Question about a specific location in Seattle (Bellevue, Pacific: apartment complex, to rent)

[Molli]

I located a new high rise luxury apartment complex going in in Seattle and have called them and it looks like it would be a good fit for me to rent for awhile once I move to Seattle until I decide where I want to buy. The location is 1915 Second Avenue.

Is anyone familiar with that location? Is has a 100 walkable score, which is better than I could have hoped for. Looks like a beautiful view if you get a higher floor. But what about safety in walking around in the evenings, drug sellers, homeless lurkers, etc. that I keep hearing about on the boards about some areas in Seattle?

[JBVirtuoso]

Drug sellers and homeless lurkers are things you'll have to deal with if you live in downtown Seattle. They'll rarely bother you at all, but they'll be around at all hours of the day. Pike and Pine Streets between 1st and 5th Avenues are particularly, er, active. The corner of 3rd and Pine is a major transit node and people from all over the region pass through there to get where they're going. That means the area functions as a major meeting spot for drug deals and for panhandlers looking to maximize their earnings. There are also a number of social services in the area that attract people who are down on their luck.

In another thread, I asked if you had lived in a large city before, and this is the very issue I had in mind. Living downtown offers great amenities and good views if you find the right apartment, but you will constantly see the darker side of urban living as well. Personally, I have no problem walking around downtown Seattle and using transit there at all hours of the night, but I've lived in other large cities and have experience dealing with this stuff. The downtown lifestyle is not for everyone. You'll need to decide if living in the middle of it all is worth the trouble that brings.

[Kayela]

It's a neat area to visit, but honestly - I wouldn't want to live there, and I say that as someone who used to live Downtown (8th & Olive), liked it, and isn't phased by some of the less desirable aspects of living in a dense urban area. That area is fine during the day, but 3rd & Pike has the city's highest incidences of assaults (or at it did recently), there is a lot of drug dealing at night and it's known for being pretty noisy. Mentally, you'll be 'on guard' from the minute you go out til you get back. There are plenty of close-in, dense neighborhoods that feel safer, have more charm, are just as walkable, and have more of a neighborhood 'feel' to them.

On the bright side, you'd be super close to the market, hopefully have some good views, and there's lots of restaurants in the area. The downside is the market closes at 5, it's so freaking packed in the summer that I avoid it, and there are plenty of places with good views.

Of course, this all my entirely personal opinion.

[Xeon1210]

The Viktoria? What do you want to know about it?

It's close to Pike Place Market and pretty much anything you want, Target, lots of resturaunts etc. It can't be understated, this is located near the busiest section of the 3rd ave corridor so there are a lot of options around it.

Unfortunately this area of 3rd (and pike) has a very poor reputation (which I agree with, I avoid it if at all possible). The building itself will obviously be safe and well oiled. Will you be bringing a car with you? I'd expect parking to be atleast $300/mo based on what i've seen in the area.
It will be wired for CondoInternet which gives 1 Gbps for $120 per month or 100 Mbps for $60 per month, which is a huge deal because the mayor just announced that the city-wide fiber deal fell through.

Short version: if you don't plan on being out at all hours of the night (when things get dicey) then I think it's a good buy.

[Molli]

Originally Posted by JBVirtuoso

Drug sellers and homeless lurkers are things you'll have to deal with if you live in downtown Seattle. They'll rarely bother you at all, but they'll be around at all hours of the day. Pike and Pine Streets between 1st and 5th Avenues are particularly, er, active. The corner of 3rd and Pine is a major transit node and people from all over the region pass through there to get where they're going. That means the area functions as a major meeting spot for drug deals and for panhandlers looking to maximize their earnings. There are also a number of social services in the area that attract people who are down on their luck.

In another thread, I asked if you had lived in a large city before, and this is the very issue I had in mind. Living downtown offers great amenities and good views if you find the right apartment, but you will constantly see the darker side of urban living as well. Personally, I have no problem walking around downtown Seattle and using transit there at all hours of the night, but I've lived in other large cities and have experience dealing with this stuff. The downtown lifestyle is not for everyone. You'll need to decide if living in the middle of it all is worth the trouble that brings.

