Do you worry about Seattle becoming sterilized? (Tacoma, Vancouver: apartments, condos)

[jm31828]

I just don't get this- from reading the posts, it seems people want or miss grit and shady-ness in certain parts of the city. Why in the world would you want to deal with any of that? Why would I ever want to be in areas that are gritty and run down looking or even dangerous? I'd be happy if no corner of the Seattle area had any grit, if it was all clean, modern, safe, and nice. Do people get a thrill of going "down by the docks" and seeing something bad happen, or feeling they are somehow in danger? Do people like to see run down, falling apart buildings?

[AT-AT28]

I agree, some of the people's standards of living is beyond my comprehension

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by jm31828

I just don't get this- from reading the posts, it seems people want or miss grit and shady-ness in certain parts of the city. Why in the world would you want to deal with any of that? Why would I ever want to be in areas that are gritty and run down looking or even dangerous? I'd be happy if no corner of the Seattle area had any grit, if it was all clean, modern, safe, and nice. Do people get a thrill of going "down by the docks" and seeing something bad happen, or feeling they are somehow in danger? Do people like to see run down, falling apart buildings?

Originally Posted by AT-AT28

I agree, some of the people's standards of living is beyond my comprehension

Seriously guys? You live in Lynnwood and Lake City... by Seattle's standards, you live in a gritty, undesirable, rundown, dangerous (albeit diverse) places. Both cities are due for gentrification. Or did the irony just fly over your head?

[jm31828]

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

Seriously guys? You live in Lynnwood and Lake City... by Seattle's standards, you live in a gritty, undesirable, rundown, dangerous (albeit diverse) places. Both cities are due for gentrification. Or did the irony just fly over your head?

Lynnwood is gritty, huh? Maybe some small pockets by highway 99, but besides that I see nothing anywhere near the areas I live in that would qualify as gritty. Just standard suburbia, really. The entire section of town near the mall looks quite new, so I don't know what irony you are talking about. Nothing I see anywhere would really qualify as gritty.

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[RotseCherut]

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

Seriously guys? You live in Lynnwood and Lake City... by Seattle's standards, you live in a gritty, undesirable, rundown, dangerous (albeit diverse) places. Both cities are due for gentrification. Or did the irony just fly over your head?

Lake City is dangerous and gritty?? Even by Seattle standards, I find that a gross exaggeration. Where did you grow up?? Bel-Air?

[ctr88]

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

The blue collar aspect is being pushed out, a lot of the racial/ethnic diversity that should be thriving in DT area fleeing to the suburbs (which isn't a bad thing, but Seattle isn't as diverse as its suburbs-- and people get surprised by how white Seattle really is). You can even see on here on the forum there's a contempt for neighborhoods/suburbs that actually are diverse and lots of praise for neighborhoods that aren't-- and the funny thing those praised neighborhoods are touted for being "diverse" whereas the other doesn't (Bellevue has been referred as "white-washed")..

It depends what part of Seattle you are in. The City of Seattle say NORTH of Madison Street is pretty white. Seattle SOUTH of Madison Street is pretty diverse....Central District, Beacon Hill, Rainier Valley, Othello. The City of Seattle as a whole is 34% non-white. If you just made South of Madison Seattle it's own separate city it's probably like 55%+ non-white. North of Madison Seattle probably 75%+ white.

The term "white washed" to me does fit Bellevue even if it's not predominately white. I see the term "white washed" not to necessary mean a place is predominately white, but more of a bland, "master planned", generic place full of chains and boxy architecture, and sparklingly clean BMW SUV's that could be of any ethnicity. Which is what Bellevue is.

[ctr88]

I do have to comment on the OP that as time goes on with my move here to Seattle I'm starting to agree more that Seattle is not quite as eclectic and interesting as I thought it would be. I still like it a lot, and I still think it's very cool, but it just is not quite like image many people have of the city say that produced the grunge rock scene of the early 90's. I would say the same of San Francisco. People still have that romanticized image of San Francisco in the summer of love Haight Ashbury era in 1967. Which it is now a far cry from good or bad.

[Steve Bowen]

I think this is part of a bigger trend nationwide. Most of the cities that were cool, funky, and eclectic a couple decades ago seem to be getting much more expensive and yuppified. It happened with Minneapolis as we learned unthread. My understanding is that Austin is also not what it once was. San Francisco is increasingly dominated by tech workers the way that Manhattan is dominated by finance workers, and is much more expensive for it.

Urbanity is becoming much less affordable, even in just the last few years. A lot of that has to do with tastes and preferences of millennials, a lot of has to do with the relative scarcity of cities in the US that offer an urban lifestyle and decent public transit. A lot of it has to do, in the cases of Seattle, Manhattan and San Francisco, with the tech and finance industries dumping tens of billions of dollars per year into these areas and creating thousands of high-paying jobs, and a lot of it has to do with the fact that there is no municipal economic development model in the United States other than gentrification.

To the extent there are places where urbanity is still affordable, it is in rust belt towns that have fallen on hard times like Cleveland, Buffalo or Detroit. Or cities that are struggling with segregation and perceived poor public schools like Chicago and Milwaukee.

There are few cities in the US where an urban life is possible and relatively affordable, that do not have major problems. Minneapolis has a good economy, and is relatively urban, but that is the only place that comes to mind.

Urbanity in the US almost seems like it is becoming an amenity only for the upper-middle class and upper class. My hope is that the outflow of people who are priced out and turned off by the cost of living and yuppification of Seattle, and other cities move elsewhere and increase the pressure for sound urban planning and improved transit, increasing the number of cities where an urban life is an option, but with the state of finances at the municipal, state and federal level in America, that sort of investment seems unlikely for a long while.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by RotseCherut

Lake City is dangerous and gritty?? Even by Seattle standards, I find that a gross exaggeration. Where did you grow up?? Bel-Air?

I suggest you reread what I said. And yes, LC by Seattle standards is considered gritty, dangerous and dirty. It's history doesn't help either as it was worse before. Even on this forum, there's a lot negativity about LC. I am one of the very very few here that would rec LC.

And JM unintentionally proved what I was saying throughout this thread. Lynwood isn't generally that well thought of, but it's an affordable "suburbia" (as he would label it). Just as Tukwila isn't as bad as people would have one believing, there are good points about the place... but no one ever brings it up.

Originally Posted by ctr88

The term "white washed" to me does fit Bellevue even if it's not predominately white. I see the term "white washed" not to necessary mean a place is predominately white, but more of a bland, "master planned", generic place full of chains and boxy architecture, and sparklingly clean BMW SUV's that could be of any ethnicity. Which is what Bellevue is.

That particular poster was saying Seattle is very racially diverse, Bellevue wasn't. So no, if he had used it in that very tone with that definition, I would have never brought it up

[Rcsligar]

It all comes down to the people you want to deal with in everyday life. Like Bowen mentioned, unfortunately the only concrete measure for economic improvement in various areas is gentrification. With an influx of money coming in from tech/finance workers/bankers/politicians/etc, comes people that tend to be a tad ostentatious and are the types that would probably complain about a Lake City of Tukwila being ghetto, when in reality they have no idea what they're talking about.

I just like real people that are devoid of pretension and don't brag about their vegan lifestyle/elite taste in music/food/etc. Working class people tend to not behave this way which is why I tend to enjoy their company more than the elite banker from Wall Street.