Actually, the "time" from Seattle to LA is closer to 19 hours. The reason I say this is that my mom and I drive from Tacoma to Los Angeles at least once a year, and on average it takes us 18 hours without major traffic problems. And believe me, we book it and go as quickly as is humanly possible. Seattle is another forty minutes to an hour north of Tacoma, depending on traffic. I wonder sometimes where Mapquest gets its "timing" info? When traveling in LA, I usually double or triple their "estimated" times. Another thing you can factor into the comparison is that on the west coast, we have no train or subway system, so you have to drive everywhere. I'm under the impression that the East Coast has a fairly well established train system for commuters.

But the boutique stores makes total sense. I wish they would fully stock all of the outfits and cut out things like the cafe and hair salon, but ah well! I maybe don't want one in Seattle, for purely selfish reasons. Right now I can have my items shipped to Tacoma and avoid sales tax or, in LA, I can drive five minutes to the Grove and pick my stuff up there. If they add a Seattle store, it would be a pain to buy in WA. I'd either have to pay shipping + sales tax, or pay sales tax plus drive an hour and pay the ridiculous parking rates for Seattle which are insane.