If you know Seattle, you know it’s a fairly literary city, but now it’s internationally recognized as such. UNESCO has designated Seattle as a City of Literature, after a years-long campaign by locals for the recognition. This confirms me in my strategy of establishing knowledge of a neighborhood by knowing where, from any given house, I’d go for grocery shopping, tea drinking, and book buying.
The Case-Shiller numbers for August are out, and price increases are still going strong. “Strong” in this case means 11.3% compared to August of 2016. If you’re distressed by that, this article from the Seattle Times might help put things in perspective. It compares the Seattle market for housing (buying and renting) to San Francisco’s market, and the comparison generally comes off favorably for Seattle. That said, having perspective doesn’t mean you won’t still be distressed; “San Francisco is worse” doesn’t mean things aren’t rough here.
This one caught me by surprise: Florida is one of the top places people arriving in Seattle hail from. Our weather is objectively better than theirs, so I can understand the impulse. Welcome, Floridians!