Stevens

Stevens pretty much rules. It’s quaint, flies a good deal under the radar, but yet, this nabe is happening! It’s like the younger brother of Capitol Hill, flashy, but not as flashy, hip, but still a bit too awkward. However, stevens could be the ugly duckling younger brother, the one who grows up into the most happening of the two. Honestly, this is unlikely due to how less urban Stevens is than Capitol Hill, but it goes to show how happening a small nabe can be, even if it is criminally overlooked by a vast majority of the population.

There is a pseudo centralized shopping, dining, and drinking area in stevens that has some of my favorite bars in the city. They tend to be less crowded, cheaper, and a bit quieter than those in Capitol Hill, all of which are plusses in my book. Also of note, rent is much cheaper (usually, and relatively) in Stevens than in any of the other trendier nabes it is surrounded by.

Zachary Walker

So I lied.. I don’t actually live here, but I lived just on the cusp of iton 14th and John. You’ll have to excuse me if I talk about this place like a local. Two grocery stores in Stevens, some great bars that aren’t a hassel to get a beer at on the weekends, Victrola coffee to read at on a rainy day, or meet your friends before a picnic at Volunteer Park. When it’s nice here, its amazing. Babies and puppies, bikes and people, life comes out from hibernation like you’ve never seen it! Music festivals at Volunteer, Seattle Asian Art Museum, a public greenhouse and a beautiful cemetery whose claim to fame is Bruce Lee’s Grave. Even though it’s close to cap hill, you’ll find almost none of the bullshit. I absolutely love this nabe, just being here can cheer me up in some of Seattle’s rainiest days.

Oh and Capitol Hill locals might argue that Volunteer Park is technically theirs; the map lies. Just laugh at them, and walk away.

Christopher M.