Which nice city in Washington has the least hobos? (Seattle: condos, motorhome)

[Diana Holbrook]

Followup.... some of this discussion will be about money... certainly wealthy areas around Bellevue will have fewer issues...but my reason for bringing up my observations is that it's not ONLY about money. There are very blue collar (or flannel collar) towns in this area that are not wealthy... they are anything but and there are lots of mobile homes and places with no interest in landscaping around... but I am making a distinction between that and "hobos" and homeless camps. IMHO, they are very different things.

Full disclosure, I worked in homeless Social Services in both Olympia, Tacoma, and even Seattle for over a decade in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It's not the same scene as it used to be.... The programs I'm familiar with are probably still there... but they're overrun with people who can't successfully participate with those programs because of drugs. Not booze or pot... Meth and Heroin. You can't function on Meth and Heroin. They eat people alive.

The issue that needs solved is those drugs. The temporary homeless have many options. The chronic homeless today are so addicted and mentally ill, they really can't participate in voluntary help any more. Until we come up with an answer we can agree on for that, it won't be solved.

[Diana Holbrook]

Originally Posted by seamonkey

What about Gig harbor or the San Juan islands? Have the vagrants set up camp in those places? I love Washington but don't want to deal with aggressive junkies and mentally ill street people.

No I don't think you'll find camps in either place. And Gig Harbor might be more interesting than the other small towns I named.

I actually have been impressed when I've been through there, that Pierce County in general has far fewer visible homeless than Olympia.

[Ruth4Truth]

OP, what Seattle parks have concrete? None that I know of. The parking lot in Discovery Park has asphalt, but ho concrete. The other parks I enjoyed when I lived there are all natural forest and trails. I guess you must mean, parks with playgrounds for kids.

Look at Victory Heights neighborhood (there's a small park there, all grass, IIRC); no homeless. Also: Maple Leaf. There are plenty of neighborhoods around the city that don't have homelessness, and offer pleasant shopping experiences, as well.

What part of Seattle were you in?

If you can afford the San Juans, and don't mind having to pay into a sort of insurance policy in case you need to be med-evac' ed to a hospital on the mainland, you might love the islands. There's a real sense of community there. I've never seen homeless in Port Townsend, either, though a couple of members here have said there are some around downtown. There haven't been any when I've visited. Also look on Camano Island, which doesn't require a ferry to get to the mainland. And nearby Stanwood.


Also, OP, may I point out, that you've decided against Anacortes because it's too far away from everything, and seems dull, yet you're considering the San Juan Islands, which are even more remote. Though there are a lot of community goings-on on Orcas, but still...if you find Anacortes to be too remote for you taste or needs, why would you consider the San Juans? I'm wondering if my suggestion of Camano Island and Stanwood would also be dismissed as "too remote". I'm not sure what to suggest to you, at this point. Silverdale (Kitsap Peninsula)? Good hospital & other medical nearby.

[mayfair]

The homeless outside of the bigger cities (Seattle, Olympia, Bellingham) are less visible but there. They are often in wooded areas outside the smaller towns and increase crime in those areas. There can be very large, trashy camps you don't see if you don't come upon them, but they are fairly close to town.

There isn't any place, besides possibly Bellevue and the eastside where it isn't a problem you are going to have to deal with in some way. All the vibrant downtowns- Olympia, Seattle, Bellingham have large homeless populations. Freeway ramps often have panhandlers with signs, as do gas stations near freeways in more outlying areas, but not all have the tent camps you'll see by Seattle freeway ramps.

Mt. Vernon has an issue as well, but it doesn't look as bad as a few years ago. Arlington/Marysville have a bad area with camps around Smokey Point.

True, if Anacortes seems boring, the San Juans will be more so. Nature and water lovers will enjoy those places, but if you want urban amenities, you won't find them.

[Diana Holbrook]

Yes.. If you want urban amenities... Bellevue would be better.


And if Bellevue is too expensive, Tacoma may be better, without the higher cost of living. I am sure there are problems there too, but it's perhaps not as invasive into everything else... It's avoidable.

[Jiff]

Please tell me where, have all the hobos gone to,
I see no fire burning down by the rusty railroad track.
Now could it be, that time has gone and left them,
tied up in life's eternal travelin' sack.

John Prine

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by margaretBartle

I'm sure it's because the eastside, unlike Seattle, won't put up with that nonsense.

Or services, free feeds/food banks, shelters, charities, sliding-scale clinics, and transportation are lacking, causing many people from the Eastside who become homeless to migrate to Seattle.

[TheTimidBlueBars]

Originally Posted by margaretBartle

I've never seen a homeless encampment, congration of bums, tents pitched along 1-5, or even a panhandler in Bellevue. I haven't been to Kirkland for a couple of years, but I bet you won't see any there, either.


I'm sure it's because the eastside, unlike Seattle, won't put up with that nonsense.

I saw a few people dumpster diving near 148th and 24th in Bellevue the other day. Very sad

[thatguy950]

Bellevue also has panhandling in Eastgate and Crossroads regularly, I’ve seen them sporadically around Lincoln and Bellevue Square the the Bravern, I’ve seen them tweaking out and yelling near the Bellevue art Museum a few times as well, but not as often (24/7) as seattle

[jakebarnes]

If you want to be in the Seattle area, look at places that are higher income. If you don't have to go downtown, Madison Park, Laurelhurst, Leschi, Madrona, etc. are relatively homeless-free. Police tend to move them along in rich areas, other places not so much.

Avoid downtown, Capitol Hill, First Hill, Beacon Hill, SODO, Lower QA (upper is a little better), parts of Ballard, Interbay.

If you can't afford an expensive area, try Kitsap County. There are some homeless but fewer.