The Return of The Blog

It has been well over a year since I posted in this blog. Lately I've had the itch to hone my writing a bit more, so I am going to continue it. I know most of my audience will be Facebook friends and Twitter followers, but I hope to reach out to others who find my walkable life in Seattle, Washington worth closer inspection.

In addition to topics covering walkability and transit, I'm going to veer a bit into politics and general thoughts. While a marketing professional would decry such thin spreading of content, I merely wish to explore some ideas banging around in my head. But for now, enjoy this tale of nightly hikes and meats for sale!

This evening, just after the sky became completely dark, I headed up Phinney Ridge for a walk. I live at the bottom of the hill, and it takes about 10 minutes to walk up the steep climb. Right now, it's a perfect time for an evening stroll because temperatures have been higher than normal and conditions unseasonably drier. This is that time of night when the darkness allows walkers-by to peer into businesses that, while already closed, still have their lights on, allowing pedestrians to see almost everything inside. People are enjoying dinner at the 74th Street Ale House and strolling around Greenwood Avenue. I hop into Ken's Market.



Publix, back in Florida, got me spoiled on wandering the aisles of supermarkets, taking joy in the brand diversity and array of fine meats and produce. Ken's Market excels at charging more that average store-wide, but not more than people are willing to pay. In a walkable neighborhood, people love the convenience of a smaller grocery store they can reach, and they'll pay extra to not drive and fight crowds. Plus their meat selection, in my opinion, surpasses quality at the major chains like Kroger's QFC and Fred Meyer and Safeway. Tomorrow I'll return for a pork shoulder that I'll braise in my cast-iron dutch oven for dinner.

As I walk home, down the ridge, I listen to my podcast, Peter Day's World of Business, a BBC production. Halfway, I spot a chimney that my neighbor has sawed off halfway. Why would someone do this? If anyone has any ideas, please respond in the comments.

Well, that's it for now, but I'll write some more tomorrow. Maybe something on the price of oil or how my pork shoulder turned out...

Soaking It All In (Even On Rainy Days)

When I tell most folks back home in Florida that I've moved to Seattle, they ALWAYS say something like, "Doesn't it rain a lot there?". I usually reply with, "not as much as in Florida". Even though these folks often have never visited the Pacific Northwest, they sometimes think they know better. The truth, according to climate statistics I gleaned from weather.com, is that there are more rainy days and hours than Florida, but Florida dumps almost twice the participation on the state in certain towns (like my home of Crestview).



I try my best not to let the rainy days spoil my enjoyment of my neighborhood, Phinney Ridge. Even when it's rainy outside, I can't help but enjoy walking to my favorite cafe, Cafe Vita, and letting that sweet, sweet java assuage my drenched soul. After I'm done there, I pop over to Ken's Market across the street to get my groceries for the evening.



On occasion, I like hang out with my buddies at the pub and kick back with a pint of the German stuff. Pröst has never failed in delivering such an order, and it too is withen a block of Cafe Vita and Ken's. My girlfriend and I even enjoy the local pizza joint, Ridge, named after our neighborhood. It's adjacent to Ken's Market.



While I may not live right by all these great spots in my neighborhood, and I actually have to walk a little under 10 minutes to get up the ridge to them, almost everything I need for daily life is right around my geographical niche. Even when it's rainy, I put on my windbreaker and find the gumption to get out it the world! A little Vitamin D3 never hurt anything either.

-Jimmy

From The Emerald Coast to The Emerald City

Time spent in your car can be absolute hell on wheels or floating bliss, depending upon the traffic. The worst jam I ever experienced came on a road trip with my mom to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. For miles and miles we crawled into the tourist mecca, lined with pancake houses, knick knack huts and ski chalets.

Most people expect heavy traffic when on vacation. However, if everyone where you live is obliged to drive everywhere all the time in your hometown, the resulting congestion can seem analogous to  moving parking lots filled with out-of-townees. In my hometown of Crestview, Florida and college town of Tallahassee, Florida, I had to drive everywhere. When I did choose to walk, the distances to the grocery stores and other daily destinations were often too far. In Florida, the humidity breeds discontent throughout most of the year.

After learning about the Congress For The New Urbanism, and their advocacy of walkable living, I began to research places I might live that embraced car-free lifestyles. In the past I had visited some model communities that strive towards walkability, such as Seaside, but I found them gentrified and white-washed.

In addition to living a walkable life, I wanted to gain a new perspective, in a new culture. I felt the Pacific Northwest offered walkability (with great transit systems), better politics and moderate weather. Additionally, Seattle Pacific University offered a swell MBA program, for which I'd been searching.

Since moving to Seattle, I've taken residence in both the Wallingford and Phinney Ridge neighborhoods. Before I'd only lived in "neighborhoods," housing developments separated from any retail or nightlife nearby.

Now, instead of having to spend money on gas, which pollutes the air, I can walk to most of whatever I need in life. When I can't, I take the bus to whatever I need, which is affordable and more friendly to the environment. Additionally, I get to see a lot of new and ongoing sights daily. The cats in the neighborhood greet me on my way to work and I get some morning exercise walking up a hill every morning.

One of the biggest changes has been a lack of the same chains I was used to back home: Cracker Barrel, Chili's, Longhorn, Publix, Wal-Mart (the list goes on forever). However, I don't miss them all that much because the quality of the food and products in my local retail matches or exceeds that of big box stores and national chains. Also, I've had to change from buying tons of groceries at once to a few items every day or two (whatever I can carry in my canvas bags). Again, not a headache, because I usually don't know what I want more than two days out anyhow.

In the coming weeks you'll hear more of my tales making the switch to a walkable life, but for now, I hope this serves as a brief overview. Please stay tuned in the next few days for Kirsten's post on her transformation to walkable living as well. After that we'll be covering how to get around in Seattle by walking and using public transit.

-Jimmy

These Boots Are Made For Walking

Welcome to Walkable Living In Seattle! This blog will feature a variety of tips and stories about living in neighborhoods around Seattle that lend themselves to navigation via walking.

For those of you already living a sustainable lifestyle, this site will provide you with new ways to save time and money by incorporating more walking and less car-driving in your community. Also, for those of you thinking about moving to a community where you can walk to everything you need, we will relate our experiences of making that transition.

We two authors have lived in towns that necessitated car travel to reach any destination. We realize that the current geography of most towns in America shuns walking or biking to get to work or the grocery store. However, Seattle's neighborhoods (such as Wallingford, Queen Anne, Ballard and Phiney Ridge) embrace and encourage a healthy and walkable culture.

 While walking may not always be in the cards if you need to get from one end of town to the other, alternative means of transit permeate the Emerald City. In this blog we will also incorporate tactics and tricks for navigating public transit, car shares, and other ways of getting around.

Finally, we want to make this a fun place where we share relevant current events on walking and sustainable living, including humorous anecdotes and zany stats. So, please join us each week as we enlighten your mind and whisk you off your feet....and into your neighborhoods!