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.
Some routes are just obvious, and should obviously be busy. Of course there's a bus that takes you to and from the airport, and you get your pick of airports. Route 124 starts in Tukwila, down by SeaTac; stops at Boeing Field, in case you prefer a less crowded airstrip; and ends in downtown Seattle, which probably wouldn't take much of a hop to catch a floatplane on Lake Union. Buses serving planes, no cars required.
↑ At least congratulate them on picking a style and committing to it. The house is Spanish. The marble is Italian. The bath is Grecian. They call it a villa. It has a cabana with a pool, or a pool with a cabana. Mediterranean does it. All it needs are some olive trees and a vineyard. It also needs a buyer, because this pink palace has been on and off the market for over two years during which they're dropped the price over a quarter of a million dollars, down to $942,000. It is a 5 bedroom, 5 bath, 6,510 square foot, 2.2 acre estate house; but it is built for more than sitting and lounging. Sweat and play with the basketball and tennis court, a game room, and a mirrored gym for practicing tango. There's even a mudroom for cleaning up after you've tended the 2.2 acre property. So, why hasn't it sold? Well, it is pink. Maybe that's it. Got paint?
↑ The staircase defines the house. Whoever designed it built it for dramatic entrances, a flourish to draw everyone's attention as you descend into the cocktail party swirling through the foyer. How much of the price of $850,000 is from that sense of style and how much is from the basics of 5 bedrooms and 2 baths? The rest of the 4,930 square foot house strives to keep up with that opening grandeur. The kitchen, baths, and formal spaces aren't aimed at a pedestrian lifestyle. They look like they're aimed at employing maids and butlers, and anyone that is willing to vacuum that many steps and wash that many windows. It is grand, but it can also be private, or at least the driveway is gated, which may hold back the adoring crowds or the rabble.
↑ Here's another house that's been playing The Long Game on the market. This 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath 2002 house was put up for sale in May 2014. Now, the price is $555,000 for the 2,620 square foot house on the 8,842 square foot lot. It isn't as grand as the first two, but outside there are distinctive features like the tiled wall topped with a wrought iron fence. Inside, it is a nice two story with a well-equipped kitchen. The stairway is open without taking up too much space. Generally, a nice balance of a bit of class without ostentation
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↑ It's a new 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2,681 square foot house that's listed for $459,950. New means you get to give it some character to take it from being a developer's 'Corsica Plan' and turning into a home. Like many new homes, it uses quartz and granite, rocks that are easier to care for and nicer than a lot of artificial alternatives. If everything was built right, you even get a break from house maintenance, at least for a while. Enjoy that.
↑ Basement rambler and 1962 just seem to go together nicely. That's part of the description of this 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath house that has an asking price of $349,500. It is 1,740 square feet, which is more typical of the time. The kitchen has definitely been updated because that shade of blue probably wasn't popular, or even available back then. One of the main pieces that looks a bit dated is the brick fireplace, but that's understandable if you've ever looked into replacing that much masonry. There's something comforting about a house that hasn't tried to be something it isn't. A bit of maintenance, some nice decking and landscaping, and over fifty years later it still looks like a fine house.
· Route 124 [Metro]
· All Bus Tours coverage [CS]
· All Long Game coverage [CS]
· All Pricechopper coverage [CS]
Written by Tom Trimbath