Enter Jazmine Smith, newest Futurewise staff member (welcome!) and colleague in my neighborhood.  There were plenty of folks I could interview to share what it’s like to live in the heart of Seattle, but she was an obvious choice, even before she applied to be the new Director of Local Advocacy. You can always find her biking through the city and at local events.  Jazmine has lived throughout the state and internationally; she grew up in Lynnwood and went to school in Bellingham, with some time spent living in Australia and Timor-Leste. She has a passion for working for a better future; she’s on the Queen Anne Community Council, the Land Use Committee for Uptown Alliance, and before joining our team, worked full time as a political manager at a youth advocacy organization. When you think of a young, hip, non-profit professional that’s thriving in an urban environment, picture Jazmine.

If you live in or are familiar with Seattle, you’ll know there’s contention over whether the officially named Uptown neighborhood is referred to as such or Lower Queen Anne (read more here for the debate), but Jazmine prefers “Lower Queen Anne” so that’s what we’re using in this interview.  Lower Queen Anne is a popular neighborhood in Seattle, home to the Space Needle and the Seattle Center, which hosts a long list of events from Bumbershoot to cultural festivals and more.  It boasts a population of 7000, mostly living in dense apartments, condos, and variety of middle-housing types.  It’s sandwiched between the Queen Anne neighborhood and infamous hill, and Elliot Bay.

 

Tell me about where you live, to help the reader understand where you’re coming from

I live in Lower Queen Anne, just one block away from many bus lines and a short five minute walk to the Monorail.  I’m probably one of the top 1% Monorail users and consider it a regular form of my transportation.  I live in a studio apartment with AC and limited space, new enough to have amenities, but not new enough to be spending too much in rent.

 

You’ve mentioned public transit. Is that the main way you get around?

I use public transit and biking. I really like that there’s bike lanes but they don’t always make the most sense [explains the wonkiness or disconnected bike lanes and complicated routes she’s had to make to bike safely].

 

Why do you live there?

I live in Lower Queen Anne because it has the perfect balance of a neighborhood. There’s a wide variety of food options, boba, bars, and restaurants.  It’s very walkable, there’s events happening all the time, robust public transit, and even has a beach. I joke that the Seattle Center is my front yard, and Myrtle Edwards park is my backyard. [Climate Pledge] Arena is right across the street, but it’s still quiet.

The neighborhood has the right balance of not being super loud like the Capitol Hill neighborhood on weekends, things are open later than they are Downtown, and you have a variety of options without it being rambunctious.

 

What’s something you love that people who aren’t from there wouldn’t expect?

There’s so many little parks throughout, ones along the waterfront that merge together, the Seattle Center, and a bunch of corner unit parks, like Bhy Khrake park.  There’s a lot of cool outdoor spaces that have incredible views.

 

Tell me a story about where you live that could only happen there.

Living across from an arena means I get to see differences in how people show up.  There’s a wide variety of events that are held, and some people are lined up for multiple days in advance for a show or concert.  When there’s people lining up for the event, I can look and see what the vibe is of who’s playing.  One thing I’ve noticed is with sporting events, the people that are regularly going are more likely to take transit or have some other plans so the streets are pretty calm, but if there’s a one-off event like a comedy show, everyone’s confused about how to navigate the area, cops are directing people to drive into bike lanes, cars are making wrong turns, it’s all a cluster, but it’s their first time here.

 

What would you change about where you live?

I would like light rail sooner. First thing I’d change! [laughs] And a library, even if it’s really small ground-level retail.  My options now are at the top of the hill or the central branch.  It’d be really great to have a library.

 

When you leave, where do you go and why?

I’ll go downtown for Pike Place Market, the waterfront, to baseball games near Pioneer Square, and to doctors appointments in the Capitol Hill/First Hill area.  I like joy rides in the summer, hopping on my bike, going to Pier 50 and going on the water taxi to West Seattle to bike Alki Beach, or the ferry to Bremerton, Kingston, or Port Townshend.

 

Anything else?

I go to Lynnwood to see my parents every other weekend.  One thing I’m excited for is the Link station, because the timeframe between when the Northgate station opened and when Lynwood opened has been rough, taking the 512 bus from Northgate is one transfer too many. I’m really excited to bike to the Westlake station, hop on the train and bike to my parents.