West Seattle (SeaTac, White Center, Vashon: credit, relocating, estate)

[Win]

Can anyone tell me about the West Seattle area? My husband and I recently visited Seattle and are thinking about relocating to the area and really liked how close west seattle is to everything .... Anyone have any information on the area though? i.e. crime rate, schools, etc.?

Thanks a mil!

[silverfox]

Hi Win,

In short...if High House prices and traffic don,t bother you then it is a great location. Lots of older homes, and not neccessarily attractive ones either.
All in all it's got a mix of everything and if you get the right place it's very convienient. Figure on approx. $400,000 to $800,000 for a home.
If you are retired you can work around the traffic.
Hope that helps,

Silverfox

[neptune]

Wow, 400-800k gets you a pretty nice house in West Seattle, certainly one I'm not used to. Try http://www.johnlscott.com and you can get an idea what things really cost and what's in your price range. Actually West Seattle can be one of the cheaper places to live inside Seattle city limits, if that's what you're trying for. The northern part of West Seattle, particularly around Alki Beach, anywhere with a good view, and the hilltop neighborhood within West Seattle are more expensive and as you go south things get cheaper, the area around Westwood Village shopping center and the adjacent county administered area called White Center (not part of Seattle proper) is probably the most affordable, and recent inventories have increased more than other parts of Seattle. White Center and Westwood Village used to be crime ridden and undesirable, now they're just bargains and small houses are making way for new townhomes, and gentrification is obvious wherever you look.
West Seattle can also be one of the most scenic areas of Seattle with countless scenic vistas of the Sound and mountains. The worst for me is getting to/from West Seattle, especially if it involves driving the West Seattle bridge at rush hour. Taking the bus can be a life saver, but depending on where you work that's not always an option. There are a limited number of bridges/roads that lead into W Seattle so you can feel a little trapped, for example catching a movie or going out to eat somewhere in north Seattle might not be an option sometimes depending on traffic. It's pretty easy to commute to SeaTac or points south though. Hope this helps, good luck.

[silverfox]

FWIW.....I have two friends living in West Seattle proper that currently have their homes on the market for sale. One is for $850,000 the other is for $650,000 One near alki beach the other on top of the hill. Both nice but older homes. The J.L Scott website will give you a better prospective but as I mentioned, unless you are looking for a fixer or a small place, or a lousy location, you will be paying $400 and up. You can do better if you get away from the more desireable areas but White Center ??? I don't even consider that West Seattle. Maybe because I remember the good old days and the history of that area. The RealEstate markets are already softening in certain locations so if you have time I would put off buying for a while. Some of the fluff will come out first and over a longer term the prices could get real interesting. Thats what we are currently doing and when the inventories build you will also have a much better choice of homes to choose from.

Good Luck,

Silverfox

[Win]

Thanks Silverfox and Neptune. We figured at least 400K for a house in that area . Do either of you have any information on what the schools are like over there? Thanks also for the link ...

[rainbird]

Win,

I live in West Seattle and I like it a lot. It’s convenient, and to me it is a lot like living in a small town within the big city. It is a mixed bag though; there are some nice areas and some sketchy areas. Generally the nicer areas are north and west some with views of the water and or city. Further south and east are not as nice. It was at one time one of the more affordable areas in the city, but not so much the case anymore. You can probably find a nice home in the $400,000 to $600,000 range. Anything less than $400,000 will be a challenge, unless you are really good at searching and fixing.

As for the schools, Seattle schools are similar to big city schools everywhere, that is to say they are not very good. They are diverse, which is good IMO but the academic standards aren’t high. Your kids can get a good education though, but it will be a challenge. Some of the high schools and middle schools offer gifted programs. Our kids went to an alternative middle school that was pretty good. Another idea that seems to be popular in West Seattle is sending kids to Vashon (an island which is a ferry boat ride away with better schools) Washington has open enrollment so you can do that at the high school level. Actually I believe you could send your kids to any district provided the district has room, but if you get too far away from where you live it will be tough on the kids. Another thing kids can do for the last 2 years of high school is enroll in community college. They take their last two years of high school in college tuition free!. This is a great deal! Our two oldest kids did this and they liked it better than high school. Depends on the kid though, your kid will miss some of the “high school” experience if you go that route. There are private schools as well, so there are a lot of options. We have 3 kids and they all went through the Seattle school system. I would say they got an adequate education but it took a fair amount of effort and I credit that to my wife and my kids.

[Win]

Rainbird -

Thank you SO much for taking time to type that out! I didn't know there were those options out there. Thanks again!

[Denice Rochelle]

West Seattle can be a lovely place to live. There are areas of transition that aren't as "nice" as the beach areas but all in all West Seattle is a unique enclave. I work as a Realtor and live in West Seattle, so I see a lot of neighborhoods. West Seattle is one of my favorites. As for affordability, that depends 100% on what you're looking for. I don't think a blanket answer to that is easy. There are still moderately-priced homes, townhomes and condos in West Seattle. There is a healthy high-end market but also a market for lower priced and moderately priced homes. Denice Rochelle