We wound up buying a fixer upper in Maple Leaf, a bit northwest of Ravenna. We were still close to Whole Paycheck but also gained the best coffee shop (Cloud City), hardware store (Maple Leaf Ace) and a great video store (Reckless). Downside to that house was that it was right on 80th which is pretty busy.

A few months ago we moved (again!!) to Crown Hill. At first it seemed like we were moving to the suburbs but we found a spacious house on a very quiet street where everyone seems to know each other. Bonus for us is having plenty of neighbors with small children. Since being here we”ve really come to love our new ”hood even more than Ravenna or Maple Leaf. We have the locally owned Ballard Market which is 20 blocks away in addition to a Safeway and QFC that are within 3 minutes walking distance. Also a great bakery (Larsen’’s). The local hardware store (Crown Hill Hardware) blows big time so I still have to schlep to Stone Way. Also miss have a great coffee shop and video store within close walking distance. Rain City video is great but not within walking distance. Cafe Fiore is a great coffee shop but at 15 blocks away it’’s a bit of a walk. We do gain from having so many fantastic parks nearby. Bicycling to work downtown is a snap since it’’s largely a downhill. Of course coming back is almost all uphill and with headwinds. Fortunately I can also take the 15 or 18 bus.

Walkability is so-so. Grocery options are not the best, though the PCC is a short bike ride away. It’’s got just about everything we need, but it’’s pretty expensive. Columbia City also has an excellent Farmer’’s Market May – October, as well as a _real_ butcher shop and a very yummy bakery. There are some nice restaurants in CC as well as a movie theater. My commute to work, Bike Works, is under two miles, depending on how I go – which I like, options for bike commute route, especially since it’’s so short. Katie takes the bus/bikes a few times a week to Wallingford, but also has to drives sometimes, since her works takes her to multiple locations hauling gardening tools and paraphernalia.

I like the diversity of our neighborhood (ethnic, religious, economic, etc.). Our neighbors are friendly, helpful, not nosey. We were able to buy a large lot with a smallish house for a very reasonable amount. Prices have risen in the last few years, but with the current real estate market, there are still some pretty nice places. We”ve been able to do so much with our yard and spend a lot of time out there during the warm weather months. We recently built a fire pit – if you have space and enough distance from your neighbors, I highly recommend it! I also like that my cat has a healthy stomping grounds.

We are walking distance to Lake Washington, two beaches and short biking distance to Seward Park, with it’’s beautiful hiking trails and beaches and vistas. It’’s easy to ride to the east side and all the beautiful roads. West Seattle is very accessible – I can get to the Fauntleroy ferry in about 45 minutes by bike.

Our neighborhood often gets a bad rap re: crime. I don”t really find it to be any worse than any other part of town. Maybe I”m unaware, but I prefer the quietude available to us down here over the busy ness of Captiol Hill/Belltown/University District/etc… I must admit, I don”t leave the south end all that much with work so close. But that just makes it more of an adventure to see the rest of the city and realize how rapidly things are developing and changing (for better and worse).

Public libraries are nearby. The Chief Sealth trail is nearby. I-90 trail access is also very close.

Sometimes, I wish we were closer to Ballard for the nightlife (one of my favorite venues is the Tractor) and Second Ascent and the used record store, as well as Golden Gardens. Again, this makes it more of an event to get out there, by bike or car.

I also wish we had a quality hardware store nearby. My first choice would be a place like Hardwick’’s, mentioned in Alex’’s blog.

Getting to the airport, which really isn”t that important to us anymore, is a short 20 minute drive. When the lightrail opens, it should be pretty convenient. I”m excited to be able to take it north of here as well, though I tend to avoid downtown under most circumstances.

Seattle is a great city, with lots of separate neighborhoods, each with their own qualities and attributes. I”m glad to be able to enjoy it by bike. Thanks for the blog Alex. It got me really thinking about how lucky we all are to live here!

What’’s interesting is that between then and now, we have had a daughter. And I can tell you that the amenities you think are important shift radically with an 18 month old. Groceries are, of course, still there. But I haven”t seen a movie (or a video) in over a year. Instead, I”m at the park a lot and walk to the Zoo a couple of times a month. It’’s nice to have a good park within walking distance and several more in riding distance (I just got an IBert for carrying her on the front of the bike) – and the city just bought a nice parcel north of us -http://www.seattle.gov/parks/proparks/projects/BallardPark.htm – which should be really nice when done.

Rory — I don”t know of the equivelent on the eastside. Maybe near downtown Kirkland. I think Issaquah is the nicest jumping off point for eastside riding, but I”ve never been impressed with it’’s walkability. Hopefully that will improve over time.

Interestingly, when Sweetie and I went house-shopping in ”03, the two considerations were how much we could afford (not much), and distance from my workplace (we told our realtor it could be no farther than 7 miles out because 14 miles RT was how far I was willing to commute by bicycle). We got lucky, and found a TINY fixer-upper five miles from work. We probably couldn”t buy our house today, and the neighborhood is still lacking many amenities within walking distance — though the Arbor Lodge New Seasons is an easy 2-mile bike ride away, the OVerlook farmers” market is about 3 miles away and we live on or very near at least three different bus routes. That all counts for a lot.

using wallingford as a stating point for utilitarian bike rides is great, since you can access a lot of different neighborhoods for shopping, and meeting friends. however, i would not rate it very high for longer/faster recreational cycling. you would have to ride somewhere between 10-20 miles to get to a nice country style ride with good climbs in it. Since i work on the east side, and i like this kind of riding better, i
m still considering moving over, but i still haven”t found the east side wallingford equivealent in bellevue/redmond/issaquah.

Redmond has grown up a lot in the last 10 years and I don”t really know it very well anymore. I hope it’’s improved. There seems to be a lot of commercial development, but most of it is still in the form of strip malls. Those are often very unfriendly to cycling and pedestrians.