Today is two-thirds of the way through my exchange here (scary how fast time goes), so I wanted to post a few thoughts on my experiences so far and in particular the similarities and differences between my home city/School and Seattle/UW.
I've titled this post "Northwest by Northwest" because, well, my home school Manchester Business School is located in the region known as Northwest England, and UW... Do you see where I'm going with this?
Similarities in regional terminology notwithstanding, the 5000 mile journey from England's Northwest to the Pacific Northwest represents a large distance geographically and, I had imagined, somewhat of a distance culturally. However, this isn't necessarily the case.
Aside from all the usual USA vs UK differences and similarities that we all know and love, I was actually surprised at how much Seattle and the UW quickly felt like home.
I wanted to share a few of the things that have led me to this feeling and to give some insights into my home city/School in the UK...
Economy
Seattle and Manchester are both erstwhile industrial bases with populations of around .5M (2.5M in the urban areas) and which are now, to varying degrees, succeeding in and helping to shape the modern economy. In this respect Seattle is far ahead, boasting globally renowned firms such as Microsoft, Amazon and Starbucks. Manchester is aiming to emulate this type of model - not necessarily copying Seattle but sharing an understanding of what is required to succeed in an information-driven world.
Interestingly, Alan Turing "the father of modern computing" was based at Manchester University and, in the late 1940s, his ideas led to the creation of the first stored-program computer. It's not clear whether this was codenamed Windows 48, although I am sure his concept for a stored computer program would not have been lost on Bill Gates.
Rolls-Royce which makes jet engines for Boeing airplanes (and formerly of automobile fame until BMW/VW acquired the rights to the name) was founded in Manchester, and is still based pretty close to the city.
Politics/Demographics
Like Seattle, Manchester is renowned as a stronghold for liberal politics and free thinking. Manchester is the birthplace of the British liberally-minded newspaper The Guardian and, in recent years, the Labour Party (i.e. the current government) has held its major conferences in the city.
With significant regeneration in the past decade, Manchester is now considered by many to be the UK's second city (London being the first). It is also home to the largest student population in Europe so it can feel pretty empty in the summer when the 100,000 or so students it is home to are on vacation!
Culture
Both cities also share a reputation for music, in particular guitar music, becoming famous in the 1980/90s with the worldwide success of Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam mirrored by Manchester counterparts The Smiths, New Order and Oasis. One theory on this is that the damp climate common to both cities means that people stay indoors and play music rather than going outside in the rain. Apparently rock stars don't like umbrellas.
Oh, and then there is the Seattle-based sitcom Frasier. In the show, Frasier (played by Kelsey Grammer) has a housekeeper Daphne who is supposedly from Manchester, England. The actress (Jane Leeves) who plays Daphne is British but not actually from Manchester. Ironically, it turns out that the actor (John Mahoney) who plays Frasier's father (Martin) actually *is* from Manchester but he sounds American. If you understand all that you probably don't need to phone a radio psychiatry talk show after all.
Summary
In all seriousness, there are many, many differences between the two cities but it's also interesting to note the similarities. From what I have seen so far, Seattle has much better scenery, air quality, produce, and a more relaxed and positive attitude to life than Manchester. There are also great career opportunities here in technology and startups - an area that I'd like to pursue.
So why do I love being at UW?
Well again, many similarities to my home school come to mind. Both are b-schools that are part of larger universities (around 40,000 students), and both have around 100 students on the FT MBA programme. Amazingly, both universities have purple and gold as their colours so my wardrobe now has even more purple items in there. They don't go with anything else in my wardrobe (I assume that goes for pretty much everyone), but are excellent for helping you stand out in a crowd of non-Huskies. On second thoughts, I'm not sure that is such a positive thing.
The Manchester campus is urban (only 10 minutes walk to Downtown), whereas the UW campus is, well perhaps, somewhat urbane! However, I'm beginning to think that b-schools get some of the worst buildings on campus - both schools have that in common. I'll have to come back and check out the new buildings at UW once they are completed so that I can be proven wrong...
The one thing that I love most about both schools is the people. From the very first day at UW, everyone has been so friendly and helpful. I did a little research before coming here and it sounded as if that was the case, but I was still pleasantly surprised at just how friendly everyone was (and is) and also at how much colleagues at both schools like to party.
It (both the friendliness and the partying) has made my experience here truly unforgettable - not that is over with yet. I guess that the reasons that I love my home School are also the reasons that I love being at UW.
Final Thoughts
Okay, that's great but "why?", I hear you ask, "why come to Seattle/UW if there are so many similarities"?
Well, for one thing it's probably easier to find fish and chips, pale ale and a tea shop in Seattle than it is in most UK cities...
But, as a caffeine-devotee, the answer for me is simple: Seattle has the best coffee.
