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Seattle is the largest city in the State of Washington, northernmost major metropolitan area in the United States, and one of the largest on the West Coast of North America. With a population of 617about 618,334 000 and a metro population of 3.5 million, it is the 23th most populated city in the United States. Seattle is also home to the most diverse ZIP code (98118) in the country, with 59 languages spoken within it's borders.

Seattle is situated on the beautiful Puget Sound. Seattle is just a few hours east of the Olympic Nation Forest, home to some of the world's largest temperate rain forests, and is also about 1 1/2 hours west of the Cascade Mountain Range. Seattle is served by many different transit agencies ([http://transit.metrokc.gov King County Metro] is the main transit agency in the city, along with [http://www.soundtransit.org Sound Transit]/[http://www.commtrans.org Snohomish County Community Transit]/[http://www.piercetransit.org Pierce County Transit]/[http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries Washington State Ferries]) offering buses, trains, light rail, tram lines, bus rapid transit, and ferries. One bonus for weary travelers travellers is the downtown ride free area, which serves all of downtown Seattle until 7pm 19:00 daily. All buses are free of charge in the ride free area. Link; however, is not.

There is plenty to do and see in Seattle if you are not just passing through. Of course you will want to visit the world famous Pike Place Market or Seattle Center, but those are not the only attractions for travelerstravellers. Seattle is very welcoming to travelers travellers as it is a city of transplants. Venture out of downtown and you will be very happy that you did. Take a bus out to Wallingford and see Gas Works Park on Lake Union or head on over to the Republic of Fremont (the center centre of the Universe) and visit the Troll under the Aurora Bridge. Sample the delicious (and cheap!) foods in the International District and lounge around in one of the city's many parks.

Transit in the U-District is some of the best in the city. Downtown is a 15 minute bus ride away during most hours. Buses run on regular schedule usually until 1 01:00 or 2 am 02:00 on weekdays, the U-District is one of the only neighborhoods neighbourhoods with Owl (night) buses running through it. Owl buses run overnight, usually about once an hour.

Now, the University District is not the only place in Seattle to find hitch hikers, buskers, and the like. Capitol Hill is another area of town frequented by hitch hikers. Capitol Hill is the city's most densely populated neighborhoodneighbourhood, center centre of gay rights, and home to many Seattle artists, musicians and travelerstravellers. Due to it's diversity and wealth of parks, Capitol Hill is an ideal place for hitch hikers to crash, get a bite to eat, get a drink, or just hang out. The proximity to downtown is also hard to beat. A multitude of bus lines (including an Owl bus) run through Capitol Hill and Central Link light rail is a 10 minute walk down the hill. The First Hill Streetcar will be arriving on Capitol Hill in 2013 and the University Link light rail line will be following in 2016. Adjacent First Hill also has world class medical facilities, including Harborview Medical Center (The Northwest's only Level 1 trauma centercentre).

The main thoroughfares on Capitol Hill are Broadway/15th Ave (going North/South) and Pike St/Pine St/Denny Way/E John St/Madison St (Going East/West). Your best bet to score some cheap food is on Broadway. Many hitch hikers and buskers hang out in front of [http://www.ddir.com Dick's Drive-In] on Broadway. Cheap burgers and open til 2 amuntil 02:00. The best parks to sleep in would be Volunteer Park (Located in a very affluent part of Capitol Hill) and Interlaken Park. Ask any local and they can point you in the right direction.

* There are exceptional on-ramps to I-5 in the University District, from within Seattle. [[User:amylin| amylin]] got a ride from Seattle to [[Portland (Oregon)|Portland]] from the on-ramp to I-5 South at NE 45th St & 5th Ave. There is a busy intersection at this point, in which vehicles stop and make turns onto the on-ramp, from 3 directions. The space for cars to pullover is not the best, depending on the amount of parked cars. The onramp going North at this same location is also recommended, and many hikers use it to get to [[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]] (There is also a Vancouver, Washington. To minimize confusion all road signs for Vancouver, British Columbia are labeled "Vancouver, B.C."). The only drawback to this location is that there are frequently homeless people, who beg for food or money, nearby, and drivers may be reluctant to pick up hitchhikers in the presence of so many "unpresentable" people. [[User:TBF| TBF]] also got a direct ride to Portland from this spot in Dec 2016, holding a big sign with lots of decorations. The homeless people from the neighborhood were enforcing a 30-minute rotation where one person could stand on the ramp begging for money at a time, and switch people every half hour. When I first stood near the intersection where there's a pullout on the left side, a guy approached me and told me that I would have to wait my turn to join the roto. They were all very friendly and warned that the junkies hang out at the next ramp north. The next guy in the roto didn't mind me hitchhiking while he begged for money further down the ramp, and I got a ride to Portland in about half an hour. It might be better to stand on the right side of the road (for drivers--left side for hitchhikers) because then you're more visible to cars coming from any direction.

* for hitching NORTH to Vancouver: you can take bus 510 or 512 from the downtown (4th & Pike, 4th & Union, 6& Olive way, University district) for 3.75$ all the way to Everett. Takes about one hour. From Everett main station you need to walk for about 15-20min until the on-ramp to I-5 (on Everett Ave). Pretty good spot, there's a shoulder for cars to stop, enough traffic coming in.  If you're heading South on I-5: [[Oregon]] is the only a state in the US where it's is legal to walk on the highway.