Tell me about living in Seattle . . .

[kjorsty]

I live in Wallingford. The area is affordable, close to shops while remaining residential, and has a variety of apartment buildings from 20 plus units to 2-3 unit complexes. I can walk to the grocery store. Rents vary. It is also a hop, skip, and jump away from Fremont, another good neighborhood that has a decent Irish pub, I might add. Fremont is a bit more gentrified and can be quite expensive right at its heart, but getting a bit out and away from it the prices start to seem okay. Plus, there’s some good food to be had there as well as some great second hand shops, some overpriced boutiques, and the PCC, a natural food market. One last thing, during the summer they show movies outside. Admission is a pittance, you are treated to classics like Metropolis, and you bring something to sit on. Some people haul sofas while others prefer the gravel on the ground.

I wouldn’t recommend Capitol Hill. While it’s trendy, fun and a great place to people watch, the rents are ridiculous. In Capitol Hill, people pay for location, and the landlord’s know how much people want that location. I looked at a studio that was renting for about what I was paying for my one bedroom elsewhere, and started laughing hysterically as I entered. It was smaller than my bedroom at the time and the landlord wanted a hundred bucks more than what my rent was. It seems to me that it might be more alternative oriented than youth oriented (for example many queer bars/clubs/organizations, many pierced and tattooed people, The Stranger’s headquarters are there, and lots of just plain old clubs that pander to those who want to dance tango/swing/salsa etc. and some good coffee houses and restaurants), and this brings in people from all age groups.

Phinney Ridge is a nice area that I just can’t afford, but if I could, I would certainly pay for. I’m not sure what it’s like to get to downtown from there, though.

Some places in Ballard seem to fit your bill. Many apartments in Ballard are located near great shops and restaurants, there’s a burgeoning nightlife, and the rents are good still.

I’ve biked to all these places from my current residence and to downtown easily. Buses run frequently from those neighborhoods to downtown as well.

Then, there’s Greenlake. It’s hit or miss there as far as how much rent you’ll be paying, but it’s close to lots of shops. It’s also the place to be seen exercising and buying nonfat lattes while wearing too revealing spandex on weekend warrior butts, but I digress. There’s a pretty good bike shop there as well. I call the bike/walking path around the lake “the promenade”.

Sandpoint is nice, but might be too far away from downtown to bike to - maybe 45 min./1 hour. It’s probably too far away from any shops, too. Prices are a little elevated because it’s near all the bourgeois neighborhoods.

If it were me I would look in Ballard, Wallingford and Fremont because the rent you’ll pay for the apartment size is reasonable and there’s lots to do in each of those neighborhoods.

Good luck!

(I’ll be looking soon as well because living under people can be difficult.)

[Sultan_Kinkari]

Jodi,

I currently live on Queen Anne Hill. I love it. I grew up here and my parents still live in the house that I grew up in(which they bought for $30,000 in 1975, but could now get easily over $750,000). I live two blocks from the center of Queen Anne, roughly the triangle between Starbuck’s, Tully’s, and Cafe Ladro(the “single’s spot”, rated #1 Coffeehouse in America, the world for that matter, by Zagat’s) Cafe Ladro(trendier than Starbuck’s even) is, at most times, a quiet “study for exams” type of spot, with wooden lawn-chairs lining the store front, but is packed on weekends. In other words, the meat-market of coffee houses.

The bus lines run down Queen Anne Avenue and down a few side streets, and travel time from downtown will always be 15 min’s.

Queen Anne apartments will start at about $650-700 for a 1-bedroom, nothing special, and $2000-3000 per mo. for a City View Condo on the south slope.

I’ve lived on Capitol Hill as well, which has much more of a New Yorky feel to it. People are always dressed for some hip funky runway show. The hippest of Seattle’s Neighborhoods; Lots of Hip clothing and record stores, also the center for the gay community. Yes, homeless kids do converge here, but they are never a nuisance. Parking would definitely be a problem from about anything west of 15th avenue, even to the south, where Capitol Hill starts to get seedy. Capitol hill, esp. 15th is home to many nice restaurants and pubs w/ a neighborhood feel.

As for bicycle riding from downtown, There are low grade slopes such as Pike or Pine, which arent all that bad. Queen Anne hill is a different story; there is no easy way up, even the switchbacks are grueling, what I do is ride to the bottom of The Counterbalance(QA’s most insane arterial) and ride the bus up.

So between Queen Anne and Capitol Hill; I would live on Capitol Hill if I didn’t own a car and wanted to be near the action at all times. Queen Anne if I owned a car, and enjoyed a mellower existance.

Feel free to email me and I can answer any serious questions.