I've titled this post "Northwest by Northwest" because, well, my home school Manchester Business School is located in the region known as Northwest England, and UW... Do you see where I'm going with this?
Similarities in regional terminology notwithstanding, the 5000 mile journey from England's Northwest to the Pacific Northwest represents a large distance geographically and, I had imagined, somewhat of a distance culturally. However, this isn't necessarily the case.
Aside from all the usual USA vs UK differences and similarities that we all know and love, I was actually surprised at how much Seattle and the UW quickly felt like home.
I wanted to share a few of the things that have led me to this feeling and to give some insights into my home city/School in the UK...
Economy
Seattle and Manchester are both erstwhile industrial bases with populations of around .5M (2.5M in the urban areas) and which are now, to varying degrees, succeeding in and helping to shape the modern economy. In this respect Seattle is far ahead, boasting globally renowned firms such as Microsoft, Amazon and Starbucks. Manchester is aiming to emulate this type of model - not necessarily copying Seattle but sharing an understanding of what is required to succeed in an information-driven world.
Interestingly, Alan Turing "the father of modern computing" was based at Manchester University and, in the late 1940s, his ideas led to the creation of the first stored-program computer. It's not clear whether this was codenamed Windows 48, although I am sure his concept for a stored computer program would not have been lost on Bill Gates.
Rolls-Royce which makes jet engines for Boeing airplanes (and formerly of automobile fame until BMW/VW acquired the rights to the name) was founded in Manchester, and is still based pretty close to the city.
Politics/Demographics
Like Seattle, Manchester is renowned as a stronghold for liberal politics and free thinking. Manchester is the birthplace of the British liberally-minded newspaper The Guardian and, in recent years, the Labour Party (i.e. the current government) has held its major conferences in the city.
With significant regeneration in the past decade, Manchester is now considered by many to be the UK's second city (London being the first). It is also home to the largest student population in Europe so it can feel pretty empty in the summer when the 100,000 or so students it is home to are on vacation!
Culture
Both cities also share a reputation for music, in particular guitar music, becoming famous in the 1980/90s with the worldwide success of Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam mirrored by Manchester counterparts The Smiths, New Order and Oasis. One theory on this is that the damp climate common to both cities means that people stay indoors and play music rather than going outside in the rain. Apparently rock stars don't like umbrellas.
Oh, and then there is the Seattle-based sitcom Frasier. In the show, Frasier (played by Kelsey Grammer) has a housekeeper Daphne who is supposedly from Manchester, England. The actress (Jane Leeves) who plays Daphne is British but not actually from Manchester. Ironically, it turns out that the actor (John Mahoney) who plays Frasier's father (Martin) actually *is* from Manchester but he sounds American. If you understand all that you probably don't need to phone a radio psychiatry talk show after all.
Summary
In all seriousness, there are many, many differences between the two cities but it's also interesting to note the similarities. From what I have seen so far, Seattle has much better scenery, air quality, produce, and a more relaxed and positive attitude to life than Manchester. There are also great career opportunities here in technology and startups - an area that I'd like to pursue.
So why do I love being at UW?
Well again, many similarities to my home school come to mind. Both are b-schools that are part of larger universities (around 40,000 students), and both have around 100 students on the FT MBA programme. Amazingly, both universities have purple and gold as their colours so my wardrobe now has even more purple items in there. They don't go with anything else in my wardrobe (I assume that goes for pretty much everyone), but are excellent for helping you stand out in a crowd of non-Huskies. On second thoughts, I'm not sure that is such a positive thing.
The Manchester campus is urban (only 10 minutes walk to Downtown), whereas the UW campus is, well perhaps, somewhat urbane! However, I'm beginning to think that b-schools get some of the worst buildings on campus - both schools have that in common. I'll have to come back and check out the new buildings at UW once they are completed so that I can be proven wrong...
The one thing that I love most about both schools is the people. From the very first day at UW, everyone has been so friendly and helpful. I did a little research before coming here and it sounded as if that was the case, but I was still pleasantly surprised at just how friendly everyone was (and is) and also at how much colleagues at both schools like to party.
It (both the friendliness and the partying) has made my experience here truly unforgettable - not that is over with yet. I guess that the reasons that I love my home School are also the reasons that I love being at UW.
Final Thoughts
Okay, that's great but "why?", I hear you ask, "why come to Seattle/UW if there are so many similarities"?
Well, for one thing it's probably easier to find fish and chips, pale ale and a tea shop in Seattle than it is in most UK cities...
But, as a caffeine-devotee, the answer for me is simple: Seattle has the best coffee.
2 comments:
We should create a coffee map of Seattle before you leave. Then we will create a coffee map of the entire world together in the future.
I like it :) Everyone who goes on exchange can submit their findings!
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