Likely moving to West Seattle from Denver and would love your thoughts! (Burien: condo)

[MrDurden39]

Hey everyone,

I work for a large company based out of Seattle but I currently live in Denver. I have received a promotion and my family (me, wife, 2yo son) will be moving to Seattle sometime in June. I have spent a lot of time up there over the last couple of years for work and I absolutely love it! My wife likes the PNW and is sick of my traveling so we are both looking forward to being in Seattle permanently.

We are looking to buy a house and we have a budget around $300k which is why we have been focusing on West Seattle, Beacon Hill, and Columbia City as they are all a little more budget friendly. Most of the houses we have found that are newer, move in ready, nice finishes, etc are in West Seattle, around the Delridge/High Point area. I know that these have been, and maybe still are, thought of as "sketch" neighborhoods, but I wanted to ask how bad they really are? One townhome we are looking at is right off of Juneau and Delridge, just south of North Delridge. I have talked to some people who said that this is a bad neighborhood and others who said its totally safe. Who should I believe on this? Will my wife be able to be outside with my son and be safe walking to parks, etc? Are there large gangs roaming the area? We really like the townhome and I like that it is right across the street from the 120 bus stop which I would be taking to work, and it is a short drive to lots of bars, eateries, parks, etc.

I will actually be in town this week so I plan on checking it out myself, but I would really like to hear others opinions. Would we be making a huge mistake moving here???

Thank you for taking the time to read this!

[kaonevar]

I think some of the reason you see the variation in answers depends on what you are comfortable with.

Graffiti/tagging is everywhere in the city. That never bothered me.
When we were house looking a year ago, we looked in that area & Beacon Hill, etc. as well. Some areas were ok, but others--as a woman, I wouldn't feel comfortable being out at night in them. At night, there was some illegal activity and stuff on the crime maps (reported by SPD) that bothered me.
More than that, I worried that living within a few blocks of an area that is sketchy, would cost us any resale value on our home--which is what happened to us in Texas. When we sold that house to move up here, we took a massive loss because our value had dropped $40K due to a meth lab setting up shop across the street. You wouldn't know it was there if you were new to the area, but if you asked the locals, you knew. It made the entire neighborhood's value plummet.

Something to keep in mind when you buy as well.
We ended up in Magnolia. Managed to get a nice condo for $300K during the price slump over a year ago.

Good luck!

[MrDurden39]

Thank you for the reply! We love Magnolia, Queen Anne, Ballard, etc.. We just will not be able to afford it. We also have 2 large dogs, so moving to a condo isn't really an option for us, we really need a townhome or single family home.

The graffiti and tagging doesn't bother us at all, but I really don't want to move somewhere that my wife and I couldn't be outside with our son. Or, somewhere that we just generally don't feel safe. We have lived in some shady parts of Denver and the suburbs here in Colorado, so I guess I will just have to see what my gut tells me when I am there later this week.

[beautifulseattlehomes]

Look in Burien too! Close to West Seattle, cute downtown and more value with larger lots!

[Ira500]

What is listed as a 300,000 dollar house in Columbia City is often a sleight of hand thing going on. It's usually not really in Columbia City, but in a sketchier area nearby, like Hillman City or Rainier Valley. The actual cool part of Columbia City is pretty small.
As far as West Seattle, Juneau and Delridge I'd call transitioning. It was pretty bad 10 or 15 years ago, and it's no great shakes now, but it's better than it was. With neighborhoods that improve, it's not an instant thing. It's often gradual, over 20 years in fits and starts. It's a convenient location.
Public schools aren't particularly good in any of the places mentioned.
I'll second Burien. I don't think the schools are good there either, but it's a pleasant place, and you get more house for your money.

[rmkiefer07]

Originally Posted by MrDurden39

Hey everyone,

I work for a large company based out of Seattle but I currently live in Denver. I have received a promotion and my family (me, wife, 2yo son) will be moving to Seattle sometime in June. I have spent a lot of time up there over the last couple of years for work and I absolutely love it! My wife likes the PNW and is sick of my traveling so we are both looking forward to being in Seattle permanently.

