Best Neighborhood without a car (Seattle: best neighborhoods, apartment, rent)

[Drew345]

I am moving to Seattle to live for about 5 months, starting April 1. I am searching for a job as high school teacher starting next August in Seattle or anywhere in the country (or world!). I want to stay in Seattle 5 month while doing this job search, but I would love to live without a car (cause I don't have one now). Is that possible?
What are the best neighborhoods to live in without a car. Must have nice grocery, and park nearby. Nice coffee shops and a "walking street" type atmosphere would also be nice. Ideally there would be a target and mall nearby, but that kind of goes against being a nice neighborhood.
I know Capitol Hill is a great place. Are there other neighborhoods as nice? I can pay about $800 or $900 rent a month.
Thanks for any ideas!
Drew

[Ira500]

Neighborhoods where you can more easily get by without a car include downtown, First Hill, Capitol Hill, Queen Anne, North Beacon Hill, University District, Columbia City, Madison Park, Central District.
The most pleasant/ easiest in my view are Queen Anne, parts of Capitol Hill, parts of the Central District, and Madison Park.

[sinfree]

I live in the "West Edge" neighborhood in Downtown, with no car, and pretty much never even need one. This area is perfect for that and I love living without a car. Probably the best areas to live car free would be Downtown, Belltown, or Capital Hill (in that order). The good thing about downtown is that there are buses going directly to/from downtown for just about anywhere you want to be in the area, as well as most any of your daily needs within very close walking distance. You could also probably do the car free thing in Fremont, Wallingford, UW area, central disctrict, West Seattle (to some extent), and the south eastern part of Seattle, from Beacon Hill down toward Columbia City probably, though these options will definitely involve more waiting for buses that may not run quite as frequently, and not as many walking options. If you add a bicycle into the mix, you can get around pretty well from maybe a little further out, as they seem to be well supported here (though I've never bothered with having one).

[Heiwos]

I vote Queen Anne, mainly because I walked around it for 4 years and still didn't see everything it had to offer. (Yeah I repeated a lot of walks.) I esp. liked all the semi-hidden staircases. You'd have to take a bus to the mall or Target though.

[JupiterFire]

Phinney Ridge is a fantastic place to live without a car--I lived there for 2 years and loved it. There are several cute coffee shops, bakeries, a variety of restaurants, a public library, grocery stores, bars, even a zoo within walking distance. Also, it is right on the bus line to downtown. You could walk to Fremont, Greenlake, even Ballard from Phinney. All great neighborhoods. There are several Zipcars in the neighborhood as well.

Good luck to you and let me know if you'd like the name of the fantastic apartment building I lived in. I paid $900 for a large one-bedroom in a 1920s brick building with hardwoods and lots of old-world charm. It was $740 for a studio.

[ijoe13]

Originally Posted by JupiterFire

Phinney Ridge is a fantastic place to live without a car--I lived there for 2 years and loved it. There are several cute coffee shops, bakeries, a variety of restaurants, a public library, grocery stores, bars, even a zoo within walking distance. Also, it is right on the bus line to downtown. You could walk to Fremont, Greenlake, even Ballard from Phinney. All great neighborhoods. There are several Zipcars in the neighborhood as well.

Good luck to you and let me know if you'd like the name of the fantastic apartment building I lived in. I paid $900 for a large one-bedroom in a 1920s brick building with hardwoods and lots of old-world charm. It was $740 for a studio.

I wouldn't mind having the name of that apartment as well.

Joe

[Drew345]

Thanks everyone. I am happy to expand my search outside of Capitol Hill, looks like that may not be the best place after all.
Any I just found out what a zipcar is!
Thanks,
Drew