Trading SoCal Sun for Seattle Walkability? (Redmond: 2015, apartment, rent)

[Commonproject]

For those that have lived in LA and Seattle, what do you think about the trade off here between weather vs. walkability?

I lived in NYC/SF before moving to LA, and the biggest adjustment for me has been the lack of walkable neighborhoods. Even what people in LA consider "walkable"such as Koreatown requires driving to get around, and because the city is so big, getting together with friends is always tough with everyone traveling at least ~40min (some living in Santa Monica, some downtown, some south bay, etc.). Additionally, parking is a pain at any popular areas.

Of the times I've been to Seattle (although mostly during the summer), the city felt very compact. Even if someone lived in, say Queen Anne, they could take a 10min Uber/Lyft and get to downtown. However, I'm not sure if the compact size will mean I'll run out of things to do faster, and unsure about how bad the weather transition will be. CoL will obviously be an improvement but it's still expensive. Thoughts?

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Commonproject

For those that have lived in LA and Seattle, what do you think about the trade off here between weather vs. walkability?

I lived in NYC/SF before moving to LA, and the biggest adjustment for me has been the lack of walkable neighborhoods. Even what people in LA consider "walkable"such as Koreatown requires driving to get around, and because the city is so big, getting together with friends is always tough with everyone traveling at least ~40min (some living in Santa Monica, some downtown, some south bay, etc.). Additionally, parking is a pain at any popular areas.

Of the times I've been to Seattle (although mostly during the summer), the city felt very compact. Even if someone lived in, say Queen Anne, they could take a 10min Uber/Lyft and get to downtown. However, I'm not sure if the compact size will mean I'll run out of things to do faster, and unsure about how bad the weather transition will be. CoL will obviously be an improvement but it's still expensive. Thoughts?

OP, Seattle is anything but compact. Except as compared to LA--anything is compact, compared to LA, except NYC. Sure you can get from Queen Anne to downtown in 10 minutes. But try going all the way across town. Try getting from around Discovery Park/Magnolia to the U District, and beyond. Try getting anywhere along the city's north/south axis; it's at least 20 minutes from parts of north Seattle just to the U District, which is another 20 minutes to downtown (I'm talking about by bus), and from downtown, it's more bus or drive time to anywhere south or east or west of downtown.

Just because you stayed in a neighborhood that borders downtown doesn't mean Seattle is compact or walkable. There are a few areas in a few neighborhoods that are walkable, but compared to SF or Berkeley, Seattle generally speaking can't be characterized as "walkable". YMMV.

These days, in view of the fires, the salient question would be: Is Seattle breathable?

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by Commonproject

For those that have lived in LA and Seattle, what do you think about the trade off here between weather vs. walkability?

I lived in NYC/SF before moving to LA, and the biggest adjustment for me has been the lack of walkable neighborhoods. Even what people in LA consider "walkable"such as Koreatown requires driving to get around, and because the city is so big, getting together with friends is always tough with everyone traveling at least ~40min (some living in Santa Monica, some downtown, some south bay, etc.). Additionally, parking is a pain at any popular areas.

Of the times I've been to Seattle (although mostly during the summer), the city felt very compact. Even if someone lived in, say Queen Anne, they could take a 10min Uber/Lyft and get to downtown. However, I'm not sure if the compact size will mean I'll run out of things to do faster, and unsure about how bad the weather transition will be. CoL will obviously be an improvement but it's still expensive. Thoughts?

Sure, Lower Queen Anne to downtown is easy 10 minutes in an Uber, you could even walk there. I'm a Miami boy born and raised, university in beautiful but bitter cold in winter Vermont, did a year in LA, lived Seattle 29 years now. For me, the weather in Seattle is child's play, the drizzle doesn't bother me. I like it here a lot.

[CrazyDonkey]

Seattle's "core" area is fairly compact, with Downtown, Belltown, Lower Queen Anne (Uptown), SLU, Capitol Hill (Broadway, Pike-Pine), First Hill, Pioneer Square, and the International District all fairly easily reachable from each other, on transit, by Uber, and even on foot in many cases. Ballard to Capitol/First Hill, or the top of Queen Anne Hill to the top of Capitol Hill, is another matter.

Central Ballard, for instance, is both compact and walkable, but less reachable from Downtown, Capitol Hill, etc. But being less reachable means, in this case, that it is more self-contained (in that most everything is there), which adds to its walkability. On the other hand, Sunset Hill (part of broader Ballard) is much less walkable or bus-able.

[leastprime]

...depends on where you are relation to a transit line and where you want to be.
DS finds that Central District home is accessible to most places either by foot or Orca card (company subsidized). He doesn't take the car out except for the weekends.
We find that our Redmond place is easily walkable to most of the common establishments that we want to visit. And senior Orca card makes all of Seattle region accessible. Spouse hasn't taken the car out of garage for 2 weeks+.

[deadpukka]

Originally Posted by Commonproject

For those that have lived in LA and Seattle, what do you think about the trade off here between weather vs. walkability?

I lived in NYC/SF before moving to LA, and the biggest adjustment for me has been the lack of walkable neighborhoods. Even what people in LA consider "walkable"such as Koreatown requires driving to get around, and because the city is so big, getting together with friends is always tough with everyone traveling at least ~40min (some living in Santa Monica, some downtown, some south bay, etc.). Additionally, parking is a pain at any popular areas.

