By Ken Robinson
Managing Editor
Every car trip off the hill into Seattle these days is a reminder of the value of shopping at home. By shopping, we mean anything that puts you in a car—doctor appointment, going to a restaurant, visiting friends, attending a music event or a going to a movie—are all increasingly off-putting.
Why? There is just too many of us now on the road.
We really avoid going to town—Seattle—because parking is scarce, people drive like idiots and there is little there that we cannot find on the westside.
Gotta have a martini? Salty’s has ‘em. So does the Tin Room in Burien and any number of Ballard watering holes.
Wanna see a movie? The Admiral and Bay are fun places. But Netflix has it going on if you are fussy about possibly sitting in a dark room next to someone who smells bad. You can do that at home.
If you are old enough to remember when going downtown was a real adventure, now it is one of a different sort. People used to dress well, including the kids, to go to places like Frederick and Nelson. That all changed about 30 years ago when the grunge movement took over and we established the Seattle Look—puffy coats, hiking boots and flannel worn by people who have never been in the woods, backwards baseball caps to indicate IQ and torn jeans. Everyone looks like a refugee now.
We expect this trend will change, like things do.
In the meantime, stick around the hood. We’ve got it all here; recreation, great places to eat, more places with free parking (but becoming fewer) and the collective sense of community that sets us apart from what the Seattle City Council thinks is Seattle. (We do have to give a nod to one of our representatives on the council, Lisa Herbold. She is more engaged and a better communicator than anyone in that role in the past. She lives here and she gets it).
In White Center, Burien, Normandy Park, SeaTac, Des Moines, Ballard, and Fremont there are dedicated, effective leaders working to keep our communities vibrant and livable. And independent.
You can read about them here.
