Seattle Houseboats

Northlake Way Houseboats

This week I helped a new client tour a couple Seattle houseboats on Lake Union.  This young lady works at a clinic where she knows two doctors who live on big houseboats.  She would be a first time home buyer and was looking for something small and affordable.  She picked out two listings under $300,000 that were about the size of an apartment for a single person: 550 to 700 square feet.

We looked at two houseboat neighborhoods:

• Westlake Avenue: which extends from the new Lake Union Park north to within sight of the Aurora Bridge.  This home was on the northern end of the avenue.
• Northlake Way: sitting alongside Gas Works Park.

Our clear favorite was the houseboat off of Westlake Avenue.  It sat near the end of the dock – just one sailboat between it and the open water.  Its upper level, covered deck anyway looked out over this sailboat for a terrific view across Lake Union to the north with the Aurora Bridge and Gas Works Park in view and to the east where we would have seen the Cascade Mountains on a clear day.  The floor plan was well organized with a master bedroom, loft, and outdoor deck up top.  Below was a common room with seating, a small dining table, and kitchen with miniature appliances.  Nearby was the 3/4 bathroom with shower and even a tiny guest bedroom – about the size of a closet.  This houseboat was only 10 years old and appeared to be in excellent condition.

Westlake Avenue Houseboat Neighborhood

A few things surprised me about houseboats:

• Both neighborhoods had plenty of free parking!  Practically unheard of for Seattle.
• Some houseboats sit deep inside their neighborhoods and have little or no view.  I don’t see the point in living in such a location.  Your position on the dock is very important.
• There was no dishwasher and no laundry aboard the houseboat.  You won’t have all the amenities you take for granted on land.

My client was young and new to home buying, so she didn’t really know how to proceed.  I took the lead in researching considerations in houseboat ownership.  The listing agent was an expert in the topic.  From her I learned that the cost of moorage and utilities would run between $575 and $605 per month.  The boats needs maintenance done on their hulls every 5 years.  The City of Seattle is limiting development of new neighborhoods and construction of new houseboats, but the current houseboats are protected.

More Information on Seattle Houseboats

Click here for more photos and current houseboat listings

With the weather heating up, are you looking for something different to take it outside?  Have you checked out outdoor movies in Seattle?  Outdoor movies in Seattle provide a great alternative to stuffy indoor movie theaters!  This used to be a popular past time, but it is becoming more common recently and people are finding its joy again.  The movies are not current, but they are old favorites and classics, so you aren’t stuck with leftover movies.  And because most of them are either FREE or donation based, it an economical way to have a night out with family and friends.  Why don’t you pack a blanket, snacks, and gather your family and friends for a fun night “out?”  Lights, camera, action!

Here is the list of outdoors movies in Seattle and Greater King County!

 ABOUT CHRISTY KIM

One of the most delightful things about Seattle is the abundance of nature surrounding us.  Although this is a large metropolitan city, I appreciate the fact that you can escape to nature at any time.  Big or large, we have parks situated in every neighborhood and convenient access to rivers, lakes, and vast ocean.  However, with the rapid development and higher cost of real estate, many Seattleites resorted to condos and townhomes that did not leave much space for those with green thumbs.  So, when I noticed community gardens or patches popping up everywhere, I wasn’t surprised at all.

Community gardens are simply a piece of land gardened by a group of people.  The neat thing about them is that not only it provides a mean for people to garden and produce fresh produce, it also promotes sense of community, healthier urban environment, and pride of ownership.  People can experience both the joy of growing and being in touch with the source of their food.

In Seattle, the city began the non-profit organization P-Patch Trust 35 years ago.  According to the City of Seattle website, the organization acquires, builds and protects community gardens in Seattle.  Most of the supplies are provided at the sites, such as water and tools.  Your responsibility as a community gardener is to care for your plot.

Interesting facts about P-Patch:

- The “P” originally stood for “Picardo”, after the family who owned Picardo Farm, part of which became the original P-Patch.

-The P-Patch program only allows organic farming techniques to be used on these plots.

-The P-Patch community gardeners give back to the city by supplying 7 to 10 tons of produce to Seattle food banks each year.

-You are not allowed to sell what you grow, only share it or donate it.

As the broadening interest in organic food source and gardening increases, you will see the demand for community gardens increase.  The city currently has 55 patches in the city but most of them do have a waiting list.  If you are interested in starting your own Community Patch or for more information, check out City of Seattle website!

