Live in the U-District while you’re here

Tucked away in my dark green notebook that I’ve lovingly adorned with stickers, most of them journalist or UW themed, are notes from interviews with people who love the U-District. 

These past two quarters, as the U-District beat reporter for The Daily, I’ve gotten the privilege of seeing the U-District through a new light. While walking down The Ave, I no longer think about how much longer my trek to campus is or what I should wear tomorrow, but of the stories that exist around me from the empty storefronts to the new businesses opening. I stop and look at the posters around me, most of them advertising some sort of community event, and reflect on the community we live in. 

My experience has allowed me to understand the U-District, or rather the people who inhabit it. I’ve spoken with business owners, restaurant managers, directors of non-profits, and students about the experience of living and working in the U-District. 

So many of them love the U-District. I’ve heard from people who’ve grown up down the block and work everyday to keep the Ave community-centered, business owners who just want to create a welcoming space for students to study, and alumni who remember what the Ave used to be like twenty years ago.  

I’ve written a lot about “community connection,” a phrase that sometimes feels so overused it’s almost meaningless. But it’s not trivial. 

You could come to UW and not engage in the community, if you wanted. You could get your breakfast at By George, have one of the worst coffees of your life at Microsoft Cafe, and spend the rest of your afternoon studying in the stacks of Suzzalo library. 

But if you don’t buy a Coke Zero at Flowers and talk to the cashier about how your quarter’s going you’re missing out on a key college (and life) experience. My biggest advice from two years at UW and two quarters reporting about the U-District is this: live in the U-District. 

Go to the University District Farmer’s Market. Convince your friends to go to Aladdin’s after a night out instead of doordashing to your dorm. Try every overpriced latte on the Ave until you find one that fuels your midnight study session. Live in the U-District. 

I know I won’t live here forever. In two years, someone else will occupy my beautiful college home (and I wish them a lot of luck surviving the freezing winters), become a regular at the coffee shop with the best cold brew, and sit in my favorite spot on the 67 bus. 

While I’m here, I want to engage with my community — and that phrase is not meaningless. It means something, even if that’s just volunteering at the University District Food Bank or making the effort to shop local.

The U-District has its problems; anyone who has walked on the Ave, especially at night, understands this. But if you pause and look around, if you stop to talk to the people around you, if you live in the U-District, you’ll fall in love with it too. 

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