I have lived in Issaquah Highlands my entire life, and it has been a great place to grow up. The community is so well planned as there is something for everyone in each stage of life.
For example, my parents moved to Issaquah Highlands in 2003 and lived in a townhouse in Sorrento for several years. As my family got bigger, we started to outgrow it. Then, we moved to the Discovery Heights apartments for six months so we could sell our townhouse before moving into our current home in Pine Crest.
The close access to both the outdoors and shopping has been a big benefit of growing up in our urban village. Playing at the various parks are among my earliest memories. I loved playing at the Firehouse Park with my siblings—it was my favorite when I was little.
When my brother was young, he challenged us to see if we could visit every park in Issaquah Highlands in one summer. We walked and biked all over the community and repeated this challenge multiple summers in a row.
There are so many parks within a short walking distance, and even more if you’re willing to take a bit of a hike. The parks offer something for all ages, which has been great for me and my younger siblings. I love the outdoors, so the parks and trails in the Issaquah Highlands hold a lot of nostalgia for me.
We attended the Highlands Day celebrations each summer, and it was a highlight of growing up here. The event brought the entire community together. Our family would ride the trolley up and down the hill when it was held near Blakely Hall. I loved the fire truck, the games and the food.
Over the years, we enjoyed Highlands Day at different locations, including Blakely Hall, the parking lot by Regal and Swedish Hospital.
We love living near the local shops and restaurants. I remember walking up to Zeeks Pizza and then down the hill to get ice cream. We looked forward to the community events, like Free Cone Day and Cones with a Cop. Ben and Jerry have both come to visit over the years, and on the days they visited, they happily took photos with us and the ice cream was free!
Regal is a wonderful place to take friends for movies, and our whole family loved the $1 summer movies. I like to visit Caffe Ladro with my family and friends and have recently discovered the amazing donuts at Good Lazy Donuts.
The community vibe in the Issaquah Highlands has always been positive. Everyone is really nice and easy-going. The wide variety of people and passions has made it easy to find friends with similar interests while also discovering new perspectives from neighbors who have moved here from all over the globe.
Something I will miss most when I head off to University of St. Andrews is the familiarity I have with the community and the general friendliness of the people here.
Anne Herb is a Pine Crest resident.
As published in the summer issue of Community Connect magazine >>>
