This past weekend, I went up to Seattle, Washington with some friends. I love Seattle - it’s so close to Portland but the cities both have such a different vibe. I mostly just visit Seattle for work, or for very short 1 or 2 day stays, so recently when I felt like I needed a longer stay for a change of scenery, Seattle was an appealing choice.
I was so excited to partner with Blueground Homes on this little trip - I heard about Blueground from a friend recently and was immediately interested, and when I saw they had apartments in Seattle and other cities I frequently visit like LA, NYC and Chicago, I knew it would be an awesome way to experience these places. They also have international locations in Istanbul, Greece, London and more! Basically, Blueground is similar to Airbnb or other hosting platforms, except they specialize in long-term stays in major cities (their minimum reservation length is one month). Each apartment is brand new, furnished with trendy eye-catching furniture pieces and comes with everything you need to “show up, start living” as they say. Literally EVERYTHING - towels, sheets, cooking utensils, bluetooth speakers, TV, even books. You just pull up with your suitcase and start your new life.
Our apartment was a gorgeous, spacious, airy one bedroom on the 24th floor of the Kinect in Seattle. When I say this building was amazing… you have to see it to believe it. Not only was the apartment itself dope, but there was a 24 hour gym, a barbecue deck, multiple beautifully designed communal workspaces, and my favorite perk: rooftop pool and terrace on the 41st floor, with a 360 degree view of Seattle.
I honestly spent most of this week in the apartment - not only did I have a ton of work to finish, but with all the Coronavirus stuff going on, my friends and I decided it was probably smart to avoid large crowds - this was a bit of a bummer because we wanted to do some museums, the aquarium and the flea market this weekend which are some of my favorite Seattle pastimes. But alas, I know I’ll be back to revisit those. And this doesn’t mean we didn’t have fun! Something that I think was the most fun was cooking and eating meals together - I live alone, so cooking and having family-style dinners is something I missed so much. One night we made pasta with vodka sauce, the next day we made pizza, and one night we ordered Chinese on Postmates (from a local restaurant called CantonEats - soooo good). We also had a blast drinking wine, playing card games, watching movies, and making up TikTok dances. I haven’t been home much recently, so having a low-key week with some quality friend time was exactly what I needed.
During the day, we all worked on our own personal projects, getting a ton of writing, editing and emailing done. I felt really productive and recharged when I could just sit down and focus on my work. A new environment is so helpful for me because I feel like it’s so hard for me to focus in my own home. This Blueground apartment had a desk and a large dining table, so we all had space for out personal workflow setups which was awesome. I had 3 photoshoots while I was in Seattle, so work kept me pretty busy.
We also explored the neighborhood around the Blueground home (right in downtown Seattle!) and found the cutest matcha cafe (Nana’s Green Tea), amazing dumplings (Dough Zone Dumpling House) and a gorgeous Scandinavian coffee shop (Cafe Hagen). There’s also a Pressed Juicery and my favorite spin studio, Burncycle, literally 4 blocks away! It’s also near Capitol Hill and the Amazon Spheres. This area is so ideal to stay in if you’re looking to visit Seattle.
I honestly can’t wait to stay in another Blueground Home soon, and I definitely recommend it to anyone looking to switch up their living situation and try out a new city for a month or two (or more!). You’re not locked into a lease, and they make it so simple to move and change your lifestyle whenever you want. This is by far my new favorite way to experience a city - it’s so much more personal than a hotel, and much more comfortable than an Airbnb, since it actually feels like your own space. I also just loved the ease of check-in and checkout, and the modernity of everything being a tap away on the incredibly well-designed Blueground app.
So…. which city should I visit next?