Rain City Guide

It’s amazing how when you move thousands of miles away from your comfort zone your life inevitably takes a 360 degree spin. This summer has been breezier and more brisk than I’ve ever experienced, primarily because it was my first Seattle summer and first (of many) away from Chicagoland.
My top 10 list of why Seattle [...]

So, we’ve all been inundated by WSDOT telling us to stay off the highways during the shut down on I-5 and today’s Seattle Times shows that they’ve done such a good job of convincing us about it that traffic has been better than the past 15 year’s time (my personal opinion on that timeline) because [...]

So, I’ve only been in Seattle a short time, but last week I officially became a hostess. My longtime friend, James, whom I’ve known since my days in high school in Illinois, flew in for the weekend. I was juggling entertaining him, studying and finishing up a 15-page research paper for my Seattle University master’s [...]

In a previous post I wrote about concerns for townhomes that were sold over the past several years that didn’t have clear joint maintenance agreements. A recent deal I closed brought into focus exactly why my concerns are realistic and valid. Buyers need to be aware that it is their responsibility to read all the [...]

http://www.seattle.gov/parks/parkspaces/sandel.htm 
Last night one of the volleyball teams I play on (Architect’s & Engineer’s League) played at Sandel Park in the Greenwood neighborhood.  While I’ve lived in the Phinney/Greenlake area for many of the 19 years I’ve been in Seattle I really hadn’t spent any time at this park even though it’s been in existence almost [...]

[Editor's Note: I'm thrilled to try something a bit different on Rain City Guide... Karen Kirr is a wonderfully articulate woman who is moving to the Seattle area who I met when she asked a question about moving to Seattle (#92). One thing led to another and she's agreed to share her perspective on [...]

This month’s issue of Seattle Metropolitan Magazine features their annual “Best Places to Live”.    What strikes me is their number one pick is not any where near Seattle; nor is it “metropolitan”.   It’s Kent.  I’m not knocking Kent.   In fact, my main office is head quartered on the East Hill of Kent and I grew up in south [...]

… has a new condo in Bellevue at the Meritage, you might have thought he would slow down the pace of his condo blogging at Urbnlivn. But no chance there… instead he unleashes the urbnlivn forum for the Seattle-area Market. Very cool. It’s a little quiet at the moment [...]

This morning, I read a commentary on seattlepi.com from columnist, Christy L. Thomas called Seattle too pricey for normal people.   It’s regarding her move from Boise and how she and her boyfriend are considering whether or not they can afford to buy what they would like to have in Seattle. 
The part that struck me, being a Mortgage Planner, [...]

Ask ten people and you get ten different answers. So I thought I’d give my take on Dustin’s topic from last year. Maybe every Frequent Contributor can do one on the ten things about living in Seattle that they think are worth knowing.
1) The flip side of rain - not only is the [...]