Tell me about living in Seattle . . .

In My Humble Opinion
1

. . . since it looks like I’m probably moving there. The job I may be taking is right downtown – 1200 block of 4th Ave. The next thing on my agenda (besides deciding if I’m taking the job) is trying to decide where I want to live. Here are my criteria:

  1. Reasonably safe – some place I as a single woman could walk to and from without feeling uncomfortable.

  2. Close enough to downtown to walk, bike, or take the bus to get to or from work. (And not spend an hour on the bus every day, either.)

Those are the needs. The wants include a desire to live in a neighborhood that has stores and restaurants within walking distance (so not TOTALLY residential), and some character, both in the neighborhood and the people.

The neighborhoods I know are Capital Hill, Queen Anne, and downtown itself. Both Capital Hill and Queen Anne seem very nice, but I’d hate to limit myself since I don’t know what else is available. Here are my questions:

  1. What is your opinion of Capital Hill and Queen Anne Hill?
  2. What other neighborhoods would you recommend?
  3. What can I expect to pay for rent for a decent if unspectacular one or two bedroom apartment? I don’t want valet parking and a doorman, but neither do I want to live in someone’s basement, or in “Rundown Soviet Housing, Circa 1965.”
  4. How important is it to have off-street parking? (I’ve heard parking is at a premium in most neighborhoods.)

All opinions and advice gratefully accepted. :slight_smile:

2

Check this thread out: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=55923

I asked about a different area (Redmond/Bellevue), but I got some great replies that you might find useful.

3

several years ago, my brother was working for a company and they were going to send him to Seattle, or Novi Michigan. I was pulling for Seattle (even tho’ Novi was only about 70 miles away from me, and I LIKE my brother ) 'cause of Archie McPhee . dammit, he never got transfered there, so I never got to check it out (I can justify a trip out to see my brother and oh, just 'cause I’m in the area…, but not just fly out there to see it myself).

4

[sub]You are getting sleeeeepyyyy. You will move to Phoeeeeeeniiiiiix insteeeeeeeaaad…[/sub]

5

Jodi: If you get there before me (and it sounds as if you will), FIND ME A JOB SO I CAN MOVE THERE TOO!

Thanks.

6

Funny you should ask, Jodi, I used to live on Queen Anne Hill and I loved it for most of the same things you’re looking for. Not too many good, casual restaurants up there, but on street parking was no problem. Capitol Hill is the opposite; lots of great places to eat but without a reserved parking place living there would be a nightmare.

I don’t remember too many apartments up on Queen Anne, at least not within easy walking distance of the main drag (if that phrase can truly be applied to Queen Anne Avenue), so it may take a fair amount of leg work to find just the right place. Good luck.

7

Both areas are nice, but Capitol Hill has more young people, Queen Anne seems to be more geared to families. As for the hour long commute, I lived in Northgate for 10 years, right across from the Mall (so close to shopping and restaurants), a bus ride to downtown only took 1/2 hour on the very worst congested days – the bus went straight down the freeway. So where you live will depend on how you want to commute and which bus routes are available for you. I did like the Northgate area but it’s getting very built up. I currently live in Magnolia/Ballard and those areas are also within easy reach, also close to shopping and restaurants. Actually, there aren’t many terribly bad places to live – just avoid the downtown area (pricey!!) the Pioneer Square area (has a bad rep for crime after dark) and anywhere in South Seattle (see previous).

8

As previously stated, Capital Hill is a younger crowd and has a higher concentration of people with an alternative lifestyle (where alternative has several different definitions). That’s the part of the city with the highest concentration of tattoes and piercings, for instance. And of course this means it generally has the best nightclubs and bars.

Queen Anne is more family oriented, a little more yuppie-fied. Nice restaraunts and shops, great location, probably a little more expensive than most other neighborhoods.

Magnolia is the next neighborhood west from Queen Anne. Similar in many ways to Queen Anne, but no real downtown like Queen Anne has. The west side is right on the sound though so you can get some great views of the Olympics. To me it has less of a neighborhood feel than some other areas but that could be just me.

Just north of Queen Anne is Fremont, one of my favorite neighborhoods. Slightly funky, the self-proclaimed center of the universe, nice little downtown area, reasonable prices, and you’re right by Lake Union and Gasworks Park. Well worth checking out.

West of Fremont is Ballard. Traditionally a blue-collar area, home to all the Norwegian immigrants that do all the fishing. Another nice downtown area, bigger than Fremonts. Close to the locks, and Elliot Bay and Golden Gardens park. Not as funky as Fremont but very nice.

North of Fremont is Greenlake/Phinney Ridge. The big attraction is Greenlake (the lake) - it’s about three miles in circumfrance and there’s a nice park with jogging/bike trail all the way around the lake. Greenlake (the neighborhood) is more on the east side of the lake, Phinney Ridge is the west side. Certainly worth checking out.

