Seattle, West Edge neighborhood. Need suggestions on where to buy stuff, services, parks, etc.

I'll disagree with qxntpqbbbqxl (I had to cut and paste that) and say that Seattle doesn't have any fantastic, or great (as in large) parks. Not in the sense of Golden Gate park, Central park, or Boston Common. But what about http://www.cityofseattle.net/parks/Environment/discovparkindex.htm? It's 534 acres — I know it's not as big as Central Park, but I think it's pretty good-sized. When we lived in Seattle, that's where we took our dog (who doesn't like other dogs, either) on long walks (leashed). You do have to drive to get there from downtown, but it's not a bad drive. As far as yoga, I loved http://www.yogatree.com/ in Fremont.

I'll check out Myrtle Adams Park to see if they have easy parking. No need to drive! You can just walk down one of the sets of stairs off of 1st Ave (Pike St, or by the Four Seasons, or the Harbor Steps) and walk a couple blocks until you hit the waterfront. Turn right and have a lovely stroll along the water to the awesome Olympic Sculpture Park and on to Myrtle Edwards! Just don't try this the http://hempfest.org/drupal/

You should check the prices as the relatively new Kress Supermarket (1427 3rd Ave). The prices for milk and such were better than they were at some of the other older downtown markets. I'd check Bartells Drugs too. Also check Bed Bath and Beyond, at some point in the last couple of years they added paper products, cleaning supplies, bathroom consumables, etc to their inventory of more durable goods. For larger supermarkets, you'd probably have an easy time getting to Lower Queen Anne, and Broadway via bus.

Wow, I was wondering what "West Edge" was too. What will they think of next? You live downtown near the Market. That's what your neighborhood is called. :) You're not in Belltown, you're not in Pioneer Square, you're not in the Regrade - all of those are real neighborhood names for sections of downtown. If you say "downtown near the Market" everyone will know what you mean. There is also Gas Works Park, in terms of parks that are close to downtown. Discovery Park is awesome. Golden Gardens in Ballard is one of my favorites, too. Lincoln Park in West Seattle is also a favorite. Downtown Grocery stores are not going to be cheap - in any city. Find a QFC. My favorites are the one on Pike and Broadway, or the one just off of 15th in Interbay. Those were my favorites because I thought the stores were always well-stocked and clean, and parking was easy. I worked downtown for a long time and when I first started, thought, "Oh, I will shop at the market every day for my fresh food and produce!" yeah, not so much. Plus in the summer you have to go at the crack of dawn or you are fighting those strolling tourists carrying the dried flower bouquets. Also, I always preferred to buy my fish where it was not thrown about. If you want a chiropractor referral go to Bastyr's student clinic. Even if you don't keep going to Bastyr, their ability to refer you to alternative health practicioners who know their stuff is unparalleled.

Also, I don't think there is such a thing as "West Edge Neighborhood". I live in this neighborhood and love it, despite the stupid moniker. "West Edge" is the name given to the area between the Pike/Pine corridor and Pioneer Square by a consultant hired by the downtown merchant assocaition to "brand" this slice of downtown. http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=8530 It's a horrible name that can be only fully appreciated in the context of the tagline: "West Edge: It's Not Dull!" I second Don & Joe's and Sosio's and would also plug Pure Food Fish. However if I'm in the market on a weekend or when it's super busy I try to do my shopping in the Sanitary Market Building 'cause it's faster and fewer tourists bump into me. There I favor Frank's Produce, Fero's Meats (the Halal chickens are especially good and not available and Don & Joes) and Jack's Fish (which, btw, is a great place to have some fish and chips or oysters). Also in the market, don't miss the Mexican Grocery, Market Spice, and the Pike & Western Wine Shop (for wine, see also: Cost Plus just past the north end of the market). For a cocktail, descend halfway down the Pike Street Stair Climb and visithttp://zigzagseattle.com/ Uwajimaya has great produce and fish but you'll get reamed on staples like paper towels. From where you live you could go east on Madison to the Safeway at about 23rd and Madison. You might also checkout the Promenade Red Apple at 23rd and Jackson--it will be less spendy than the Safeway. The previously mentioned Arco on 12th as well as the Arco on 23rd at Cherry are the cheapest places for gas. In terms of parks, if you're going to hop in a car then by all means check out http://www.seattle.gov/Parks/environment/seward.htm at the south end of Lake Washington--there is a great loop trail. I'd also recommend heading over to West Seattle and visiting the stunning http://www.seattle.gov/parks/park_detail.asp?ID=460 in West Seattle. You may not know that in addition to the WA State Ferry service, in the Spring/Summer there are a http://www.kingcounty.gov/transportation/kcdot/Marine/WaterTaxi.aspx that can take you across from the waterfront to to either Vashon Island or Alki Beach. mmmm . . . "West Edge" meetup? ;-)

