Seattle's Urban Villages

My journey to "The Center of the Universe" the third day after I moved to Seattle....

I moved to Seattle the fall of 1994 not knowing a soul in town.   But when I arrived my best friend who had moved to Lewiston, Idaho a few years before, met me at my new apt. in a suburb of Seattle - Tukwila.   

It was in the afternoon when I pulled in the parking lot driving the huge rental moving van and pulling the trailer with my VW Bug (the late Bugasaurus).  My friend helped me unload the van, and some nice neighbor guys helped with some larger things.  The following day my friend and I unpacked and set up my home for the 15 months until I was ready to buy a home in Seattle.

My third day was the beginning of my Seattle Adventure of exploring what I now call Seattle's Urban Villages.... 

We went to Fremont, self proclaimed Center of the Universe!  There, resides the Giant Troll hiding under Aurora Bridge, a kitschy 53 foot rocket ship stands ready at launch, and a statue of Lenin is frozen mid-stride in a plaza.  Fremont also hosts it's annual Solstice Parade (June 16th) with it's wild and fun celebrants both on the street and along the sidewalks, and as the Fremont Chamber of Commerce notes, Fremont is "Far from Normal".

We explored shops like Les Amis, Deluxe Junk, and Fremont Antique Mall, that are still our favorites to stop by every time we visit.  I had my first Thai food that day and of course my first official cup of coffee in Seattle!

This funky and fun introduction to Seattle began what would eventually transform into my interest in sharing Seattle's Urban Villages to the world with blogging and, as a Seattle Real Estate Agent, allow me to help my buyer clients know where to look when buying a home in Seattle that best suits their goals and lifestyle.

The Grand Opening of SAM: The Seattle Art Museum

I AM SAM, YOU ARE SAM, WE ARE ALL SAM TOGETHER....

The Grand Opening of SAM: The Seattle Art Museum

The Seattle Art Museum, SAM, will be celebrating it's Grand Opening May 5th & 6th.  The museum has been closed for it's expansion, and is now almost ready for it's Grand Opening Debut next week.  This has been a very busy year so far for SAM, because earlier this year in January the Museum celebrated the Grand Opening of it's new outdoor sculpture park in Belltown.  The Olympic Sculpture Park opened during a sunny winter weekend with large crowds of Seattleites roaming the Park. 

SAM will be open for 35 straight hours beginning 10AM on Saturday May 5th until 11:59 PM on Sunday evening.   There will be music, and other live entertainment for Art lovers and admission to the main museum will be free.  The special exhibits in the Galleries will require entry tickets.  Should be a fun adventure in Downtown Seattle so come by!

One of the benefits of living in one of the close-in Urban Villages in Seattle (Belltown, Queen Anne, Capitol Hill are especially close by) is that it's easy to enjoy great events like this one will be. 

Montlake...

Montlake, one of Seattle's Urban Villages...

  ... is where I have been spending a lot of time these past few weeks.  I am working with some out of state sellers as their Seattle Real Estate Agent to prepare their house to enter the Seattle Real Estate market when we list their Montlake home for sale later this spring.  It has been an interesting project for me and it will be exciting to see it to it's conclusion.   

  The Montlake neighborhood lies just south of the University of Washington across from the Montlake cut, north and down the hill from Capitol Hill, east of Portage Bay and Eastlake, and west of the Arboretum and Lake Washington.  It has great accessibility to Downtown Seattle, as well as Bellevue and The Eastside via the 520 freeway which runs through Montlake...in an interesting way. The freeway is mostly bridges over water and provides motorists with some great views of wildlife on their commute!

The homes, built mostly in the 1920's, are made up of brick Tudor and Craftsman styles of single family homes.  The market history for the month of March has just sixteen total homes comprising it.  The eight that are active as of April 1st range between $549,000 to $879,000.  Three are STI (Subject To Inspection) ranging between $847,000 and $1,250,000, Four are Pending ranging between $609,900 and $959,000.  Only one closed for the month sellling for $734,000.  This puts Montlake well above the median price for homes sold in King County, $429,925, in February.

Now that spring had arrived Montlake is especially beautiful right now, good timing for the springtime Seattle Real Estate rush!

The Seattle Real Estate Adventure Begins!

Exploring Seattle's Urban Villages, let the Adventure begin!

Seattle has so many interesting and unique neighborhoods, or what I like to call "Urban Villages".  Places like Ballard, Magnolia, Queen Anne, Belltown, Pioneer Square, West Seattle, Capitol Hill, Madison Valley, Madrona,  Madison Park, Montlake, Wallingford, Green Lake, and Fremont, the self proclaimed "Center of the Universe"! 

I have probably left out a few of your favorites, but we will add them as we explore what makes each one a unique place to live or visit.   

Learning what makes a Seattle neighborhood special and appealing to you (and me as a Seattle Real Estate Agent) helps to narrow down the choices when you are selecting a place in Seattle's exciting real estate market to live and eventually buying a home in Seattle.  Of course selecting a location is only part of what makes up the Seattle Real Estate market.  There is the hard data of sales figures, history and trends, the lending process, the home buying processes, marketing a home for sale and more.... 

So come with me and join in on the Adventure!