Leaving the frenzy behind but need to make it there first! (Seattle: apartments, rent)

[KatieLJ]

I am finally leaving the frenzy of DC and have a potential job in Seattle. (A couple of other cities are also on the list but Seattle is quickly moving to the top.) I only know the professional side of Seattle and need some thoughts/advice on the residential issues. I will rent for the first 1-2 years until I learn the area well enough to buy.

I've seen Ballard and Capitol Hill recommended to posters who are single and in their early 40s. I wonder whether they are a good fit for me and whether there are other areas I should visit. I will be in Seattle for 6 days next month to generally check out the city and explore the various neighborhoods.

I am in my late 30s, recently divorced, with no kids and limited contacts in the area. Since I don't have school systems or a spouse's job commute to guide my housing search, my search is wide open... too wide open. Here is a broad "wish list" that is guiding my search. I would appreciate any advice/thoughts you have to help me narrow my search.

1. Dog friendly - a "must have" item.
2. Safe - dog walking without having an armed escort or knowing martial arts is a "must have," as well (just joking, well, kinda).
   
3. Social community - pubs, coffee shops, and restaurants that are frequented by locals.
4. Similar demographics - average resident is 35-45, professional. I've spent the past three years living amongst the late 20s-early 30s crowd in DC. I'm ready for drama free (or light) living.
   
5. Price - it all depends on the neighborhood. I could reasonably afford up to $2,000 but $1500 would be ideal. Then again, living in the right community is even more ideal.
   
6. Rental sizes - I could live in a studio up to a 2 bedroom. Location, price, and finishes are more important than square footage.
   
7. Commute - I will be working downtown and could handle a commute up to 45 minutes.
8. Rental style - in the order of preference: a small bungalow (probably not possible even with $2000), a condo, apartment in a non-high rise building, apartment in a high rise building

Also, can you recommend any websites that are particularly in touch with Seattle housing and general lifestyle topics that would be a good source for new people? I stumbled onto a couple of blogs and here, but I'd love some more sources.

Thank you.

[tobester]

Ballard would be a great place to start looking ... it has all you're looking for.

[Ira500]

When asked about going to a certain restaurant, Yogi Berra once remarked " Nobody goes there any more. It's too crowded."
That's how I feel about Ballard. Yes, there are espresso places every half a block. Yes, there are eight microbreweries. Yes, Golden Gardens is an awesome park. Yes, merchants put bowls of water out on the sidewalk for dogs. But they've been building apartment buildings like crazy( my son lives in one).
I wonder why Tobester didn't suggest Columbia City. Better for dog walking, between Genessee Park and Seward Park. Just a few blocks from the light rail line into DT Seattle.

[tobester]

I'd suggest Columbia City ... Even though I've been spending more time in Ballard lately (new grandkids!) and liking it a lot.

[KatieLJ]

My concern with Ballard is that it has become too hip. I confess that I am concerned some of the often recommended locales may be too "granola." Not granola in the birkenstock sense but too indie, too "I'm trying to be different but I end up looking like everyone else" type of community. Not to offend anyone at all! While I have a relaxed lifestyle, I am still a little bit yuppie-urbanite at heart and am nervous about going too drastically outside my comfort zone.

Thanks again for the candor.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by KatieLJ

My concern with Ballard is that it has become too hip. I confess that I am concerned some of the often recommended locales may be too "granola." Not granola in the birkenstock sense but too indie, too "I'm trying to be different but I end up looking like everyone else" type of community. Not to offend anyone at all! While I have a relaxed lifestyle, I am still a little bit yuppie-urbanite at heart and am nervous about going too drastically outside my comfort zone.

Thanks again for the candor.

If you are a yuppie urbanite, why not look into Belltown or South Lake Union, maybe even Lower Queen Anne? I'd give the edge to LQA for the dog aspect.

Originally Posted by tobester

I'd suggest Columbia City ... Even though I've been spending more time in Ballard lately (new grandkids!) and liking it a lot.

Congrats on the g-kids!

[tobester]

Yuppie urbanite? Madison Park might work. There's also Leschi and Madrona.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by KatieLJ

My concern with Ballard is that it has become too hip. I confess that I am concerned some of the often recommended locales may be too "granola." Not granola in the birkenstock sense but too indie, too "I'm trying to be different but I end up looking like everyone else" type of community. Not to offend anyone at all! While I have a relaxed lifestyle, I am still a little bit yuppie-urbanite at heart and am nervous about going too drastically outside my comfort zone.

Thanks again for the candor.

I think you could be happy in either Ballard or Columbia city. The biggest difference is prices, Ballard costs a lot more and will get more crowded as the new big apartments are finished. I have a son and a daughter living there, both in houses, one bought the other renting, so spend a lot of time there and it is a great place to live and the restaurants are not crowded if you go early, but at peak times you will have to wait. Columbia City definitely has more options for ethnic cuisines.

[beautifulseattlehomes]

Look on Phinney Ridge between 67th and 79th particularly Greenwood Avenue between those numbered streets....a real neighborhood! Real people of all ages and tons of happy dogs and their owners...pubs, coffee shops, markets, a few boutiques, some good restaurants and not at all the DC scene you describe!I know that DC ...Adams Morgan in the Clinton years...I was one of those 20 somethings..

Phinney has an easy commute to downtown too!

[Brookdale46]

Originally Posted by KatieLJ

Also, can you recommend any websites that are particularly in touch with Seattle housing and general lifestyle topics that would be a good source for new people? I stumbled onto a couple of blogs and here, but I'd love some more sources.

Here's one geared toward Ballard, which you might find of interest:

My Ballard » News, events and restaurants in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood

Besides the newer apartments going up in [downtown] Ballard as we speak (and to which reference has been made), there are many older apartments along the streets (roughly ten blocks) north of Market. Some streets are solid apartments, others a mix of apartments and single family homes.