I responded to your question in the other thread -- I guess you missed it. By homeless people, I'm not talking about the individuals who cross your path now and then while you are walking around. What I'm wondering about is whether there are packs of them that hang out together, they block where you are trying to walk, and as a woman I want nothing to do with having to walk thru 20-30 homeless men in a pack while they are snickering and sneering as you are having to walk thru their group. I can't get a sense of how "bad" the homeless population is in Seattle from the threads I read on this board, other than the fact that some seem to say that it is a real problem in some places in Seattle.

[Molli]

Originally Posted by emerald_octane

The Viktoria? What do you want to know about it?

It's close to Pike Place Market and pretty much anything you want, Target, lots of resturaunts etc. It can't be understated, this is located near the busiest section of the 3rd ave corridor so there are a lot of options around it.

Unfortunately this area of 3rd (and pike) has a very poor reputation (which I agree with, I avoid it if at all possible). The building itself will obviously be safe and well oiled. Will you be bringing a car with you? I'd expect parking to be atleast $300/mo based on what i've seen in the area.
It will be wired for CondoInternet which gives 1 Gbps for $120 per month or 100 Mbps for $60 per month, which is a huge deal because the mayor just announced that the city-wide fiber deal fell through.

Short version: if you don't plan on being out at all hours of the night (when things get dicey) then I think it's a good buy.

Yes, I didn't know if I could include the name in my original post. And they told me about the CondoInternet thing and the parking cost. But it doesn't seem to be a good fit for me now since my entire purpose in wanting a walking around environment is to be able to walk around until say 9ish at nite by myself and feel safe. Dang other than that, which will kill the deal for me, the place really does seem like a perfect fit.

[Molli]

Originally Posted by Kayela

It's a neat area to visit, but honestly - I wouldn't want to live there, and I say that as someone who used to live Downtown (8th & Olive), liked it, and isn't phased by some of the less desirable aspects of living in a dense urban area. That area is fine during the day, but 3rd & Pike has the city's highest incidences of assaults (or at it did recently), there is a lot of drug dealing at night and it's known for being pretty noisy. Mentally, you'll be 'on guard' from the minute you go out til you get back. There are plenty of close-in, dense neighborhoods that feel safer, have more charm, are just as walkable, and have more of a neighborhood 'feel' to them.

On the bright side, you'd be super close to the market, hopefully have some good views, and there's lots of restaurants in the area. The downside is the market closes at 5, it's so freaking packed in the summer that I avoid it, and there are plenty of places with good views.

Of course, this all my entirely personal opinion.

Thanks for the warning of being on guard -- that's not what I'm looking for. Heck I can walk around NYC even very late at nite and feel safe and that doesn't mean that I feel safe around lots of drug dealers, packs of homeless, etc. This isn't what I want. But I do want a high rise that has a very high walk score. Charm to me can be fulfilled with beautiful tall buildings or greenery or water or quaint smaller buildings -- I'm not that picky about that. But SAFE feeling I am very picky about.

[Xeon1210]

Bellevue might be a bit more your speed. If you're commuting into Seattle it might be hellish but its much much safer and should have similar pricing options to the Viktoria.

[Molli]

Originally Posted by emerald_octane

Bellevue might be a bit more your speed. If you're commuting into Seattle it might be hellish but its much much safer and should have similar pricing options to the Viktoria.

Nope, I want Seattle. I have no work commute -- I work remotely from home full time, which is one reason I want a high rise with a nice view!

[fnh]

Molli, it is true that I don't live in Seattle year-round, but we visit frequently (about every six weeks, there all summer) and we catch the bus home at night at the bus stop at 3rd and Pine - a couple of blocks from where you are proposing to live, by the Columbia Apparel store. I wait at the bus stop with two elementary school aged kids without fear usually between 8:30-9:30pm, after catching an evening movie at the Pacific Place theater, on practically every visit. It is an urban scene to be sure but the area you are proposing is not what I would call dangerous.