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Phases of Capitol Hill Residency (CHR)

I rode the bus with a colleague yesterday and we had a good laugh about our (relatively) identical Capitol Hill residential trajectories.

CHR 1.0: Basic apartment, west of Broadway
CHR 2.0: Nicer apartment, between Broadway and 15th, possible co-hab
CHR 3.0a: Similar nice apartment, east of 15th, can’t afford to buy but want something “quiet”
CHR 3.0b: Condo or small house, east of 15th, first home purchase and want something “quiet”

Feel free to share your CHR!

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su alumn
su alumn
15 years ago

1.0: SU Dorm (campion 11) (2 years) loud as shit; can’t rent
2.0: 500 sq ft studio on 3rd floor, back alley side of capitol building w/ view of cinderblock wall (broadway/e john) (3 years) loud as shit; can’t buy
3.0: Ballard House 3BR w/ 5 roommates (1 year) loud as piss; can’t buy
4.0: Magnolia (Interbay) 1BR solo (2 years) sweet, sweet quiet; can’t buy
5.0: Queen Anne (Interbay) 2BR w/ gf (present) sweet cohabited quiet; can’t buy

just a gut feeling, but i imagine the next several iterations will all end with “can’t buy”

jseattle
jseattle
15 years ago

Larger house, east of 15th, 2nd home purchase

This one is going on the census too :)

Uncle Vinny
Uncle Vinny
15 years ago

1999: Rented a studio at 14th and John. Incredibly cheap, loved the neighborhood.
2000: Foolishly moved to Bellevue for 3 years. (GAaaaaaAAAAAH!)
2003: Bought a cool condo at 14th and John. Loved it.
2007: Freaked out by housing prices, sold my condo and got a cheap apartment at 17 and John.
2008: Moved to a spiffy apartment with a view at Bellevue and Roy. However, there are no birds outside my window anymore for the cats to watch, so someday I need to move again.

I don’t think I fit The Pattern, but I gotta be Me! :-)

dave
dave
15 years ago

1.0 Rented apartment at 10th and Harrison – awesome
2.0 Moved into girlfriend’s co-op in “south capitol hill” (aka Squire Park)
3.0 Bought first house at 19th and Union (teeny tiny, but oh so cute)
4.0 Spent five years in Phinney Ridge, got married, had kids
5.0 Bought house back in the hood (Burner Triangle/Radio Point/TriBeMa – Triangle Below Madison?), where hopefully we’ll stay for good

seandr
seandr
15 years ago

1993 – moved into a studio apartment near Boylston and Pine
1995 – moved across the hall to a 1 bedroom
1999 – moved to our first house in Squire Park
2008 – moved to a house in North Capitol Hill near Volunteer Park

No doubt, the Hill has strong gravitational pull for us.

EmilyP
EmilyP
15 years ago

1997-2001 – attended Holy Names, commuted from Kirkland
2001-2002 (five months) – shared house in Lake City
2002 (six months) – MIL apartment with crazy retiree in Sandpoint
2002-2004 – lived in parents’ basement in Kirkland
2004-2006 – lived in Bellingham while attending WWU (1 year of dorm, 1 yr of apt)
2006-2007 (five months) – back in parents’ house
2007-present – in 550-square-foot duplex apartment on 23rd; loud as shit but happy

Wow, it’s not until doing this that I realize I’m back on the Hill after ten years. I’m planning on staying for a while, but we’ll see how long I can keep the duplex apartment.

carmen
carmen
15 years ago

started out at belmont and howell, then headed up to 15th (for quiet and parking) then to several places on 19th/20th…at this rate I’ll be living in Lake WA in a couple years. Seems to be a common trajectory

Lolalaptop
Lolalaptop
15 years ago

1.0 Two bedroom apartment split between 3 friends on Pike & 14th– the places above what is now “Dave’s Appliance” Funky & fun, but I moved out after a burglary attempt while I was sleeping. 1992-94
2.0 Two bedroom rental house on North Broadway– quieter and safer but too far from everything. 1994-2002
3.0 One bedroom apt. at Mercer & 14th– Yay for living near 15th! But whoops- building was sold to developers and we had to move. 2002-2007
4.0 Lucked into the one rental unit in the historic Maryland Co-op on 13th & Roy, One bedroom. We get to stay in the ‘hood and feel secure that we aren’t going to be ousted by developers. I’m tired of moving!

battatto
battatto
15 years ago

1980-81 shared apt in Interbay/Magnolia
1981-83 shared apt on Queen Anne (got married)
1983-85 apt on Univ Way
1985-87 shared house in Roosevelt
1987-88 shared house on Phinney
1988-90 apt on Aurora (goodbye craftsman; hello blue video bunker!)
1990-93 house in Latona
1993-1997 house in Ballard
1997-present house by Volunteer Park
Definitely not your standard trajectory…