Here in the greater Seattle suburban region the housing market is hot hot hot.  Homes that sell for 75k in east Texas on the popular show "Fixer Upper" will easily sell for over a half a million here. . . and we don't have Chip or Joanna.  I guess it is the old rule of supply and demand, and here in pacific northwest suburbia people are demanding it.  Yes, they want to live near their jobs, yes, they want their children to attend high preforming public schools and yes it is ridiculous.  You know what else is ridiculous?   Housing development names.

I realized when I first moved here years ago that when people asked you where you lived  they didn't want to know your street address, they wanted to know your neighborhood. . . Or rather the NAME of your neighborhood to define where you live.  Of course my family lives in a rare neighborhood that is not governed by HOA's or covenances and therefore has no name on a carefully crafted marque at the street entrance (complete with landscaping and lighting).  The thought of having to get my home's paint color approved?. . Gah, I could never commit to that.  But some folks do love official developments and the simple fact is that one has an immediate "neighborhood identity" just mention that they live in XYZ neighborhood and the babysitter, Uber driver or pizza delivery person will know just right where to go.  This DOES seem to be a benefit, people can actually find you . . . Maybe this is why no one came to our neighborhood garage sale a few years ago? They didn't know it even existed, lesson learned and no more garage sales.

Unlike the names for nail polish and house paint, neighborhood names around here apparently want to evoke a sense of transporting people to the UK.  Saxony, Brittanex and English Hill for example.  Seriously, didn't we try and break free after the American Revolution?  I guess our friends in New York, New Hampshire and New England have the same problem.  Don’t get me started about the neighborhoods ending with "moor." And then there are the neighborhoods ending with "Hurst" or "Estates" or "Manor."  I envision the price point of those homes to fetch way more than a "shiny schilling" on selling day.  Obviously if you move here you should pretty much be on the look out for William, Kate and the rest of the family.  We have the names to prove it.

I am much more inclined to the neighborhoods with names that have more regional flair like Timberline, the city's name or other identifying characteristic - like a tree name Cedar, Maple or Chestnut for example .  Speaking of characteristics,  if you happen to live near water you can be sure that some of those characteristics will be included in the local neighborhood naming convention.  Let's take the local lakes in our city. . . We have neighborhoods named Lakeside, Lakeview, Westlake, Eastlake, Pine Lake, Beaver Lake, Lakemont.  You throw a Ridge, an Estates, or a manor at the end of that "neighborhood lake name" and there you have it "Beaver Lake Manor, " "Lakemont Estates" or "Eastlake Ridge" . . . you're welcome property owners, your value has just increased.

I guess it is human nature to try and define things, put them in a box in order to better understand it but I would argue that that strategy has not worked out so well and has done some harm.  So the next time you're in the market for a home don't forget to look at your neighborhood's name.  You may be referring to it for years to come.  Or you could simply state your street address and nothing more.  Novel concept.