Seattle Refinance Mortgage

Places to Live: Seattle

Seattle is a land of hills and rain, of eclectic culture and vibrant neighborhoods. It’s also part of the real estate and population surge in recent years.

Average home prices for late 2006 in Seattle hover around the $480,000 mark. Over 560,000 people call Seattle home, and the metropolitan area, including suburbs, tops three million. More people are coming everyday – immigrants are flocking to the city in record numbers, and new residents from within the country are adding to the estimated 60 percent population growth by 2040.

Seattle is known for many things, but its geography and climate are particularly remembered. On average, rain falls in Seattle at least 50 percent of the time, with the heaviest rain in spring and fall. The city is located on a series of seven hills and looks onto the Olympic Mountains. It’s surrounded by Puget Sound to the west and Lake Washington to the east. Over 150 bridges exist in Seattle for the sole purpose of navigating the plentiful waterways.

The city’s nickname is the “Emerald City,” named such for its stunning hills, mountain views, and greenery. With easily accessible coasts and exciting terrain, sailing, skiing, bicycling, camping and hiking are common Seattleite activities. Visitors and residents flock to Green Lake, Discovery Park for forests, bluffs and beaches, and the nearby straits and mountains for more. It’s no wonder Men’s Fitness magazine named Seattle the fittest city in the country in 2005.

Seattle rallies behind outdoor and indoor sports on the individual and team level. The Seattle Mariners battle on the baseball field, the Seahawks rumble on the football field, the Sounders show some fancy footwork on the soccer field, and the Supersonics and the WNBA Storm take it to the court in basketball.

Besides the greenery, Seattle is probably next best known for some key cultural contributions – an eclectic and pumping rock sound that boomed in the 1990s, and coffee. The birthplace of hard-rocking grunge (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and many more), and subsequent unique alternative and indie sounds (Sleater-Kinney, Death Cab for Cutie, The Shins), many bands call the city their genesis. As for coffee – something about this city began a national movement. Starbucks, Seattle’s Best Coffee, and Tully’s all were founded here.

The culture doesn’t start or end there. Seattle has a rich tradition of award-winning and acclaimed theater, as well as one of the world’s most recorded orchestras. The Opera and Ballet have also performed to wide appeal and applause, and the Seattle area houses numerous art, history, maritime and special interest museums.

Seattle neighborhoods are home to fascinating mixes and annual street fairs, parades or races. Some popular neighborhoods include:

• Downtown: Fancy and high-end shopping combines with government and finance offices. History and cutting-edge combine in architecture. And the views are plastered across postcards, movie scenes, and more.

• Pioneer Square: The birthplace of Seattle in the 1800s, this neighborhood was rebuilt after a devastating fire and became a booming retail zone by day and a trendy nightspot after sunset.

• International District: Possibly the only area in the country that includes Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, African-American, Vietnamese, Korean and Cambodian residents. Magnificent dining, shopping and cultural events mark this area.

• Fremont: Artsy, eccentric, unique – all terms for this neighborhood. Although if you ask the residents, the official title of their ‘hood is “The Center of the Universe.”

To learn more about Seattle, visit the following links:

VisitSeattle.org
Seattle.net
Seattle.Citysearch.com