Is Belltown ghetto?

[415_s2k]

Venom is kinda like Trinity. That's the only proper "club" I personally went to in that area. There are a couple more in the Pioneer Square area.

If you go to Pioneer Square, there are some more clubs like Last Supper Club and Heaven, and there's always Cowgirls Inc. if you don't like strip clubs, but still want to see softcore porn with your own eyes... Pioneer Square is south of Belltown by a mile or so, so if you were to rent/live in Belltown you'd still be in close proximity to Pioneer Square, as well.

I was in an apartment that a girl of mine lived in somewhere in Belltown; it was a newer place, maybe like two blocks up from thewaterfront...? Pretty pricey I'd imagine, but I never heard a peep from the apartment next to it. It probably just varies building to building.

[SwingVote08]

I was actually on 1st Ave. in Belltown this weekend. Ended up staying on the much more tame 2nd Ave. after seeing a gangster-style scene up and down the block. I don't think ghetto describes it at all but I could see how some could think that. I could easily see pimps, prostitutes, drug deals, fights, etc. potential but nothing happened when I was there...well, except a couple of drug deals but I'm not really bothered by that since it's "peaceful".

The police presence was unbelievable. They stayed on the street corners or on their bikes for the most part and I really didn't see much intervention going on except to tow cars and give directions. They seemed to have somewhat of a "base camp" set up on one of the corners that had an empty lot. It was stocked with some RV-like cop bus, a few cop cars and 5 or so policemen. Strange scene but I felt a lot safer for sure.

I didn't end up going in any of the bars because it was quite the crowd - busy and weird to be frank. I guess I just hit it at the wrong hour or day because it was fine the next night.

Overall, I'd say this scene at least makes me want to steer at least a few blocks away from this area of Belltown. The rest of Belltown seems quiet and residential or quiet because there are just day-only businesses there (but then the bums fill in these gaps).

Bottom line for me - Belltown's nice during the day and hit or miss during the nighttime, but to live in - I think I'll pass

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by SwingVote08

I was actually on 1st Ave. in Belltown this weekend. Ended up staying on the much more tame 2nd Ave. after seeing a gangster-style scene up and down the block. I don't think ghetto describes it at all but I could see how some could think that. I could easily see pimps, prostitutes, drug deals, fights, etc. potential but nothing happened when I was there...well, except a couple of drug deals but I'm not really bothered by that since it's "peaceful".

That's what I'm saying. For all these "Ghetto" areas that the other posters listed, its still mostly non eventful and safe enough to walk through, even for a girl.

Tacoma and Everett have some seedy areas, but somehow the rep of those few seedy areas overtaken the entire town. They're lovely towns and people will miss out on a lot if they don't properly investigate their options.

[Anders15]

thanks. this was the video among others in question
YouTube - Belltown = Hell Town