In which I tell you more about living in downtown Seattle
Posted by Isabel on June 3rd, 2008. Filed under: Apartment Living, City Living.I loved living in downtown Seattle. I loved the fact that I only had to walk a few blocks to get to my office. It was fun to be able to do shopping at any number of stores on my way home in the afternoon. I liked being able to cross the street to the book store and read gossip mags while Babboo played with their train set.
But most of all, I just liked being in the heart of all the action.
I’ll be the first to admit I’m not really a “heart of all the action” type person. I would never actively seek any type of action. Especially not the heart of the action. But I’m totally okay with the action finding me, say, if I lived in in said heart of said action.
Okay, so now that we’ve moved safely out of downtown Seattle I can talk a little more specifically about our life in downtown Seattle. (I hate to be all “oh, scary internet can’t know where we live”…but um yeah, the scary internet can’t know where we live.)
But now I can tell you that we lived here:
Our old apartment is one of Seattle’s more iconic buildings. It’s hard to miss, what with the roundness and the fact that they put a huge display of Christmas tree lights up every December. Plus it’s located rightnext door to The Paramount, one of Seattle’s major theaters. So we just had to tell people, “we live in the round building next to The Paramount” and everyone knew where that was.
Good for us, not good for my secret life on the interweb.
From our balconies we had the perfect (perfect!) view of what was happening in the heart of the action, without having to be in any actual action.
(See, I told you I only liked action from afar.)
Like all the many riots that I heard and watched via my couch:
Then there was the time they filmed that Charlize Theron movie outside our building. I stood at the window, camera poised, just waiting for some sort of shot that I could then sell to People magazine for a gazillion dollars. Of course all I got was a possible Charlize sighting.
Very possible. Wouldn’t you agree?
Then there was the time Mamma Mia! came to Seattle and I actually had tickets to see it with some of my SeattleMomBlog lady friends.
I was thrilled (read: nerdy!) enough to stand on my balcony and try to get a picture of me with the Mamma Mia! tour truck before I headed out to see the show.
There was also the time Death Cab for Cutie was in town (yes, we had tickets. Yes, we also had a small child. Yes, we sold our tickets). And I woke up on Saturday morning to see one of the member of the band packing up after their show the night before.
There was also the time we woke up to watch the beginning of the staging for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade outside our front room window.
We threw on our coats (but didn’t bother to brush our teeth!) and headed outside to watch the parade from the front door of our apartment building. Seriously, we sat on the front row of the parade and watched it in our pajamas and slippers.
Of course, in pure Isabel style, we decided to move out right as the pool was reopening for the summer. Not being able to partake in pool time this year will definitely be missed. (Although we have yet to see any sun here in Seattle. So whatever.)
And not having a gym to use anytime we want, for free, will be sad. But only a little sad as I honestly only used our gym a few times. (Dude, using any type of gym equipment becomes impossible when trying to do so with a toddler around. Impossible, I say!)
But I’m pretty sure having a grocery store that I can walk to (!!) from our new house will make up for missing out on the rest of this stuff in downtown.
Yep, I’m confident it will make up for it.
I hate to say it, but having a grocery store nearby is the type of excitement that I’m anxious to be in the heart of right now.
So tell me, do you like being in the heart of the action or do you prefer being near the action.
June 3rd, 2008 at 7:10 pm
What a cool apartment building! I think I would enjoy living near the action like that very much.
However, having a grocery store withing walking distance is also really really nice. One of the things I like least about my current neighborhood is that there is practically nothing in walking distance. I would love to live somewhere that Tim and I could walk to a delicious restaurant for dinner on a warm summer night. It’s one (very specific) dream I have.
So I guess rather than being in the heart of the action, perfection for me would be living within walking distance of the action.
