Wedgwood

Another village full of personality in the city that is Seattle.
Wedgwood is north of downtown and located near Lake Washington. Wedgood sort of encompasses an area near other villages like Bryant, Ravenna, Meadowbrook, Maple Leaf, Matthews Beach, View Ridge and LaVilla. Sadly it is near Lake City too, which means you get some of the spill off of the yokels there. It’s about 15 – 30 minutes to downtown and close to interstate.
The location is great if you love the outdoors, want to be near the city and university but don’t want to deal with college kids or downtown noise. There are a lot of small families, professional couples and a few older couples. The area is really starting to cater to the younger professional crowd.
Shopping wise, there are a few restaurants, coffee shops, a variety of grocery stores, and a few unique places. Top Pot, Grateful Bread, The Van Gogh Café are some of the well known places.
Outdoor lovers of all levels will enjoy this place. This is one of the last areas of Seattle that has old evergreen trees. It really gives a a unique feel to the neighborhood and a break from all the condos. The Burke Gilman trail is easily accessible. There are plenty of parks, like Matthews Beach and Magnuson. Lake Washington is right there to enjoy. There is a pool at Meadowbrook. And plenty of beautiful places to walk and find hidden gems. A lot of hills though.
There are a bunch of schools in the area too. Wedgwood has a reputation for a great elementary school. And there are a few different preschools in the area too. It’s easy to get to work if you are downtown or at the university. The buses can be a pain in the ass. The 75 is terrible and we have to constantly complain about them.
It’s a nice place to live when you want some peace and quiet but still need the city nearby. And it really does cater to younger families who love the outdoors.

«Where should I live in Seattle?» That gets asked a lot, so here’s a little slice of Wedgwood. There’s a bird shop here. That explains the character of the neighborhood as well as anything. It’s a chapter of the Audubon Society, located for the convenience of the damn birds who welcome the sunrise in the tree outside my window at 4 am. They’re on East Coast time. There’s a hippie inspired bakery called ‘The Grateful Bread’ and across the street, there’s often a cop car parked in front of Top Pot Doughnuts in the early morning hours. At 3 o’clock there’s a huge pile of middle school kid backpacks outside Safeway ’cause no one trusts the little buggers. It’s been called a «Prunes and Raisins» neighborhood. Figure it out. Don’t expect to be able to drive faster than 30 mph unless it’s after 9 pm when the streets are dead. Lots of joggers and strollers. Good Chinese food at Black Pearl, decent if uninspired Thai food, good Alehouse, bad Broiler catering to the Prunes demographic, and enough medical and dental offices to keep the population of a small country like Luxemburg healthy. It’s small town but city neighborhood not quite suburbia feel where you move if you want (relative) peace and quiet and safety and a few conveniences within walking distance and everything, including downtown, within 15 minutes driving. But be careful, after a few years here you may end up like me, too peaceful and lazy to move anywhere else.