Seattle: our home for now

One reason we went on our roadtrip was to consider whether we could find a home other than Seattle, where we have lived for thirty years. As it ends up, outside of Santa Fe, we did not find another city where we thought ‘we could live here’. But while Santa Fe remains a possibility .. we love it .. we are going to give Seattle a go as the place where we have history and community. The devil you know and all that.

Dining area in our new home.

Dinah and I have now downsized into a condominium in Ballard, a neighborhood just north of the downtown core. I dare say that this is not a choice the vast majority of Americans at our stage of life would make. The reaction of several of our friends and family in visiting our new home has been ..um .. subdued. Americans love their single-family homes — generally the larger the better. So many people live in cities while seeming to yearn for a quieter life and we have several friends who have moved to islands and farms.  

But we are city people and chose what, to us, is Seattle’s most vibrant neighborhood. Ballard is as walkable as NYC, chock full of restaurants and nightlife. We walk to the grocery store and the best farmer’s market in Seattle happens every Sunday one block from us. It seems like nearly everything is close, including Seattle’s best park and beach. But when we do need a ride, city buses fulfill much of our transportation need. The overhead of taking care of our home approaches zero and our life is much simpler and easier.

But still, we have complaints.

It can be pretty damned noisy. Part of this is the car centricity, but add in night clubs, trash recovery, construction, etc. and it’s nearly impossible to experience total peace and quiet. There is homelessness which can include public drug taking, trash heaps, and sidewalks consumed by tent encampments.

People live here.

The buses are rundown and bump along on streets that are not well maintained, often making it a jarring experience. This city founded in the midst of old growth forests really needs more trees and public spaces. Seattle has risen over 20% in population over the last 15 years, but has added virtually no net new green space.

I have no idea why most of these problems aren’t solvable. On our trip, we visited city after city that are much poorer and yet are cleaner, quieter, and clearly investing in making the city better. Cities throughout the USA do not seem caught in paralysis, with an inability to make big decisions and get things done like Seattle does.

But Seattle also sits in the middle of one of the countries great geographies with ocean, islands, mountains, rivers, and yes .. volcanos. So yeah .. we are giving it a go .. but I feel the need to dig in and see if I can better understand our urban dysfunction.