June 3rd, 2008 at 7:34 pm
I think if I still lived in Seattle, I would like to in the heart of the action b/c it was such a nice city. Though when I lived there, it wasnt really in the action – though some of friends did so it was fun to walk everywhere, etc.
however, here I like to be “near” we are about 15-20 minutes from downtown and that is fine w/me. Though if i was in heart of action, I’d live closer to OPH and maybe we could be friends in real life? I like to be able to leave the action if necessary
June 3rd, 2008 at 7:47 pm
I prefer to not be at the action at all. My job right now let’s me travel all over, NYC, Atlanta, DC, Portland etc. So I get to go everywhere yet not have to live there. And after being to most of those places, I am ever so greatful to not live there.
June 3rd, 2008 at 7:50 pm
I’m with Keri & Audrey. I like the option having the action close for when I want it, but don’t necessarily want the action waking me up at 2am. But when I’m an old lady I want to be in on the action & have a grey a-line bob & wear lots of black & live in a loft downtown.
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:04 pm
I work in downtown St. Louis but go home to Illinois at night. So if I need to be in the action, I have parking and know where I’m going. But it’s nice to go home to quiet Illinois. So I get the best of both areas.
Of course, if our city HAD any action downtown at night, it might be different.
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:13 pm
I prefer to be semi-close to the action but definitely not TOO far from it. So…kind of near it? I grew up in a town with 2,500 people (my graduating class had 52 people, and half of them lived out-of-town), and now I live in a “city” with 11,793 people. I definitely like where I live now much better because I can get to a Target in 5 minutes instead of 30.
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:16 pm
So funny! I agree with May, when I retire I want to live in a cool downtown condo where I can walk to whatever action attracts me (I’m thinking restaurants, museums & bookstores mostly).
For now, I like being closer to action like playgrounds and grocery stores.
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:29 pm
I can’t decide – we currently live in the suburbs and it’s ever so convenient for grocery shopping and parking and such, but sad to be far from concerts and other cool events.
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:30 pm
I LOVE living downtown in the middle of the action. I miss it SO much. I secretly hope that real estate prices will continue to drop so I can afford a condo downtown. But, now? I can get myself about 400 square feet downtown. I have more than 400 square feet of yarn.
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:36 pm
I like having BOTH. i.e. my office is in the heart of the action, but my home is only near the action. I like that I get to see what’s going on and experience the city during the day, but that I have my own little town to go home to at night. And, that when I want to be in the action it’s only about 15 mins. away.
Sometimes I think it would be great to live near where I work, but then I remember how traffic and parking and all that can be a b*tch, and I reconsider. 
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:36 pm
I used to live in Belltown. I loved living there. I was within stumbling distance from home when we went out dancing, tons of wonderful restaurants, and the parking lot across the street was used for staging for several different tv shows and movies.
But I grew out of that.
Now I like to be able to go home and get away from the action. I also like to be within walking distance of coffee shops and groceries.
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Oh yeah, and near my home there’s tons of stuff I can walk to–restaurants, bars, grocery/drug stores, my bank, the library, etc.
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Great apartment!!! I love how it’s round and right in the heart of the action. I am definitely a right in the action kind of girl… I don’t live in a big city right now, but I am soooo ready to get back to one!
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:45 pm
I’m more of a “hoverer,” but I live in the middle of nowhere and so don’t even get to do that! I could walk to… my neighbor’s house. Everywhere else requires driving.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:06 pm
That apartment came with parking, right? Cuz that’d be a b-i-t-c-h to find parking down there. I’m in Cap Hill and really, just off Broadway so it’s like I am close enough to the action to walk (and overhear drunks coming home from the bars on the weekends) but not so close that it’s not quiet sometimes. I’ll be honest, it will probably get old. I’d like a house without neighbors too close and a yard and maybe even a driveway. Someday. For now, this is good. I feel urban and hip.
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:40 pm
I’m kind of jealous of the apartment. Before I met the Mr., I had lived in a townhouse right smack in the middle of the busiest part of our town. It had a great pool and it was within walking distance from both my gym and the best grocery store in town. Now, we still live “in town,” but in a more residential, less convenient area. I miss the action, but I love our home with its big backyard. When we drive by my old townhouse, though, I feel a little nostalgic.
June 4th, 2008 at 12:29 am
That does look like a neat place to live, and I’m sure there are aspects you’ll miss….but you have a HOUSE now! That’s way better.
