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

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

With rare exceptions, I dislike new construction. I also don't want to live in a monoculture car-commuter suburb ever again if I can possibly help it. And being 1/2 hour outside of Seattle at off-peak times is precisely what I'm complaining about -- we really want to spend less time in our car(s), not more. So I don't think your choices would work for us. In fact, looking at the pictures, I find your old house much more the sort of thing I would look for than the new. Chacun a son gout and all that.

[lauriemann.livejournal.com]

Jim works from home - most of his group is in California anyway.

I work contracts and free lance. I don't mind some amount of commuting, but am working to avoid it. I have a job interview in a few days where I'd have one ugly commute about one day a week and can work from home the rest of the time.

We lived for 13 years in a small house in a close-in suburb on a busy street. We couldn't take it anymore and just needed the space and the quiet.

The main thing Jim misses is walking for Yuppie-coffee---we do have to join the car culture to go anywhere.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

My own feeling is that if I were going to move out of the city, I would much rather move into the full-on country or a small town, not a platted out development. I just don't care for them, and find them wasteful in so many ways. At least if we move to Everett we'll be remaining within an urban core, with the transit that implies.