacy by that definition alone.  Literate also means having knowledge of literature, or  having an education in general.  This concept of education lends itself to a great many reasons as to why Seattle is superior, but I won’t go into that right now.

At its base level, literacy is a necessary skill for a populace to be reasonably productive in this day and age.  Illiterate workers cannot effectively communicate or follow written instructions.  For the literate individual who grew up among educated peers, it may seem laughable that someone with a high school diploma couldn’t read an instruction manual, but it happens.  Having a literate populace not only guarantees a certain level of education, but it also promotes continuing education.

At higher levels of literacy, in which the populace is actually fond of reading or writing as subjects in and of themselves, there is even more to be gained.  Reading, in general, functions to make an individual more cultured and open-minded by exposing them to a variety of ideas, philosophies, and beliefs.  Writing is simply the best known medium for expressing oneself known to man, and any pursuit in that direction is a step towards better communication.  The qualities of being open minded and highly capable of communicating are two essential elements that make up functional communities.

With all that said, you have to wonder why levels of literacy aren’t a higher determining factor on most people’s rankings of places to live…