You Down with B-Town?

“Welcome to Bothell, for a day or a lifetime.” A friendly sign reading those exact words greets you as you drive in to the place I am proud to call home. Who wouldn’t want a warm welcome such as that?

And that’s just the beginning of why Bothell is such a wonderful place to live.

Bothell is a smallish city north of Seattle, Washington, which leads one to infer two things. First, that it rains pretty frequently, and second, that it is more beautiful on sunny days than almost anywhere else on earth. The greenery and the feeling that although you live in a city, you are surrounded by nature, is very calming. You gain a greater understanding of the fact that you are a part of this world and that nearly everything you do affects it in some way, whether positive or negative. You can’t get that in a concrete jungle, or a desert for that matter.

Besides the astounding beauty and the connection with nature, there is a great sense of community in Bothell, especially during high school football season. Thousands from the city will gather on Friday nights at Pop Keeney field to watch the Cougars play. Stores in downtown show their Cougar pride, in addition to the many houses throughout the community with specially made signs indicating that a player lives there, or maybe just that they support the program. It is a wonderful thing to see that the community is just as supportive of the team as the student body itself.

But here I am getting nostalgic. You can’t transfer memories, so I won’t try to, but Friday nights are something to experience.

Even if you aren’t a Cougar fan, and are just visiting for a long or short time, you will be welcomed with open arms. That’s great thing about Bothell: it’s large enough to be a city, but still retains the feeling of a town.

If you’re into living in beautiful places filled with friendly people and fun things to do, give Bothell a try. It worked for me for 15 years.