All of these areas right around 99/Aurora Avenue. I used to live in the Greenlake area about 3 blocks off Aurora, and I could be in downtown Seattle in about 15 minutes reliably by taking Aurora (well, OK from Ballard you might take 15th instead, but timewise it’s about the same).

These are the areas I know best and I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them. Off-street parking can be helpful but how necessary it is varies even from one block to the next so I wouldn’t rule out a whole neighborhood just on that. You might also look at Wallingford, or the U district but I don’t know those areas as well.

Safety-wise these are all fine too. I’d avoid south of downtown but there aren’t any truly scary areas here. For instance I move to Seattle from Chicago, which has areas like Cabrini Green that I’d avoid even driving through, and there’s nothing like that in Seattle.

Seattle is a great city - if you get the chance to move here, jump at it!

9

There are about 5 blocks (and I do mean blocks, streets I wouldn’t walk down, but by taking a left & two rights, I can easily walk around them) in north and central Seattle that I feel uncomfortable in (and strangely, they’re all around the courthouse/police headquarters). I don’t know south Seattle as well, so I always feel lost there - but not as though I’m in danger. The rest is relatively harmless.

Of the neighborhoods you listed, Capitol Hill is literally right up the street from where your office would be. It’s a nasty hill, so biking up it might be a problem, but walking or busing would not. Queen Anne is slightly farther away. Capitol Hill has more of the stores/restaurants thing, but Queen Anne isn’t totally bereft. Queen Anne has on street parking all the time, it’s absolutely insane, you just drive to where you want to go, and there’s a parking space. Capitol Hill never, ever does.

I’d happily move to either place.

A few years ago, one of the papers did this huge weekly feel good section on neighborhoods in the Seattle Area. It’s online here. It’s gushy, but it does give an idea of what different neighborhoods are like.

About $800-1000/month. The three areas you listed have higher rents…

It depends neighborhood to neighborhood. If you get a chance to do so, look around sometime at around 8pm - otherwise, ask the landlord (last time I was looking, most were pretty honest with me about the parking situation).

10

Good information from previous respondents. I’ll second that Capitol Hill is more youth-oriented, though there are some condo-type apartments down on Melrose (yes, Melrose) that get away from the student/gutterpunk mentality. And Queen Anne is definitely Yuppie/Family Central. I’ve lived in both places, and liked them both equally, but for different reasons.

I currently live in Maple Leaf, which is a small neighborhood sandwiched between Northgate, Ravenna, and Green Lake. (Okay, it’s a sandwich with three pieces of bread. So sue me.) I like it fine, also; there’s lots of retirees, so it’s very safe, because the neighborhood isn’t totally abandoned during the day.

Rents on Queen Anne will be very, very expensive, unless you’re living in a shoebox. Rents on Capitol Hill can be expensive, but there’s more variety (and more shoeboxes). You might also consider Lake City, Ravenna, and Crown Hill. All of the outlying neighborhoods are connected to downtown via a robust transit system; if you’re close to Northgate Mall or another transit center, the express buses can get you downtown in 20 minutes or less. For a general map of how the neighborhoods are oriented around downtown, see here. This is the area map for bus service, but you can click on “Seattle” and “North Seattle” to see how the neighborhoods are laid out.

Incidentally, given your needs, I’m not sure I’d recommend south of downtown. The neighborhoods can be okay, and less expensive (I have friends in White Center), but they’re generally more residential than the neighborhoods up north (i.e. no restaurants, shops, etc.).

As far as off-street parking, if you’re living on Capitol Hill and you don’t have a driveway or designated parking space, you can count yourself lucky if you’re able to park your car within three blocks on a regular basis. Queen Anne isn’t quite as bad, but it’s still an issue.

If you choose Capitol Hill, instead of doing the Broadway corridor, I’d recommend going up the backside, between 13th and 19th. There’s a nice restaurant/shop corridor on 15th, and this area is far less traveled than Broadway. Lots of apartments there, and noticeably less spendy than just a few blocks west. Another possibility might be Eastlake, as far as apartment availability, but the restaurants are spread all along the thoroughfare.

Avoid: the University District (high traffic, crime, noise, low-budget construction) and West Seattle (some people swear by it, but it goes through waves of popularity, and doesn’t have the amenities of the other neighborhoods, not to mention it’s difficult to get to when the viaduct is having problems).

11

Just to throw in my $0.02:

I live in Crown Hill- the bus gets me downtown in about 30 minutes during rush hour, to the U-district in maybe 40 minutes. I’ve never taken it to Northgate, but I’d expect 20-30 minutes there.

When I lived in Magnolia, the 3 bus routes to downtown took from probably 20 to 30. That’ll be longer right now, of course, until they get the Magnolia bridge work done…

12

Well, I took the job, so I’m moving to Seattle. (Holy shit, I’m moving to Seattle!)

