The Pearl District (Portland) vs Belltown (Seattle) for urban living

[CanuckInPortland]

Originally Posted by dapper23

I went with Belltown. More concentrated and the upscale dining is pretty great.
Also important to note, this is a comparison of Portland's best neighborhood versus Seattle's third best neighborhood (yes I think Ballard is better than Belltown)

I know it's all subjective but I don't know if most people in Portland would call the Pearl District the best neighborhood or their favorite neighborhood. The popular part on the south end near Powell's feels pretty touristy, but it's also sort of the north end of Portland's downtown basically(many of the best restaurants and bars though are just south of the Pearl on the other side of Burnside these days). I'd say more people who live here would name neighborhoods on the east side or maybe the NW district west of 405 as their favorite part of Portland. The Pearl District has some good restaurants but most of the best newer places open up east of the river these days--I think as rent got higher there, the restaurants got less adventurous in the Pearl.

Ballard is cool, but I feel it gets a little inflated sometimes when it's described like it's a second downtown or something. It's a slightly bigger example of a gentrified older commercial district and it's fun for food and drinks(there's some great breweries around there). Though if you asked me what neighborhood I prefer between Capitol Hill, Belltown, and Ballard, I'd say it's be a close match between Capitol Hill and Ballard ahead of Belltown. But I mean, the neighborhood I might prefer for living in Seattle might not be the same one I prefer for going out for drinks--but I mean, Seattle is pretty compact and neighborhoods are pretty small as it is, so it's not usually far to get to a different neighborhood--it's not like LA.

[DANNNY__]

Originally Posted by dapper23

Ummm the the same stuff that would make Capitol Hill essentially a unanimous #1 neighborhood. Nightlife, vibrancy, living options.
Belltown used to a be a nightlife powerhouse. Every time I go back to Seattle, it seems less and less lively, while Ballard and Capitol Hill seem to be rising. Upscale dining is the one category that Belltown would easily win.

Don't agree about the upscale dining. Capitol Hill, Ballard, the Downtown Core and several other areas have better upscale dining. Belltown has a ton of mediocre restaurant/bar hybrids and a handful of good restaurants (Branzino, a few Tom Douglas joints, El Gaucho and a couple of others)