Seattle has buses. Use them In which case you might as well find a place to live along a line. One line at a time. Here's the next one, selected at random for the fun of it.
Route 308 starts its swing through the neighborhoods of Horizon View above the north end of Lake Washington, passes through Lake Forest Park proper, and runs to downtown in less than an hour, traffic permitting. Impressive, considering all the lights along the way.
↑ With a neighborhood marked as Horizon View, it shouldn't be a surprise that hills are involved. Lake Forest Park suggests trees. This new, $700,000, 2,640 square foot, 4 bedroom and 4 bath house is obviously not on flat land (though it includes about a third of an acre), and definitely has trees. It also has a modern interior with side staircases, a roomy kitchen, of course new appliances, an open floor plan, and the only marks are left by the vacuum on the carpet. The metal roof is a nice touch, especially when the needles from those trees start to fall.
↑ Every house was new at one time, even in the 20th century. Here's a house that was built in 1978, and has been around long enough for the koi pond to have settled in as the foliage has settled around it. Check to see if you get to keep the fish. The house has 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, and 3,100 square feet. There's a lot of marble and glass block in that one bathroom; a nice place to get as wet as a fish. You can get wet and warm outside, because there's a hot tub, too. For $545,000, you can settle in to a place that's settled in.
↑ This house's lot isn't flat and is wooded, as it lives up to its neighborhood's names; and it is fenced. Dogs may approve. For $475,000, the humans get to enjoy 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, and 2,070 square feet. The ultimate test of a house is whether it is liveable or not. This one house has had one owner for 37 years. Is that long enough of a test for you? They made the outside more liveable as well, with two decks that are much more than places for two director's chairs. Go ahead, lounge.
↑ Big trees, significant slope, and a quarter acre of land, that's a nice setting for a 2,090 square foot, 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath house. Whether it is worth $474,950 is up to the buyer. The steeper the slope, the better chance for a view - clouds and sunshine dependent, of course. The kitchen and baths look newer than 1993. Thanks to lofted ceilings, it is less likely to feel like a collection of boxes for rooms. Now, if only the clouds would lift to show off the view.
↑ Here's another one that has proof of liveability. The owner and the house have known each other since 1984. Thirty years of watching the trees grow, letting the land mature, and being comfortable enough to not have to change addresses, pack, move, or shop for houses. The quarter acre lot leaves a lot of room around the 2,330 square foot house. With 4 bedrooms and 3 baths, there's room for a family, or a lot of project spaces. There's even an extra kitchen(ette) so if you get wrapped up in what you're doing, you're less likely to have to travel far for a snack. Not bad for $365,000.
See anything you like?
· Route 308 [Metro]
· All Bus Tours coverage [CS]
Written by Tom Trimbath