A Little About Upper Rainier Beach

On the western shore of Lake Washington lies Upper Rainier Beach. Like the rest of the neighborhoods in the Rainier Beach area, this part of Seattle is making a slow yet steady recovery from a decades-long history of poverty and crime, initiated in the period following World War II. The depressed property values of this period allowed home buyers and developers to purchase real estate in the area, and rent rates and housing prices much lower than the steadily escalating costs elsewhere in Seattle continue to draw new businesses and residents, while the extension of the light rail to the neighborhood in the last few years has further supported this growth.

Part of Upper Rainier Beach's ever-increasing upside is the incredible diversity of its residents, businesses and real estate. It is said that home buyers of almost any age and background can find a home to purchase in the neighborhood, likely at a price way below that of comparable properties elsewhere in the city. The ongoing urban renewal effort is taking shape with a made-over Safeway shopping center, an expanded library and what locals say are some of the best restaurants in Seattle, favored for consistent quality and prices that won't bankrupt the diner. Among the favorites are the Italian hole in the wall Cafe Vignole and Altaye Ethiopian Restaurant, hailed by patrons as a destination restaurant hidden in unassuming Rainier Valley.