Seattle, A Business City

> There is several famous companies that are based in the Seattle area. Starbucks, Amazon, and Microsoft are known throughout the world. 

What makes Seattle a good place to base or start a business? In this part, you'll read about Seattle from a business perspective. 

The Seattle area is home to some of the world's most famous companies, Microsoft, Starbucks and Amazon are just three. So what makes Seattle such a good place to do business? There are a number of reasons. 

Seattle is located on the west coast of the United States On Puget Sound, which is connected to the Pacific Ocean. It has one of the largest ports in the country and is the closest US port to Asia. It also has good connections to Alaska and Canada as well as the rest of the US. 

Seattle has a busy and growing international airport with direct flights to cities in Asia, Europe and the Middle East as well as major US cities. In fact, it takes about the same time to travel to Europe as to Asia from Seattle. 

Seattle's on the west side of Washington State with good connections to the major agricultural areas in the eastern part of the state. 

Because of its location, Seattle has a long history of international trade. In fact, 40% of jobs in Seattle are related to international trade. It is truly a global trade hub.

Seattle has a highly skilled and educated workforce. There are over 175,000 people working in the tech industry in the Seattle area and it has the biggest groups of aerospace workers in the U.S. The University of Washington, which has its main campus in Seattle, is one of the top research universities in the world. It's also an active promoter of start-ups to develop new products and technologies. This has led to the Seattle area being one of the main recipients of investment from venture capitalists outside of California. 

Seattle is home to leading research centers in health care and biotechnology. This all makes Seattle a center for innovation and entrepreneurship, especially in the fields of technology, healthcare, and aerospace. 

Seattle is an attractive place to live. It's surrounded by water and mountains. There are many opportunities for outdoor recreation, hiking, skiing, boating. The climate is mild throughout the year. Although it rains more than in other places, this gives Seattle its nickname of the Emerald City. 

There's a thriving cultural scene. Seattle is famous for it's music, film festival and performing arts. It's also home to major sports teams and is known around the world for it's coffee, beer and wine. 

This quality of life means that people and companies are attracted to Seattle. Major companies like Google and Facebook have opened offices in Seattle in recent years, and Seattle-based companies like Amazon are continuing to grow and attract professionals to the area. 

Now, see if you can answer these questions about the text that you just read. 

Let's take a look at some useful vocabulary. 

If a company is based in a city, it has its head office there. 

>> Amazon is based in Seattle. Starbucks is based in Seattle. 

>> A hub is a location where there is a lot of activity, especially with connections to other locations. 

A global trade hub is a center of international trade. 

A major technology hub is where there are a lot of companies involved with technology. 

>> Seattle is a global trade hub. 

Seattle is a major technology hub. 

>> A workforce is the group of people who are available to work in an area. 

If the workforce is very skilled or educated, we can say it is highly skilled or educated. 

>> Seattle has a highly skilled workforce. 

Seattle has a highly educated workforce. 

A startup is a small business that has just started. Usually, startups try to get people to invest money in their company. These people are called venture capitalists. 

>> Seattle has many technology startups. Startups look for investment from venture capitalists. 

>> If we describe something as leading, it means that it is the best, or most successful. 

>> Seattle is a leading research center in healthcare. 

The University of Washington is a leading research institution. 

>> If a place is described as a center for something, it's well known for that activity. >> Seattle is a center for innovation and entrepreneurship. Seattle is a center for green technology. >> A thriving scene means there's a lot happening with that activity. For example, because Seattle has a lot of bands, music venues, and even a record company, we can say it has a thriving music scene. >> Seattle has a thriving cultural scene. Seattle has a thriving musical scene. 

If there are many opportunities for something or opportunities to do something, people can do these things easily because there are a lot of options. 

>> There are many opportunities for outdoor recreation. There are many opportunities to attend cultural events. Look at these pictures, and choose the label that fits the picture.