Community Patch in Seattle Neighborhoods

Restaurant or kitchen on wheels is fast becoming common and popular casual dining option in Seattle.  With the recent explosion of food trucks serving diverse array of appetizing fare, it is easy to understand the appreciation.  Most frequent type you see in Seattle corners are Mexican food trucks; however, the popularity of them have spilled over to many different kinds of food, especially ethnic cuisines.

One of the most popular food trucks in Seattle is the Marination Mobile serving the Seattle residents in various spots within the city.  Unique fusion of Korean, Mexican, and Hawaiian flavors, the Marination Mobile has glorified food trucks and surpassed everyone’s expectation of the quality of food from kitchen on wheels.  The location of the mobile changes daily and now they have added a permanent non-mobile location in Capitol Hill called the “Station.”

On one Tuesday morning, I made my way to Belltown to check out the Marination Mobile.  Although I made it just few minutes past 11 o’clock, long line had already formed by the time I got there.  The long line didn’t seem to bother anyone as everyone’s faces were filled with excitement for some delicious food served in a mobile just like in festivals.  They don’t offer huge menu, but the few they offer were adequate.  The menu items included: tacos, sliders, quesadilla, kim chee fried rice, and spam musubi.  I had to sample all of them, so ordered one of each on the menu.  The service was friendly and fast.  I have to admit, the miso ginger chicken was a pleasant surprise.  The blend of miso and ginger was perfectly flavored topped with tangy coleslaw.  Spam slider was a no-brainer.  The prices were reasonable, ranging from $2 to $6.50.  The quality of the food was excellent for the price and coming from mobile truck.   Overall, I was pleasantly delighted by the food and service.

Kalbi, spicy pork, and miso ginger chicken tacos!

Spam Sliders!

Locations

• Monday – South Lake Union
• Tuesday – Belltown
• Wednesday – Fremont
• Thursday – Starbucks SODO
• Friday – SODO
• Saturday – West Seattle
• Sunday – Truck Closed

***All truck hours are 11-2pm***

They accept cash only, expect long lines, but fun and delicious food to go!

Marination Mobile in Seattle

Marination Mobile in Seattle

Not only is the space much bigger, allowing more eager diners to crowd into the establishment, but the menu has been expanded a little and the staff is very fun and welcoming.  At the old location, it was like crashing a private party, albeit a cheerful one.

On the menu of this Seattle institution (in terms of burgers I mean) are some fantastic sounding items as well as the delicious old favorites I remembered from the much smaller Ballard spot.  How about the “Dork,” blended duck, pork, and spice-blend patty with garlic mayo, Monterey Jack cheese, and the notorious LL onions.  Various Kobe beef burgers, unusual sounding salads like the BLT Rancher, and the necessary Sweet Potato Fries as well as other important sides are all readily available any time, although there are specials daily.  I loved the Hawaiian with a lamb patty, cheese, six strips of bacon, and tomato-pineapple (but not so crazy about the Cesar salad with pesto dressing, seemed too heavy).  If you visit the South Lake Union LL website you’ll see some Really Big Burgers pictured at the top.  I remember we used to split one between two of us, and if you can’t do that you might end up taking half home!

There are plenty of other activities in the Seattle Center today as the Winterfest is in full swing.  At nine this morning the current art exhibition, “Elements – Earth Air Fire and Water by Christine Awad” (free) opened it’s doors.  At 10 a.m. the Winterfest train and village exhibit opened.  You can visit the Mindbender Mansion, at the Pacific Science Center, and pit your brain (I’m assuming it’s enfeebled by too much turkey and shopping) against the quirky puzzle, mindbenders, and interactive challenges.  You can commit more shopping at the Seattle Super Sale at the Seattle Pavillion.  Or try seeing the Festival of Lights event at the Children’s Museum (usually up to about 8 years for this museum) which starts at 10 a.m. and is based on holiday festivals around the world including Christmas, Kwanzaa, Santa Lucia, Hanukkah, and Diwali.  The Battlestar Gallactica exhibit (at EMP) is open, so is the Harry Potter Exhibition (at Pacific Science Center).  Litterally I could keep listing at least 10 more events and things to do today at Seattle Center.  Have fun, happy holidays!

Seattle Neighborhood market data is unique to each...

