Cultural Center
October 26, 2012 4:36 PM Subscribe
Where's the scene?
Is there a cultural hotspot in the US right now similar to Seattle was in the 90s?
Is there a cultural hotspot in the US right now similar to Seattle was in the 90s?
What did you like about Seattle in the 90s?
posted by 2bucksplus at 4:46 PM on October 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by 2bucksplus at 4:46 PM on October 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
Since moving to Portland I have heard dozens of times that Portland is what was Seattle 10-20 years ago.
posted by munchingzombie at 5:23 PM on October 26, 2012
posted by munchingzombie at 5:23 PM on October 26, 2012
Response by poster: It's not that I liked it but it seems that is where everyone wanted to be.
posted by skwint at 5:30 PM on October 26, 2012
posted by skwint at 5:30 PM on October 26, 2012
Brooklyn (today's hipster)
Boulder / Pittsburgh (tomorrow's hipster)
posted by nickrussell at 5:38 PM on October 26, 2012
Boulder / Pittsburgh (tomorrow's hipster)
posted by nickrussell at 5:38 PM on October 26, 2012
Portland or Brooklyn.
Possibly somewhere in the nexus of Silverlake/Echo Park in LA though I don't hear as many people openly wishing they could relocate to there from other parts of the US. That seems like more The Scene if you already live in Southern California.
I feel like Detroit is going to be huge in another 10 years.
posted by Sara C. at 6:39 PM on October 26, 2012
Possibly somewhere in the nexus of Silverlake/Echo Park in LA though I don't hear as many people openly wishing they could relocate to there from other parts of the US. That seems like more The Scene if you already live in Southern California.
I feel like Detroit is going to be huge in another 10 years.
posted by Sara C. at 6:39 PM on October 26, 2012
Don't buy the hype of marketers hired by Portland and Brooklyn.
You want to know where to go next? Follow the geeks. As bizarre as it sounds - Chicago.
And no, I don't live anywhere near there, so no interest in promoting it.
posted by pla at 7:00 PM on October 26, 2012
You want to know where to go next? Follow the geeks. As bizarre as it sounds - Chicago.
And no, I don't live anywhere near there, so no interest in promoting it.
posted by pla at 7:00 PM on October 26, 2012
I would argue that the question on its face is fallacious. If you wanted to play guitar while wearing flannel in 1992, then, sure, Seattle was a good place to hang out in but so was Raleigh/Chapel Hill and Boston. If you were an electronic musician, you would have been better served by living in Detroit or San Francisco. If you wanted to be at the center of the hot new digital zeitgeist that exploded at the same time? No doubt, San Francisco or maybe New York.
This is a country of 250+ million people. They all can't want to live in one city. Find what -you- like, and find others who like the same thing and move there and create culture -with- them. Don't go somewhere hoping just to be a scenester and a hanger on.
With all that said, New York now eclipses the sort of influence that Seattle had in the 90s.
posted by bl1nk at 7:26 PM on October 26, 2012 [6 favorites]
This is a country of 250+ million people. They all can't want to live in one city. Find what -you- like, and find others who like the same thing and move there and create culture -with- them. Don't go somewhere hoping just to be a scenester and a hanger on.
With all that said, New York now eclipses the sort of influence that Seattle had in the 90s.
posted by bl1nk at 7:26 PM on October 26, 2012 [6 favorites]
I know A LOT of hipster doofuses who haved moved to Chicago in the past five years. I keep hearing Pittsburgh, have yet to notice an influx. I moved to Buffalo assuming if Pittsburgh was hip, Buffalo would follow. Moved in a "I was here before all these people" kind of way. Not so much, but it does have a charming mini-scene.
Other up and coming contenders: 100% agree about Detroit, and I'll throw out Minneapolis/St. Paul. And Omaha? I was hearing about Omaha a lot a few years back but seems it's died down?
posted by peacrow at 7:51 PM on October 26, 2012
Other up and coming contenders: 100% agree about Detroit, and I'll throw out Minneapolis/St. Paul. And Omaha? I was hearing about Omaha a lot a few years back but seems it's died down?
posted by peacrow at 7:51 PM on October 26, 2012
Detroit, definitely.
posted by joan_holloway at 8:17 PM on October 26, 2012
posted by joan_holloway at 8:17 PM on October 26, 2012
Yep, Detroit.
posted by Brody's chum at 8:37 PM on October 26, 2012
posted by Brody's chum at 8:37 PM on October 26, 2012
In Detroit, never leave your house without a gun.
