Need a little help picking a neighborhood (Seattle, George: apartment, to rent)

[kmrivers]

Let's get all the fun stuff out on the table.

Overview:
I currently live in Chicago. I visited Seattle last year and loved it. Recently landed a new gig there and will be moving to Seattle!

I am actually going to rent a room for a few months as I transition (few reasons for this, but not too important).

So I expect to move into an apartment on May 1st. My fiancé will be joining me as well.

Financials:
My fiancee will likely be transferring with her current company, but there is no guarantee. So the range is a bit weird.

low max: $1900
high max: ~$2600

Desirables:
2 bedroom or large 1 bedroom
Nice, clean, modern

I am not too picky, I really just like a nice looking place. During my searching thus far I see a lot of carpet. Not a fan, hardwood much preferred.

For those familiar with Chicago, I live in Bucktown. This offers me tons of great stuff with in walking distance and a quick trip to the Loop on the Blue Line. We are both walkers and love to explore; we are very much urban people. We are also vegetarian, so access to great veg/veg friendly spots is a must.

So far, I am very interested in Capitol Hill. Namely because it is close to downtown, seems to have the vibe I am looking for and there are tons of veg restaurants.

No car and no plans for one.

Doing my due diligence:
We are headed to Seattle next weekend to explore. And I will have a few months in the city to get a good feel for things.

I have my eyes on Capitol Hill, Fremont but some other recommendations (intersections are fine) would be excellent.

Thanks all!

[tobester]

Might also look at Ballard and Wallingford neighborhoods.

[The Siobhan]

Do you know where you will be working?


You may like Belltown or Sodo if it is the converted warehouse theme that attracts you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoDo,_Seattle

[kmrivers]

Originally Posted by The Siobhan

Do you know where you will be working?

Knew I forgot something! SoDo.

[*******]

Originally Posted by kmrivers

Let's get all the fun stuff out on the table.

Overview:
I currently live in Chicago. I visited Seattle last year and loved it. Recently landed a new gig there and will be moving to Seattle!

I am actually going to rent a room for a few months as I transition (few reasons for this, but not too important).

So I expect to move into an apartment on May 1st. My fiancé will be joining me as well.

Financials:
My fiancee will likely be transferring with her current company, but there is no guarantee. So the range is a bit weird.

low max: $1900
high max: ~$2600

Desirables:
2 bedroom or large 1 bedroom
Nice, clean, modern

I am not too picky, I really just like a nice looking place. During my searching thus far I see a lot of carpet. Not a fan, hardwood much preferred.

For those familiar with Chicago, I live in Bucktown. This offers me tons of great stuff with in walking distance and a quick trip to the Loop on the Blue Line. We are both walkers and love to explore; we are very much urban people. We are also vegetarian, so access to great veg/veg friendly spots is a must.

So far, I am very interested in Capitol Hill. Namely because it is close to downtown, seems to have the vibe I am looking for and there are tons of veg restaurants.

No car and no plans for one.

Doing my due diligence:
We are headed to Seattle next weekend to explore. And I will have a few months in the city to get a good feel for things.

I have my eyes on Capitol Hill, Fremont but some other recommendations (intersections are fine) would be excellent.

Thanks all!

I am from New York City and also love Seattle.

I love New York City, Seattle, and Chicago at the same time! There are plenty of places to enjoy.

For the vibe you are looking for Capital Hill, University District, Wallingford, Fremont, Ballard, and Queen Anne are all great neighborhood options to live in.

It seems like you will also enjoy Downtown, International District, West Seattle, and Belltown but those neighborhoods are more for visiting frequently rather than living in. They are still good neighborhoods to live in too, but it seems like the other neighborhoods I mentioned are even more suitable.

So in general, it seems like there will be at least 10 neighborhoods in Seattle you will enjoy.

[The Siobhan]

Originally Posted by kmrivers

Knew I forgot something! SoDo.

HAHA! Check out my edit because I recommended SoDo as a possible place to live.

[kmrivers]

Thanks ******* and Siobhan.

From my reading, Queen Anne sounds a bit.. stroller heavy.

To add a bit more, no kids and no plans for kids. In our mid 20s. so we definitely appreciate a more young vibe.

[*******]

Originally Posted by kmrivers

Thanks ******* and Siobhan.

From my reading, Queen Anne sounds a bit.. stroller heavy.

To add a bit more, no kids and no plans for kids. In our mid 20s. so we definitely appreciate a more young vibe.

Queen Anne is a bit stroller heavy, but at the same time it still has a strong yuppie/hipster vibe, and plenty of young adult people there.

For one example, it has plenty of great restaurants and coffee shops/espresso bars, etc.

There are plenty of people that have children that are into the same urban amenities as people without kids, and also people of all ages being into the same urban amenities.

Other than Queen Anne, the other 5 great neighborhood options to live in I mentioned (Capital Hill, University District, Wallingford, Fremont, and Ballard) are even much less stroller heavy, an even more young adult vibe, and also plenty of great urban amenities/great urban vibe too. Etc.

If I had to pick just one of those neighborhood options, it would be Capital Hill. However, there are at least 10 great neighborhoods in general it seems like you would enjoy in Seattle.

Do you have any other questions about Seattle? I can help with those other questions too.

[Inkpoe]

Upper Queen Anne is stroller heavy. Lower QA is not, its more geared towards 20 something professionals.

Given the fact that you're working in Sodo, I'm not really inclined to recommend U-District, Wallingford, Fremont, and Ballard. Same with West Seattle... they doing all that construction right now (and for a couple years), traffic is painful.

I'd also point out to (southern neighborhoods) Georgetown, Beacon Hill, Columbia City as other viable options to check out.

[kmrivers]

Thanks for all the suggestions! It will be a busy weekend.

One question is walkability, I will figure a lot of this out this weekend, but if staying in Capitol Hill for example is it reasonable to walk from there to say SoDo?

I walk pretty much everywhere here in Chicago, with the occasional bus, so impressions from natives would be excellent.