We are looking to buy a house and we have a budget around $300k which is why we have been focusing on West Seattle, Beacon Hill, and Columbia City as they are all a little more budget friendly. Most of the houses we have found that are newer, move in ready, nice finishes, etc are in West Seattle, around the Delridge/High Point area. I know that these have been, and maybe still are, thought of as "sketch" neighborhoods, but I wanted to ask how bad they really are? One townhome we are looking at is right off of Juneau and Delridge, just south of North Delridge. I have talked to some people who said that this is a bad neighborhood and others who said its totally safe. Who should I believe on this? Will my wife be able to be outside with my son and be safe walking to parks, etc? Are there large gangs roaming the area? We really like the townhome and I like that it is right across the street from the 120 bus stop which I would be taking to work, and it is a short drive to lots of bars, eateries, parks, etc.

I will actually be in town this week so I plan on checking it out myself, but I would really like to hear others opinions. Would we be making a huge mistake moving here???

Thank you for taking the time to read this!

I know exactly where you're looking - right across from the school with Longfellow creek running behind them? I live a few blocks down on the creek.

The neighborhood may seem sketchy to some but I personally don't have any issues. Our block is pretty close knit and we watch out for each other. The 120 route is very handy and convenient, if not crowded during rush hour. I think the grittiness of the neighborhood is off-putting to the uninitiated, but I believe the neighborhood is on it's way up. If there are gangs, then I've not seen them. From my perspective, no place is totally safe, but I think your odds of being victimized in this little hamlet are not much greater than any where else in the city. I feel perfectly safe in this little stretch of Delridge.

[SusanInSeattle]

I love West Seattle, but wonder where you'll be working. Are you looking for an easy commute? Will you be driving or using public transportation?

[MondoTime]

LOL @ "large gangs" roaming the area.


First of all, bus #120 is NOT a social experiment you want to endure every day.

Seattle's bus system is deteriorating so rapidly that they've now taken to lining up bad neighborhoods and sending single bus routes straight through all of them.

Society is in the process of overrunning Burien and Ambaum, and it long ago overran White Center (aka "Rat City")... and now, with bus route #20 having given way to the #120... you get the thrill of sharing a bus with not only residents of your own run-down area, but those of many other deteriorating communities as well.


The very greatest appeal to West Seattle is the fact that, generally speaking, it isn't on the WAY to anywhere (else). And that is precisely why the Delridge area is the most undesirable area in West Seattle --- because you have society running through it to get elsewhere. When you speak of the rest of West Seattle, it is only those heading to the ferry dock to Vashon and Southworth who are passing through, and they are largely a docile bunch minus large gangs roaming the area.

Now in all fairness, your wife WILL be able to be safe outside, with your son, walking to parks... but there just... isn't much to be walking toward IN that area. Parks, sure... but aside from the occasional gas station and convenience store, there just isn't much there.

(sigh) I wish I could think like a very sincere individual wanting to move into this area, and consider the very sensible parameters while at the same time knowing all that I know now. (for just where IS the best home value around here, to those living in the 'real world'???)

And then, how DO you project for Seattle's bus service getting even WORSE, as threatened of late???

"Westwood Village" has emerged as a considerable transit hub, and perhaps it is becoming more and more suitable to live near to there, not only for reasons of transit, but for stores and convenience, as well as the park across the street. In a perfect West Seattle world, one wouldn't need to traverse too many hills to get to Westwood Village (or to the West Seattle Junction) on foot, but it is partially those hills which keep West Seattle the laid-back, mostly-out-of-the-path-of-humanity place that it is.

By and large, though, Seattle's neighborhoods can't get tooooooooo bad, largely because of the many hills here. People of means want to live on the hills, with the good views, and with so many ups and downs all over, you just can't achieve here the density of bad neighborhoods possible in cities which are far more flat than is Seattle.

[MrDurden39]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond! I really appreciate everyone's different viewpoints, and my wife and I have been researching everything we can. I was up in Seattle last week and I thought that the area felt perfectly fine, especially as far as safety goes. We have put an offer in on a beautiful townhome in the area and we are confident in our decision. I rode the 120 bus to and from work last week, as I have a coworker that lives in South Delridge and he let me stay with him. All in all, I think this will be a good move for us, especially as a landing pad to get into the Seattle market.

I will keep you all posted as to how things progress, but as of now we should be moving up and closing on our place the last week of May. Who knows, maybe I'll actually meet some of you in person sometime.

Thanks again for all the thoughtful responses!

[Brookdale46]

I wish you and your family (and dogs) well in your new venture. It does help to have such a positive outlook!