ABOUT SEATTLE:

Seattle, the city where grunge music was born, has been known as the “Queen City”; the “Gateway to Alaska”; the “Rain City”; the “Jet City” (Boeing was founded there); and is currently called the “Emerald City”, due to the beautiful evergreen forests that characterize its surroundings. Located in the northwestern corner of the United States, the city has a privileged geographical position: it is one of the big metropolitan areas of this important country, it’s very close to Canada (and to one of its main cities, Vancouver) and it has a seaport on the Pacific Northwest region that communicates America with Asia and Oceania.

Seattle’s location and diversity have been two essential factors in the city’s development and currently importance as an economic, educational and cultural centre of the region. Not only it is known and respected for its famous coffee and for the fact that huge and great companies such as Starbucks and Boeing were born there, but also because other major organizations of the country and of the world have established their headquarters in the city. One good example is that six of the companies of the Fortune 500 list (the list of the largest firms in the country) of 2008 had their head offices in Seattle: Washington Mutual (97), Amazon.com (171), Starbucks (277), Nordstrom (299), Safeco Corporation (388) and Expeditors International (458). Also, other important companies of the Fortune 500 list such as Nintendo, Microsoft, T-Mobile, Weyerhaeuser and Costco are often connected to Seattle because they have their headquarters in the Puget Sound.

In 2006, Seattle was chosen by Expansion Magazine as one of the top ten metropolitan areas in the United States for climates favorable to business expansion. We at Day Translations are aware of the need that companies around the world have for interpreting and translation services of the best quality, in order to effectively build and strengthen commercial relations with other firms in important business and industrial cities such as Seattle. That is why we have built a professional team of expert certified translators and interpreters that are always available to become your business’ most useful communication tool and your cultural liaison to different places of the world.

Whether you need American English translation or interpretation services, we are here to assist you and to provide you everything you need for your specific projects in English and in any other language of the world. We have made sure that our translators and interpreters not only have excellent idiomatic command, but also wide international experience and great cultural knowledge, as well as familiarity with the business terminologies of the different industries.

Seattle is also a very well educated city; according to the United States Census Bureau, approximately 53.8% of Seattle’s inhabitants who are 25 years old or older hold a bachelor degree or higher, which gives the city the highest percentage of college graduates among every major city in the country…So, huge companies; several international fairs, festivals and events; some of the best universities in the world and a very diverse society come together to give Seattle very attractive elements for all those who are interested in expanding their markets and their business opportunities in the United States and the world.

Day Translations is here to assist you in that process and to make sure you communicate directly and effectively with those companies that you’re interested in. We welcome you to forget about all language and cultural barriers by using the best translation and interpretation services on the market.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT SEATTLE:

- According to the American Community Survey 2005-2007, Seattle’s population was divided like this: 71,1% were white Americans (64,9% of them were non-Hispanic); 15,4% were Asian Americans (13,4% of them were non-Hispanic); 12% were blacks or African Americans (11,5% of them were non-Hispanic); 6,2% were Hispanics and Latinos; 2,2% were American Indians; 0,8% were Pacific Islander Americans (0,6% of them were non-Hispanic); 3,1% were from other races; and 4,2% had two or more races (3,7% of them were non-Hispanic). Also, the 2000 census found that some of Seattle’s inhabitants have different origins such as German, Irish, English and Norwegian.

- English is the main language of 80,1% of the population of Seattle, followed by Spanish (4,2%), Mandarin (2,3%), Tagalog language (2%) and Vietnamese (1,9%).

- According to the 2000 census, Seattle had the fifth highest proportion (40,8%) of one-person households among the cities of 100.000 or more inhabitants in the United States.

- In 2005, Forbes magazine chose Seattle as the most expensive city to buy a house with base on the local income levels.

- Seattle is often compared to Rome because of what people say about the city lying on seven hills. For the case of Seattle, this is the most common list of the hills: First Hill, West Seattle, Capitol Hill, Queen Anne, Bacon Hill, Magnolia and the former Denny Hill.

- Over 150 Seattle listings are part of the National Register of Historic Places.

- In 2005, Men’s Fitness magazine chose Seattle as the fittest city in the United States.

- Over 30.000 Somali immigrants live in Seattle.

- In 2006, the University of Washington appeared as the twenty second best university in the world in a study by Newsweek International. This institution is also one of the country’s most important public research universities.

- These are some of Seattle’s annual festivals and events: the Bumbershoot art and musical festival during the Labor Day weekend; the Bite of Seattle, which is one of the largest gay parades in America; the Northwest Folklife; the Seattle International Film Festival; Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair & Book Arts Show several sea-fair events in summer; the Greek Festival; the Seattle Gay and Lesbian Film Festival; the Penny Arcade Expo gaming convention; and more.