Although I'm not going to disagree with fnerg or yazi about some of the selection at Uwajimaya (like the fish, or Kobe Beef!) but I would like to make a couple of clarifications. For a few years I lived a couple blocks from Uwajimaya. It was the grocery store I walked to and picked up food from weekly. I have/had upwards of six friends live in the apartments above the store, and shop there almost nightly. I would recommend anybody to go and check out and see what they have, but if your diet is varied and traditionally western then the prices overall are not cheaper. If you want to select between a whole aisle full of tea or saki; go there. If you want some snacks such as Botan Rice Candy, Honey Sesame Seed Crackers, and Mochi Ice Cream; go there. If you want some eggs, milk, and cereal; go to QFC. Add me into the group of people who've never heard of West Edge. The lines for some of Seattle neighborhoods have always been a little blurry and I don't think that area qualifies as Belltown. Then again I would say at least three quarters of living space in that area is less than twenty years old. So people (businessmen) looking to give it a neighborhood name doesn't surprise me. Bookstores: http://www.elliottbaybook.com/ in Pioneer Square is great. http://www.twicesoldtales.info/ on Capitol Hill is also good. Beware of cats.

Another note about Uwajimaya: fresh, cheap oysters! If you want to deal with shucking them, you can get a bunch for way cheap, and have a mollusc meal of mammoth proportions. RE: Parks, the thing about Central Park, Golden Gate, etc. is that they're central. Seattle has some pretty parks scattered about it's periphery that take some driving to get to. (Oh yeah, check out Seward park too. It's right on Lake Washington. Gasworks Park in Wallingford is very nice too.) Cal Anderson park is as close as you get to a place you can just walk to. More specifically, it's close to where you might be anyway. Discovery, Sand Point, the Arboretum are all in places that you're not necessarily going to be in unless you're specifically visiting that park. Actually, by my own definition, Gasworks is really Seattle's best, most accessible park. If Seattle were Sim City, I'd pick up Pioneer Square, flatten a part of Belltown, drop it there, and put a park where Pioneer Square used to be. Either that, or move I-5 completely underground, and expand Freeway park to cover a bunch more area.

I want to add something about Uwajimaya. You should think about doing ALL your shopping there. The produce is excellent. The Japanese and other Asia foodstuffs are of course about the best selection there is. But the most important is that for meat and fish, this place is absurdly excellent. THe fish stores at Pike Market do not hold a candle to Mutual Fish (way the hell far away from Pike St.) and to Uwajimaya. I have priced and compared quality with several fish places. If you don't go to Mutual, then buy fish at Uwajimaya. They have real fish mongers working there. The prices are INSANEly reasonable and their stuff is superior quaility. Look at the different kinds of frozen fish items next to the left of the frest fish case. My wife and I buy the frozen mackerel fillets in a package (2 fillets for about $7). And we broil those babies and they are very fresh and tasty. Really... don't waste time shopping at the "Market". It's just a decadent tourist trap, and has nothing like the real local producers that it had 30 yrs. ago. All you have to do is get in the bus tunnel for the free bus trip there. And yes, free parking for a $7 minimum.

Heh. I referred to my neighborhood as "West Edge" because that's how it's labelled on my free city map. We live near 1st Ave, south of Pike St. What is the real name of my neighborhood? Thanks to all for these many suggestions! You all have saved me lots of time and made life easier. My dog is always on a leash when outside. He doesn't bother people nor scare ducks. He is having trouble adjusting to urban life. He misses the quiet and grass of the NJ suburbs. Someone suggested we drive to Queen Anne and walk him around the streets there. I'll check out Myrtle Adams Park to see if they have easy parking. @halogen: Yes, I'd like to know about Indian food, day spa, bookstore, an amazing place to frame your art, and anything else. Many thanks for all your suggestions!