I’m not embarrassed to admit that I actually like living in the suburbs. We only live a 15 minute drive to downtown, so it’s not so far out there.
June 4th, 2008 at 2:15 am
Hey! I’ll be there in a few days! (Internet, don’t you dare break into my house. I have BARS.)
This post totally made me laugh out loud. Are you a secret papparazzi?
Since you asked, I like living in a city, but not downtown. I can walk to 2 grocery stores in 3 blocks and it’s awesome.
June 4th, 2008 at 2:38 am
near the action, not in. “Near” is much closer to the bathrooms, am I right?
I always looked for your building during Grey’s Anatomy…now can we see your house from their overviews?
June 4th, 2008 at 4:02 am
I like to be smack dab right in the middle of the action, but only sometimes. So I guess I’d love to have it both ways – whichever way was more fitting for the moment.
What a cool apartment building you lived in – I bet it was so much fun, and will be missed ….. but only a little bit.
June 4th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
I always felt isolated growing up (we were not even withing 10 miles of The Action), so now we live In The Heart Of The Action, although I’m a lot like you… I don’t actually participate in any Action, but I like knowing that if I wanted to, I could.
But I’m kind of getting sick of living in The Heart Of The Action. The parking sucks, man. I’m also ready to wake up in the morning and not find beer cans in our shrub.
June 4th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Great pics! And I’m a Heart Of The Action type of gal; HOTA if you will. Although my “city” could fit in the garage of your city, so to speak. ;o)
xox
June 4th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
I am torn. On one hand, I would love to live in downtown Memphis, in a posh high rise or one of the old houses. Or maybe even in NYC, in Manhatten. But, on the other hand, I love having a yard for my kids to play and I can plant flowers and shrubs. I like that I don’t have to drive to a park so they can ride their bikes.
June 4th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Hmmm…good question! I think after a while, being in the heart of the action gets tiring for me because I eventually like to spread out. And my toddler is a crazy “I need to run around large grassy areas at least once a day” type, so it makes my life easier to be near the action, where there’s usually more space.
However, I do need stuff within walking distance, so in-between is my idea of the perfect location. And I HAVE to be w/in 1 hour of a major city…otherwise, shopping pretty much sucks.
June 4th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
I kinda like both. SOmetimes it’s good to be near the action, and then times it’s better to be in the heart of it. I’ve always wanted to live downtown or somewhere extremely close. The last two places Shaun has lived have been extremely close to downtown SLC and I love it! I love feeling like there’s always something going on around us. His old apartments are right across the street from the baseball field. We used to go out and watch the fireworks on the balcony.
June 4th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
You moved!!!!! (Claps hands and jumps around all happy) YEAY. Cool apt in Seattle but this means more space for everyone! And…. You’ll actually get to see more of hubby on weekends!
Yeay you guys! So happy and excited for you.
June 5th, 2008 at 6:18 am
I can’t believe you lived there! I always stare at that building when we’re downtown and in November — I slept right across the street from you at the Paramont Hotel. To think . . .
I like to live on the outskirts of the action – but where I can get to it if I need to. I’m indecisive that way!
June 5th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
I used to work on 4th across the street from the Cinaplex, and next to Ralphs. I LOVED IT! We had two little diners and a starbuck in the building (the black glass one with the slanted roof). Anyway, I didnt live in Seattle, i took the bus in but I loved being there. It was like my work me had its own identity. I loved it! Now that Im in OH living in the suburbs, I miss the feel you get in the city but love having a yard and no traffic!
June 5th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
I totally love this post… it cracks me up.
HOWEVER, I think I like Isabel in the HEART of the action so that she can hang out with ME on nights like TONIGHT!
June 16th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
hi – followed a link from jenni’s blog to get here and found it funny that you were talking about what you could see from your apartment, because we (meaning me and old co-workers) used to check out your apartment building from our office windows! we had binoculars that we used to use to scope out all our neighbors – we once caight one of the apartment dwellers in you building toweling off right in front of the window – eeew!
i agree – good location for interesting viewing!