Not anymore, perhaps? There are some interesting hackerspaces popping up in the area. I'm not sure it's quite poised to be the next cultural hotspot, but I'd be very pleased if it were!
posted by Juffo-Wup at 8:47 PM on October 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
Not anymore, perhaps? There are some interesting hackerspaces popping up in the area. I'm not sure it's quite poised to be the next cultural hotspot, but I'd be very pleased if it were!
posted by Juffo-Wup at 8:47 PM on October 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
I've heard Youngstown is following in the footsteps of Detroit to an extent -- like Detroit, it has a bad rap and failed economy, so it's super-cheap to live there... which is highly desired by those making a very small living being painters and guitar-players and whatnot.
posted by jorlyfish at 9:04 PM on October 26, 2012
posted by jorlyfish at 9:04 PM on October 26, 2012
AskMefites seem to be answering a different question than you're asking. If I understand you, you want to know what city is presented in the national mass pop consciousness as the "hip and happening" destination. (Remember the Onion headline satirizing early-'90s hype, "Seattle Parking Lot Named Coolest Parking Lot In America"?) The answer to that is currently Brooklyn, New York.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 9:37 PM on October 26, 2012
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 9:37 PM on October 26, 2012
Detroit, MI
Baltimore, MD
Pittsburgh, PA
Omaha, NE
Marfa, TX
Unfortunately, I think Silver Lake is going to be sucked into the LA machine.
If this is a music oriented thing be sure to ask people in touring bands what there impressions
are?
posted by coolxcool=rad at 1:46 AM on October 27, 2012
Baltimore, MD
Pittsburgh, PA
Omaha, NE
Marfa, TX
Unfortunately, I think Silver Lake is going to be sucked into the LA machine.
If this is a music oriented thing be sure to ask people in touring bands what there impressions
are?
posted by coolxcool=rad at 1:46 AM on October 27, 2012
... Portland.
Well, Brooklyn, too, but as a New Yorker, the influence of Portland has seemed more significant/I've seen folks leave NY for Portland.
posted by Cracky at 2:28 AM on October 27, 2012
Well, Brooklyn, too, but as a New Yorker, the influence of Portland has seemed more significant/I've seen folks leave NY for Portland.
posted by Cracky at 2:28 AM on October 27, 2012
I don't know about Brooklyn as far as music scene is concerned. I lived there for 5 months and I was a bit disappointed.
posted by lhude sing cuccu at 9:38 AM on October 27, 2012
posted by lhude sing cuccu at 9:38 AM on October 27, 2012
Hm, it seems to me that it depends on the area on which you live as far as "hotspots" go. In Pennsylvania, it seems to be hip to move to NYC or Phila. In my area, it's hip to move to Portland or NorCal (which is where most of the people I've known from this area have moved). It's interesting to hear others say Detroit or Pittsburg.... I never would have guessed that, personally. Also, seconding the myth surrounding Seattle being "the" place to be in the 90's. I'd say there were quite a few sought after places then... not just Seattle.
posted by camylanded at 8:43 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by camylanded at 8:43 PM on October 27, 2012 [1 favorite]
In terms of media hype, it's surely Brooklyn, followed closely by Portland. Parts of LA, SF, Austin, Chicago, Philly, too, and Detroit or Pittsburgh maybe for a certain sort of person.
The difference now, though, is hype is so fast-moving and omnipresent that it's basically impossible for a place to be considered "cool" without generating an immediate backlash. So, yeah, Brooklyn and Portland are "hip," but most people (very much including people in Brooklyn and Portland) mostly like to laugh at hipsters, so I don't think either one seems like the mecca that Seattle did in the early 90s.
I was a little kid in the early 90s, though, so you should probably take my opinion with a grain of salt.
posted by breakin' the law at 10:51 AM on October 29, 2012
The difference now, though, is hype is so fast-moving and omnipresent that it's basically impossible for a place to be considered "cool" without generating an immediate backlash. So, yeah, Brooklyn and Portland are "hip," but most people (very much including people in Brooklyn and Portland) mostly like to laugh at hipsters, so I don't think either one seems like the mecca that Seattle did in the early 90s.
I was a little kid in the early 90s, though, so you should probably take my opinion with a grain of salt.
posted by breakin' the law at 10:51 AM on October 29, 2012
Response by poster: So Brooklyn, Portland, Detroit, Chicago, Philly, etc. I have to laugh that Pittsburgh is included on the list because i just left there. It is really starved for any kind of music at all. Some of the neighborhoods are trying to create a hipster culture and I thought it was very contrived. I've also lived in Austin and its more apparently a marketing plan there. I think they've created a monster of overpopulation because of the faux-culture. Seattle probably was a myth. Thank you, everyone.
posted by skwint at 7:20 AM on November 6, 2012
posted by skwint at 7:20 AM on November 6, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by migurski at 4:38 PM on October 26, 2012