United States: Washington State: King County: Seattle: Mount Baker

Carrick
Seattle

Worth visiting!

Pluses and minuses

Like Lee says, it doesn’t rock. It’s pretty darn quiet, but I guess we like that. Some pluses: parks, the lake, the quiet. Yes, it’s close to booming Columbia City, with its restaurants, shopping, and movie theater. Yes, it’s a quick drive into downtown (usually). Yes, the traffic congestion is minimal by Seattle standards. Yes, there are lots of kids, and since we have two of our own, this is a plus. But…

There are a few things missing. There’s no place to walk to for good coffee and yummy things to eat. (I miss the Rose Club.) There is no decent grocery store. There are no decent places to eat, period. Neighbors aren’t as friendly as I’ve found in other Seattle neighborhoods, and I think it’s because you see fewer people out walking and the houses are further away from the street and farther apart from each other. And since people have to do a lot of driving to get from one place to another, you’re less likely to bump into neighbors. The neighborhood public school is promising, but few families from the immediate area send their kids there, therefore, the school is not as diverse as the neighborhood (i.e. there are almost no white kids.)

Nevertheless, we like it. Forever is a long time, so I can’t say we’re in it for that long. It fits for now and the foreseeable future. Someday, when the kids are gone (they will leave eventually, won’t they?) we’ll move downtown into some small and easy to clean.

Comments:

Josh Petersen
Seattle

Hmmm.

I agree that Mount Baker doesn’t have much of a commercial strip and it’s quiet, but I don’t think I agree with much else here.

Neighbors aren’t as friendly? C’mon – I’d take a crew from Mt Baker or Lakewood park over the folks I’ve met at almost any other neighborhood park anytime. Have you spent time at Madison park or Madronna park? I’m not trying to start a neighborhood fight, but c’mon. And don’t get me started about N Seattle.

And few walkers? What neighborhood are you thinking of in Seattle that has more strollers per block? It’s got everything but Greenlake beat there, and it has the bonus of not being Greenlake.

I’ve lived in Seattle most of my life and this is the first place I’ve known everyone in about a 2 block radius, and that counts when I had a paper route on QA.

Carrick
Seattle

Ha. Yeah, let’s fight over which Seattle neighborhood is the friendliest ;-) You make some good points, however, and perhaps I was a bit harsh. Each person’s experience is different. Since I live on the neighborhood’s edge where the sidewalks wither and the real estate declines, my take on the street life could be atypical. The people on the street and at the parks I’ve met have been friendly, present company included. No doubt about it.

But before Mt. Baker we lived in Madrona, on 32nd Ave., and we knew most of our neighbors and talked to them frequently in our yards, on the sidewalk, and in each other’s homes. About the time we moved, there were something like 12 kids within one block of us. We spent a lot of time at the playground in Madrona and knew lots of the people there.

Where we are now, our immediate neighbors are either elderly or transient. Go two blocks out and there are more families with children, but I don’t get the impression there is a baby boom going on. My sister’s block in Wallingford has a lot more kids on it. Perhaps I just need to get out more?

Speaking of which, I was at a kid birthday party Saturday afternoon way out in Issaquah. I met a guy there who was a friend of the birthday girl’s father. I soon found out he lived about four blocks away from me on Bella Vista. Weird.

Josh Petersen
Seattle

This week at Mt Baker Park

At 10:30 am at Mt Baker Park there were two separate gatherings of Peps groups and “cohort” groups that brought about 20-30 families with 1 yr olds and younger to the park. If you are subscribed to the Mt. Baker Parent’s mailing list you might hear about more of this sort of stuff. It has an active group of parents working on getting more involved in the local schools.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MountBakerParents/

One of the reasons (and there were many) that the Rose Club shut down is not enough people in the neighborhood bothered to support it. I definitely agree that good neighborhoods need people to stick their neck out about what is wrong and how to make it better.

Mount Baker has the longest continuously operating community club in the country! Your sister might have more kids on her block, but does she have Pied Piper or Day in the Park?

Carrick
Seattle

Getting with it

More points for you. See, I didn’t know there was such a mailing list until today. Susan knew about it from the The View but hadn’t signed up (hmm, I must pay more attention.) So, I just sent a membership request. This should get us more in the loop. Doh! Mt. Baker rules!

Carrick
Seattle

I've got the hook up

Ok, I’ve been granted membership to the mailing list. I’m in!

I feel bad about my negative portrayal of the denizens of Mt. Baker. I guess I really was in a foul mood that day, and then I couldn’t help trying to defend myself. Ah well. I am rather grumpy from time to time.

Josh Petersen
Seattle

How cool is it

That there are 4 entries for Mt Baker already? Let’s see Madrona match that!


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