As of April 25, 2010, the statistic is that a median single-family home in “The Seattle Market” is $392,731.00 and I can say confidently right now, there is no move-in ready 3-bedroom house on Montlake, Capitol Hill, Mount Baker or Queen Anne for this price.  But in Maple Leaf?  Yes this price point will buy a house and yard, maybe a nice 2-bedroom mid-century home.  In West Seattle?  Yes definitely in some micro-neighborhoods in West Seattle this is possible.  In Beacon Hill?  Yes again, a mid-century or Craftsman bungalow at $392,731.00 is definitely possible.  So for buyers, it quickly becomes clear what neighborhoods your price point allows and this makes your search constructive and efficient.  And for sellers, be the best option in a certain bracket within your neighborhood, because even in this economy, we still see multiple offer situations if you’re priced right.  Buyers know a good residence when they see it!

Marybeth Cicirello * 206.214.6556 * marybeth.cicirello@exprealty.com * Downtown Seattle Real Estate

Space Needle soars above Seattle Center

There is of course a revolving restaurant atop the Space Needle at Seattle Center.  The Space Needle was erected just in time for the 1962 World’s Fair, and according to it’s info site, “was always destined to become world famous.”  Truly it’s one of a kind and Seattle does love it!  At the holiday season there is a Christmas Tree atop it in a cone of light, at New Year’s they set fireworks right off it and they wildly flower the night sky above the stunningly high eccentrically shaped tower, a sight so satisfying that enormous crowds of Seattleites, their friends and visitors, flock to see it every year from vantage points around Lake Union or the lucky ones from their balconies on Queen Anne Hill.  Go to the site and watch a video about the Space Needle (only a minute long) which is a blast.

How’s the restaurant at the top?  It’s called Sky City and is presided over by executive chef  Jeff Maxfield (click to check out the video!)  Someone once told me the food was just OK, and so it probably took me longer than it might have to venture up to the restaurant on top of the Space Needle.  Having been here for more than five years, it just seemed impossible to put it off longer, and then that special someone took me there for a romantic dinner.  Let me just say that not only was it much more thrilling than I’d expected, the scenery more immediate and the experience of turning around over the city more gripping, but the food was really nice.  I even remembered to take a couple of photos, so “see for yourself.”  You’ll have to trust me on the taste.  In other words, I’d go back even if it wasn’t on top of the Space Needle!  An example is the grilled wild salmon with a moral vinaigrette, served with fresh Yakama asparagus, or what about Hedgehog Mushroom Saute? The chef emphasizes the seafood so fresh and abundant in the Northwest, along with fresh bounty from the fields and woodlands of our area. (View chef’s blog.)

Just as gripping is the way Seattle spreads out before you as you dine and slowly twirl above the city streets.  Shapes of buildings, the lakes, traffic patterns, amazing cloud formations, the ships cruising the Sound, and of course the mountains circling the city on all sides (Cascades to the East, Rainier to the South (here’s the webcam), Olympics to the West, heading North there’s Mt. Baker.

Seattle seen from Sky City Restaurant

Yummy steak! Asparagus! New potatos!

Bread pudding with caramel sauce

Looking over Puget Sound to Alki in West Seattle

Giving the Bash some serious competition are two major parties, one is DList Magazine’s “New Year’s Eve 2010″ being held at Fremont Film Studios (9 p.m. to 2 a.m.).  If you haven’t at least been in the neighborhood when the Studios are lit up with a celebrity event, noticed the strings of limos and party-goers approaching (the friendly smiles of the Valet guys tell us it’s Fremont after all) then you’ll want to make it a point to attend something there, and here is a great possibility.  General admission is $55 and Ryan Leslie is featured along with DJ Ikon.  21+, dress to impress!

But wait, it gets even more tempting with the 8th Annual all-out bash at EMP!  It’s called “Indulgence 2010“, a party featuring varied music, many dance floors, national music acts, hot DJs, comedians, great experiences!  There are tickets for $60 as well as VIP packages at $189 and $350.  And views of the Space Needle and City Lights.  Actually, I wanna go.  Problem is, I wanna go to all three, and then there’s the all night cruise, the Rock the Boat party that starts out at the Islander Yacht Club, boarding and pre-funk starts at 9 p.m., boat leaves the dock by 10:30 p.m., and parks about 20 minutes before midnight at the South End of Lake Union to watch the fireworks.  The tickets are $70, it’s usually a private party but this year for the first time has been opened to everyone, black tie attire.  Oh, I forgot, the event is hosted by Harrison Wood from Kube 93 and the music is slated to be “the best hip hop and R&B”… all night!  Let’s!  The Islander Yacht Club is at 1611 Fairview Ave E in Seattle.

There are warnings abroad that any and all of these just might sell out so if you are going to one it’s recommended to get your tickets early (so I’m posting it now to give you a week).  And don’t forget to post your comments and photos so we can all enjoy!  Happy New Year, Seattle!