I appreciate all the advice – give me more, give me more! One concern I have (well, not really a concern; more of an observation) is that while the rents I’m finding by surfing the 'net don’t appear to be that much higher than what I expected, the apartments are LITTLE. A 600 to 700 sq. ft. one-bedroom? IMO, that is TINY – and not much space for around a thousand bucks. Oh, and someone I know who does NOT live there mentioned how much he liked the area around Alki (to visit) – am I correct in assuming it would be a bitch to commute from there?

AUDREY-- Thanks for the link; it was very helpful. Are you moved yet, or are you still in Cali?

STRAIN – You know I’d move anywhere for you, except the surface of the sun (aka Phoenix). :wink:

AMARINTH – Thanks for your link as well; it really helped me get a bit of the flavor of the various choices.

CERVAISE – I don’t know what you mean by “the Broadway corridor” – the front side (i.e, downtown side) of Capitol Hill? And by the backside, I assume you mean the side facing the other way? I thought that was like an old mansion district. And where are Lake City, Ravenna, and Crown Hill? (For that matter, where is “Belltown”? Is it worth checking out?)

And thanks to everyone else as well. I think I’ll be in Seattle apartment hunting around the end of June, so if anyone has any more advice or opinions, please post them. :slight_smile:

13

No, no, no, no, no!

Jodi, they’ve all got it wrong. The suburbs are where it’s at. Specifically Kent. We’ve got it all. Free parking, livestock, Camaros and pickup trucks! What more could you ask for?

What commute? We’ve got a $2 billion light rail system that will be in place by 2003. No wait, that’s a $3 billion system by 2006. Hold it – it’s a $4.5 billion system by 2016. Um… We’ll have to get back to you on that one.

But even if you decide to stay in Seattle – Welcome! We could have one of our subdued Pacific NW Dopefests to welcome you! Last I heard danalan was thinking of inviting us to Whidbey Island.

Oh, and just so you’ll know – the Mariners are the hottest team in baseball. The presence of a winning team in Seattle is unusual – a championship team is unheard of. Most Seattleites consider this a sign of the end of the world. If the Mariners go all the way we’re expecting the moon to turn to blood and a third of the stars to fall from the sky. (I think Ichiro’s uniform number is 666.)

14

You’re all killin’ me, here! I’ve got to get out of Los Hideous!

It’s all I can do to keep myself from calling up Brady’s Oysters (in Aberdeen) and ordering some freshly-smoked salmon and fresh oysters! Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!

Oh well. I have a plane ticket to Bellingham for the 29th. Too bad I have to come back on July 3rd. Going up to see the film I shot about a year and a half ago. It’s finally finished.

Hey, that might be the ticket. Get out of computers and see if I can get some work as a production assistant or something… But I still need to move up there!

15

Okay, I’ve figured out where Belltown is; it looks like it’s between downtown and Queen Anne, and the rents appear pretty reasonable which of course makes me a tad suspicious: Is it not a very good area of town, or what?

16

Belltown is north of downtown. (If you were to draw an east-westish line at the Pike Place Market, Belltown would be on one side, downtown on the other.)

It’s a neighborhood in the process of being gentrified. The artists are getting pushed out, the yuppies are moving in, and prices are all over the place. I wouldn’t call it a bad area, but the quality of the apartments will vary.

17

Neither. :slight_smile: I’m (still) in Hawaii.

Something came up, and as a result, our plans to move have been put on hold. However, I may end up moving to Seatlle alone in the event I get a job there. It’s not quite what I had in mind, but since when does life go the way you plan it?

Congratulations on your new job. I hope you like it in Seattle. Happy apartment hunting!

18

There are definitely sections of Belltown that aren’t all that great, and some of those sections include nice, new, $$$ buildings. A friend’s parents, for example, wanted to get out of their family home and into a smaller place. They found a great condo in B’town they liked, but found out no one in the building will leave at night- drug dealers, muggings, etc.

Of course, gentrification will make it all safer, but there’s quite a few places still in transition.

19

I’ve known several people who live in Alki/West Seattle; don’t think the commute is really bad, unless there’s snow. Apparently the West Seattle bridge is a nightmare when it’s icy. Or, rather, many drivers think it is and drive it like morons.

About Capitol Hill, you’re right- downtown (west) side and Broadway is what most people mean by “Capitol Hill”; but there are big houses (and little ones) on both sides.

Lake City is near the north edge of Lake Washington (now that commute to downtown is a bitch; Ravenna is just north of the U-District; Crown Hill is north of Ballard, south of Shoreline, east of Greenlake.

I think that covers that. Next questions?

20

Suburbs are the way to go. I’d recommend Lynwood or Edmonds myself. If you want to be away from the city but yet be there in about half an hour go to Bainbridge Island. Nice island in Kitsap County, filled with docs and lawyers, but yet a nice island with nice surroundings. I grew up in Poulsbo, and that itself is still pretty close and a very nice town. Takes 10 minutes to get to Bainbridge, and half an hour on the ferry to get to Seattle. Simplicity and I know a bunch of people who do it.

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