My Journal v 2.0
So, I finally got around to reformatting the blog. As I no longer live in the Center of the Universe, I felt that a change was in order. Plus, I've been here for a year now, so I'm not really on a journey into the unknown anymore. Seattle has become a little more like home since I started this thing, and I think I'll be sticking around for a while.
In the meantime, I've been spending the last two weeks trying to get settled in my new place in Ballard, which is the neighborhood immediately to the west of Fremont. While large chunks of southern Ballard are very industrial an marine-oriented, the northern areas are much more residential and in a state of revival. My apartment is about 3 blocks from the intersection of Market Street and Ballard Avenue, which is the heart of "downtown" Ballard. One of the advantages I can already see about this area over Fremont is that it's more of a "real place," so to speak. Fremont has lots of cool bars and specialty shops, but it's missing some of the day-to-day necessities that would make it self-contained. In Fremont, I could randomly toss a rock, and it would bounce off six Thai restaurants and three coffee shops before it hit the ground, but there wasn't a single place you could go to buy socks. Ballard has a lot of cool bars and restaurants, too, but it also has those necessities that were missing in Fremont. I have a grocery store, a drug store, two banks, and a dry-cleaner's within walking distance. Ballard used to be an independent city, and there is still a big effort to keep the area's distinctive self-contained feel and Scandinavian maritime culture intact.
There hasn't been a lot of free time for exploring yet, but that's on the to-do list. I'll be sure to let you know what I find out...
In the meantime, I've been spending the last two weeks trying to get settled in my new place in Ballard, which is the neighborhood immediately to the west of Fremont. While large chunks of southern Ballard are very industrial an marine-oriented, the northern areas are much more residential and in a state of revival. My apartment is about 3 blocks from the intersection of Market Street and Ballard Avenue, which is the heart of "downtown" Ballard. One of the advantages I can already see about this area over Fremont is that it's more of a "real place," so to speak. Fremont has lots of cool bars and specialty shops, but it's missing some of the day-to-day necessities that would make it self-contained. In Fremont, I could randomly toss a rock, and it would bounce off six Thai restaurants and three coffee shops before it hit the ground, but there wasn't a single place you could go to buy socks. Ballard has a lot of cool bars and restaurants, too, but it also has those necessities that were missing in Fremont. I have a grocery store, a drug store, two banks, and a dry-cleaner's within walking distance. Ballard used to be an independent city, and there is still a big effort to keep the area's distinctive self-contained feel and Scandinavian maritime culture intact.
There hasn't been a lot of free time for exploring yet, but that's on the to-do list. I'll be sure to let you know what I find out...