Monica Guzman at the Seattle PI recently pointed readers to a Seattle Met Magazine article about the 15 best places to live in Seattle … and Wallingford is NOT on the list. Oh the indignity!
Ballard, Queen Anne & Green Lake made the list. But not Wallingford. WTF? We must investigate:
- Alki & Queen Anne were selected for their “brand names”
- Green Lake, View Ridge, and Madison Park seem to have been selected for walkability & enjoyment of the outdoors/local shops
- Normandy Park, Woodinville, and Richmond Beach are listed as “solid [real estate] investments”
- Capitol Hill was listed with a walkscore of 87 out of 100. Note: Wallingford, from the intersection of 45th & Wallingford Ave North, is deemed “Walker’s Paradise” with a score 10 points higher than Capitol Hill (97)
- Kirkland was praised for its commercial district
- Columbia City, Renton Heights, and Maple Leaf were all deemed “affordable”
- As for Ballard, “You can thank Fremont for Ballard’s resurgence over the last decade. As the cost of doing business climbed in the former’s commercial district, the latter welcomed all of those displaced mom and pops with open storefronts.” Note: Fremont is not on the list either.
- And Shoreline has a lot of trees & 14 well-defined neighborhoods within
Maybe Seattle Metropolitan is a real estate centered magazine & that explains the slight? Not according to their website:
Seattle Metropolitan is our city’s indispensable news, culture, and lifestyle magazine. From newsmakers to tastemakers, we canvas Washington’s cultural capital for the people and trends that are changing the way we eat, play, dress, and think. Every month, in every issue, we deliver our signature mix of in-depth news stories, provocative essays, and essential guides to the best of the city. Our singular goal? To inspire our readers to get out and explore the vibrant and rapidly growing metropolis they call home.
Based on the presumption that locals know best, I’ve compiled a list of my own 15 reasons why Wallingford should be on the list, if not sitting atop it. Please add anything I’ve left out, argue with my choices, or create your own list in the comments section:
- Our phenomenal view of downtown from Wallingford Ave — and from many homes in the area
- Gas Works Park
- We have our own Wallingford Neighborhood Office
- Wallingford Farmer’s Market
- Tons of indie businesses like Irwin’s, Varsity Inn, Molly Moon’s, Fainting Goat, Sock Monster (coming soon!), Not A Number, Archie McPhee, Tweedy & Popp, Wally Pets, Oasis Art Gallery…
- South Wallingford Public Disc Golf Course
- The Fremont Solstice Parade comes right through the lower part of the ‘hood and ends with a celebration at Gas Works Park every year
- Ability to watch the Family 4th fireworks from our own backyards. At least for one more year anyway…
- Neighbors with chickens, bees, water fountains, beautiful gardens — even pizza ovens — in their backyards
- Eats: at least 3 Wallingford chefs have competed on national reality cooking shows: Joule’s Rachel & Seif on Iron Chef, and Tilth’s Maria Hines on Top Chef Masters. And there’s plenty of other fantastic dining in the neighborhood too, like Cantinetta and Elemental.
- Yard Art and guerilla art (sorry, no links! But just keep your eyes peeled…)
- Seattle’s only one-act theater, Stone Soup
- Healthy living: get your eyes checked, see a doctor at the Bastyr Center for Natural Health, work out at Fuerte Fitness, or go to a pilates class at Studio Evolve, all right here in your own stomping grounds
- Date night — catch a movie at the Guild 45th, head across the street for dinner, and land at Chocolati for dessert before enjoying a few drinks at Murphy’s Irish Pub, Smash Wine Bar or any number of libation-friendly spots
- And of course, Wallyhood
I’d add our sincere pride in in being a community-spirited, family-centric neighborhood, but I question the value of showing up at the top–or even ON–somebody’s list of best places to live. If there’s anything most Wallingforders seem to want to be it’s to NOT be the ‘Center of the Universe’. Personally, I’d prefer to stay under the msm radar as long as possible!
These lists are always a waste of time. Woodinville is a solid real-estate investment? (don’t ask people who bought there in the past 5 years) View Ridge and walkability — to where, exactly?
You fans of the Wallingford Farmers Market should remember that the merchants at Wallingford Center DONATE a portion of their parking lot (in the past, a major portion) for the market. These merchants essentially give 25 days (nearly a month) of traffic in their shops to do this. Most visitors to the market never set foot into the Center shops on Wednesdays.
We’re right there. Come on in!
Love Wallingford but at least a couple knocks against:
Loud loud loud, can you even hear me say traffic noise (the I-5 bridge)
High priced real estate doesn’t reflect that “family” neighborhood it wants to be and means many renters, not owners live there.
seems to have high crime rate though generally not violent
Anyway most people who live there seem to like it (I only visit friends there, don’t live there) and probably prefer not having a high rating which would only worsten the bad things.
– Easy access to both I-5 and 99, so easy access to ANYWHERE in Seattle
– Wallingford playground and Meridian park
– The Wallingford Center – cupcake, yarn and toy heaven
Good — all the more cake and ice cream for me!
Well said Chris W. And I have to say, there is no place in Seattle like Wallingford for being able to get pretty much anywhere without a car quite easily. And everything you could mostly want is in walking distance no matter where in the ‘hood you live. Yeah, we may have some traffic noise and some crime, etc. But doesn’t everywhere? I chose to live in Wallingford after being here several years and wandering all over the Seattle area. This was the best place I could imagine living anywhere near the city and it remains so several years later!
You forgot the walkability score! I too wonder about View Ridge’s walkability. Where? Nothing to walk in View Ridge except hills.
I’d actually prefer Wallingford NOT to be on the list! And I question their judgement on other communities: a friend just tried to unload his Woodinville home and NOTHING in Woodinville is selling! He sold for less than he bought it for 6 years ago.
Does how others rate W…ford really affect how you feel about living here? Maybe, if you’re the Chamber of Commerce; otherwise it’s pretty sad.
@ buster g. — Absolutely not. 😉
Xavier – I agree about the freeway noise. I’ve been wondering for a while what it would take to convince WSDOT to erect a noise-wall along 5th.
Now, how could you not say anything about the Great Wallingford Wurst Fest held at St. Benedict’s for the last 30 years in September?
And it is unfortunate that most of the housing is unaffordable for young families…
Maybe we should keep it our little secret.
Some more:
Burke Gilman trail
Very close to not just one but four weekend farmers/thrift markets
A real working waterfront, on a lake that is also good for play
Proximity to GreenLake and Zoo (not to mention lots of other great neighborhoods)
TACO TRUCK!!!
I would like to say that growing up and living most of my life in Southern California and experiencing the influx of people after the Rose Parade every year. Keep Wallingford our little secret!! If everyone thinks it is a nice place to live (which I couldn’t imagine living in any other neighborhood in Seattle) then everyone will want to live here, driving prices up higher, causing more congestion, and changing our nice little neighborhood into something not so nice.