- Seattle has become an important city for the cruise industry, since, along with Vancouver, it is one of the two main departure points for Alaska cruises (in 2008, Seattle even surpassed Vancouver in number of cruise passengers that passed through the city).

- Seattle has beaches, mountains and parks, as well as a very appropriate climate for all those who like outdoor activities such as hiking, cycling, walking, skiing, sailing, swimming, snowboarding, kayaking, motor boating, rock climbing, sailing.

- Seattle Symphony Orchestra is among the world’s symphony orchestras with the highest recording levels. Also, the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra (SYSO) is the largest youth symphonic organization in the United States.

THINGS TO DO, PLACES TO VISIT IN SEATTLE:

- Space Needle: Located at the Seattle Center, the Space Needle is the tallest structure in the North West region of the United States (605 feet / 184 m) and the most symbolic image of Seattle. It was built for the World’s Fair in 1962, inspired by the Stuttgart Tower of Germany. The structure is also famous for having been a part of the logo of the television series Frasier, of the background of shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Dark Angel, iCarly, and of the films Sleepless in Seattle and It Happened at the World’s Fair. Thousands of visitors go to Seattle and take the trip up to the Space Needle’s observation deck and to the rotating SkyCity restaurant.

- Pike Place Market: This public farmer’s market is one of the oldest in the United States and one of Seattle’s most popular tourist destinations, visited by ten million people every year. The market features many small shops and restaurants that offer very diverse products and fresh food, produced by those who sell them. It is a great place to go spend a whole morning, afternoon, or even a whole day, trying different things and buying cool stuff. Also, the first Starbucks store (the one that opened in 1971 when the company was founded) is located in Pike Place Market, a block away from its original location.

- Seattle Center: The Seattle Center is the area in which the Century 21 Exposition took place in 1962, and is currently a fairground; a civic, arts and entertainment center; and a park, in which many of Seattle’s activities, expositions, fairs and events take place. It has lots of attractions for tourists and visitors such as theatres, museums, a fountain, the Space Needle and many more. These are some of the festivals that the Seattle Center offers throughout the year: the Seattle’s International Children Festival, Festál, the Gay Pride, Winterfest, Bite of Seattle and Bumbershoot.

- Fremont Troll: Also known as the Troll Under the Bridge, the Fremont Troll is a piece of public art (literally a troll under the north end of the Aurora bridge) that was built by four Seattle artists in 1990, and that every year gathers many people on October 31st to celebrate the date with a mobile “Trollaween” party. This is a good place to take a picture as a souvenir of Seattle.

- Discovery Park: As the city’s largest public park, this green and blue natural area park offers forests, beaches and sand dunes that are great for resting and walking while viewing wildlife such as birds and marine mammals. Located on Magnolia Bluff, the park offers a great view of the Cascade and the Olympic mountain range, and is home to the

- Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center.

- Green Lake: This glacial lake is located on the Green Lake Park in north central Seattle and is the favorite place of thousands of people all over the city that go there every day to run, ride their bikes, skate, walk, have a picnic, see the trees and the animals, and more. It is also home to the Green Lake Small Craft Center.

- Alki Beach Park: The 2.5 mile beach goes from Alki Beach Point to Duwamish Head on Elliott Bay and offers picnic tables as well as a great area for walking, cycling, skating, jogging and more.

- Seattle Center Monorail: As a part of the Seattle skyline, the Seattle Center Monorail offers a two minute ride to travel the one mile distance that separates the two stations (Seattle Center station, across from the Space Needle, and Westlake Center Mall station, at Fifth and Pine Street) connecting downtown Seattle with the Seattle Center. This monorail claims to be the first full-scale commercial monorail system and the only fully self-sufficient public transit system in the United States, as well as the fastest full-sized monorail in the country.

- Pacific Science Center: This science museum is located on the Seattle Center and features several interactive and innovative exhibits about ecology, nature, environmental responsibility, math, technology, evolution and more.

- Seattle Art Museum (SAM): This art gallery has three different facilities: the main museum in downtown Seattle, the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM) in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill and the Olympic Sculpture Park on the Seattle waterfront, which has a free admission all the time. It is a great place to go see the collections and the exhibits that feature wonderful pieces of art.

- Woodland Park Zoo: This zoological garden is more than a hundred years old and, after the Bronx Zoo in New York, it is the one that has received the highest number of Best National Exhibit awards from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums in the United States. Featuring different exhibits that represent over three hundred species, the Woodland Park Zoo is divided into different bioclimatic zones from all around the world.

- Seattle Aquarium: Located on the Washington Elliot Bay waterfront, this public aquarium features several exhibits that teach and fight for the preservation of marine life on the planet.

- Seattle Underground Tour: This is an underground walking tour through Seattle’s old buildings and basements, those that just tourist attractions after the great fire of 1889.