20th Ave Northeast, Olympic Hills / Victory Heights

I just moved into an apartment on NE 140th near Lake City Way. I'm surrounded by A) other apartment buildings, B) large warehouse and industrial sites, and C) streets notable for their potholes.

That said, it's remarkably quiet for being so close to a major arterial, and it's a great location to get wherever I want to go. I-5 is just minutes away, as is the shopping haven of Northgate and the peaceful retreat of Lake Washington - especially to the north.

As I was hunting for apartments, this corner of Lake City, just south of 145th and just west of Lake City Way, stood out as having the best prices in the north end. Some neighbors have described it as a bit "hood-ish" but I haven't seen any serious problems yet. The worst crime is the litter on the gravel shoulders. There's no gang tagging or other danger signs.

All things considered, it's not the nicest place I've ever lived, but it's a good value for the dollar.

20th NE embodies a number of contradictions. For example, where it runs into NE 45th St, right across from the UW campus, you find a couple frat houses as well as the Catholic campus ministry chapel. It's a fairly small side-street, but the curb and shoulders are packed with cars so that parking is almost impossible to find. A modern new apartment building stands next to a house in serious need of repair, and down the road is a beautifully restored house from the early 20th century. It's a fascinating place to visit, but there's no way anyone but a student would want to live there.

That's the south end of 20th. Further north, say, north of 65th St., 20th becomes a respectable middle-class neighborhood with regular street parking and good access to Lake City, Wedgewood, and Northgate. But I mostly know that end of the street from getting lost looking for friends' houses.

By far my favorite part of 20th NE is where it crosses Ravenna Park, roughly between 58th and 61st. The street narrows and crosses a gorgeous bridge with a magnificent view of the forest below. There's nothing like it in Seattle or anywhere else.