I'm a New Yorker who went to Seattle for the first time. Here are 9 things that surprised me.

Business Insider's travel reporter took her first trip to Seattle, and it was full of surprises. Joey Hadden/Business Insider I visited Seattle for the first time in May 2025 after years of dreaming about it. The city in the Pacific Northwest surprised me as a New Yorker. I found a strange tourist attraction, a free banana stand, and a tech neighborhood full of nature. When my train arrived at Seattle's King Street Station on a sunny morning, I didn't expect the 1-mile walk to my downtown h...