Of the times I've been to Seattle (although mostly during the summer), the city felt very compact. Even if someone lived in, say Queen Anne, they could take a 10min Uber/Lyft and get to downtown. However, I'm not sure if the compact size will mean I'll run out of things to do faster, and unsure about how bad the weather transition will be. CoL will obviously be an improvement but it's still expensive. Thoughts?

What area of LA are you coming from? I'm in Echo Park, and Sunset I would consider very walkable.

But LA is - as you said - so much more spread out, the pockets of walkability are diverse.

In Seattle (and I lived there ~20yr), there are some similar walkable areas like Upper Queen Anne, Ballard or Pioneer Square. It definitely it more compact compared to LA, but it's not that easy to walk between neighborhoods.

I'm considering moving back to Seattle, and COL is better there (esp with lack of state income tax). Rents are a little lower in Seattle, but still generally high. But traffic is still a mess in both cities, depending on your commute.

Seattle summers are gorgeous, and honestly better than LA, but the fall/winter/spring there kind of suck, if you don't like rain or grey. If you're at all outdoorsy, there are a ton of options outside of the city, which would keep you from getting bored quickly. In general, Seattle has a lot to do, but it's about 1/2 a tier down from LA or NYC in terms of options (IMO).

[annonymous0381]

I moved from Encino,California to Seattle in July 2015.

I'm not sorry at all that I left southern California.

My parents still live in the LA area and I visit my parents in LA every 6 weeks.

For the 1st year that I lived in Seattle I didn't have any friends. After living in seattle for a year I finally made about 30 friends.

Seattle isn't completely walkable though

In LA I owned a car and drove everywhere. Here in seattle i don't own a car and use king county metro or uber/lyft.

Rents in seattle are still high but not as high as LA.

I live in Northgate Seattle and pay $1325 a month for a 1 bedroom apartment that is 610 square feet with indoor corridors,a washer/dryer and a fireplace inside the unit.

Not only can you save money by living in Washington state by not paying California State income taxes but also buy not owning a car.

Feel free to private message me if you have anymore questions about seattle.

I grew up in LA and even went to CSUN California State university northridge for undergraduate.

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

Seattle's "core" area is fairly compact, with Downtown, Belltown, Lower Queen Anne (Uptown), SLU, Capitol Hill (Broadway, Pike-Pine), First Hill, Pioneer Square, and the International District all fairly easily reachable from each other, on transit, by Uber, and even on foot in many cases. Ballard to Capitol/First Hill, or the top of Queen Anne Hill to the top of Capitol Hill, is another matter.

Central Ballard, for instance, is both compact and walkable, but less reachable from Downtown, Capitol Hill, etc. But being less reachable means, in this case, that it is more self-contained (in that most everything is there), which adds to its walkability. On the other hand, Sunset Hill (part of broader Ballard) is much less walkable or bus-able.

I would agree with this. Places like Ballard and West Seattle remind me of LA neighborhoods in the sense that they are walkable and vibrant, but fairly isolated from other parts of the city. If you live in one of the core neighborhoods mentioned above you could definitely have a non-LA experience in Seattle.

I can totally relate to the difficulty meeting up with friends. I lived in South Pasadena and rarely saw my friends in West LA because it was such a hassle getting there. Even if you lived in Ballard or West Seattle, it’s not nearly as hard to get around despite the traffic, because everything is much closer together for the most part.

[angelenogirl]

I wouldn't consider Koreatown walkable. I lived in Mid-Wilshire and hardly walked anywhere. However, I walked everywhere in Studio City and Sherman Oaks, and as a kid I walked and rode my bike all over Venice and Santa Monica. I walked far more in L.A. than I ever have here, but that's not really about weather. The weather here is a dream. The mist, the clouds, the stretches of water, the fall colors. The smell of petrichor. It's intoxicating, really (I love grey, what can I say?). I can't imagine ever, ever going back to California, and I'm third-gen SoCal.

There are parts of Seattle where you can certainly walk to most of what you need. Combined with the lovely, cool weather, it's unbeatable. Yes, the summers have gotten hotter and more dry, but it's nothing like the intense heat and raining ash and embers from fire season in L.A. I haven't been back in a while, but if I did I imagine I wouldn't be able to breathe and would have to rely heavily on my inhaler (in comparison, I got my first refill in years this past week because of an air quality alert here - the first I've seen in six years).

Seattle will feel small very quickly. It definitely feels like a small town to me, but I like that. It's manageable. I like that it has a true downtown core, and there are so many cool little neighborhoods. I live in a place that reminds me of old school Marina/Playa Del Rey, with a water view, and my rent is half of what I paid in the Valley. It's my happy place.

[rjshae]

Walking in the Seattle rain can actually be pleasant because the precipitation helps mask the background noise. For a busy city that's a big plus. The drawback is that during the winters months it can be harder for drivers to see you, so you have to be doubly cautious about where and when you walk. I prefer to wear a bright jacket so I'm easily visible, but for some reason many Seattle pedestrians wear dark clothing.