Location, Location, Location

[akirlu]

In Seattle, $300,000 will now buy you:

(a) A 450 sq. ft. 1bd condo courtyard bungalow on First Hill
(b) A 840 sq. ft. 2bd Craftsman in the Rainier Valley
(c) A 900(?) sq. ft. 3bd townhouse in Lake City
(d) None of the above


Yah-huh, that would be (d).

No, in Seattle $300,000 appears to buy (maybe) either a fixer next to the freeway or a fixer directly under the flight path of Sea-Tac international. Or possibly a fixer with a view of Boeing field, but that one seemed a lot like the contractors were falling all over each other to see who could put a total of 3 new townhouses on the "oversize" lot.

In Everett, the same $300,000 will buy you 1500 sq. ft. of turn of the century Builder's Cottage in a cool, mostly well-maintained old neighborhood, with a view of the Sound.

So I'm now pondering whether I could endure a 30 mile commute and the death of social life as I know it. It's probably that or going condo, which I would mind less if the condo options looked better.

In other news, we saw a pair of bald eagles on Saturday, the mature bird trailed by a full-grown juvenile. Same day also spotted a nesting flicker, and a nesting osprey. Also a pair of nesting Canada geese harrassing a pedestrian. And the turtles have started coming out on Lake Washington.

Also, I am developing a deep and abiding hatred of vinyl siding.

Comments

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

A friend drove me through a district of large and well-kept houses in Pittsburgh. (Does "Squirrel Hill" sound right? I think it was around there somewhere.) He said with awe, "Some of these houses cost half a million dollars!"

I sighed.

[lauriemann.livejournal.com]

Yes - Squirrel Hill and Shadyside have some gorgeous houses, and many of the nicer ones are in the $300 - $400,000 range.

Of course, there are some million dollar plus homes in those areas too, but they are quite rare compared to other places in the northeast.