First visit, safe area to stay and walk around? (Seattle: co-op, hotel)

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

A private room (at $70ish) here might be a lot of fun at your age. Fremont, even more than Ballard, is the center of microbrew universe, besides (for my money) being the grooviest part of Seattle and exceptional live music as well: Gallery

I'll bet you a Maritime Pacific or a Hale's that Ballard has more places for craft beer than Fremont.

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by GatsbyGatz

Bar-hopping is a delight here! Use basic common sense when on the streets, but honestly, safety shouldn't even be a concern. Some worry-worts who are natives and have never lived in other cities will say to avoid places like Pioneer Square, but seriously, compared to most downtowns, Pioneer Square is perfectly fine; lots of great bars and restaurants, too!

Pioneer Square is pretty hit and miss. The last few times I was down there it seemed like everyone was from kent, Renton, Everett, Tacoma- ie tourists coming to "the big city" to party on the weekend-and that's who many of the establishments cater to. Not to say its bad, it's just not particularly hip, unique or cutting edge. Still seems to have a hard time keeping much in the way of retail shops also. Lots of vacant windows.

And while there are some breweries nearby, there are better ones elsewhere. The Elysian and pyramid are not as good as the other locations.

[Chicago60614]

Originally Posted by JBVirtuoso

Most of Seattle is quite safe by Chicago standards. Downtown Seattle has a very visible homeless population and some drug problems, but these things don't affect 99% of the people who find themselves downtown. The areas of Seattle that have microbreweries are particularly safe; it's really the more suburban parts of the city that have bigger crime problems, and even then, it's more theft than violent crime.

Basically, if you're comfortable hanging out in places like Wicker Park, the South Loop, Clark Street on a Friday night, or around Grand and Milwaukee, you should be fine anywhere in Seattle.

The one area where you'll want to use extra caution is Pioneer Square. It's not so dangerous that it should be avoided, but there are lots of characters roaming around. I'd equate it with what you see around Chicago and State - it's got issues, but they won't affect you if you mind your own business.

Also, be aware that Seattle's transit is supremely terrible for late night escapades. You'll be fine if you're hanging out in the area of your hotel, but bus service starts becoming skeletal after 11 pm on weekends. Make sure you're back in your neighborhood by then, or travel could become very inconvenient or require a cab.

Haha, well techinically a majority of Chicago is safe by Chicago standards - just because crime is so isolated in certain areas.

[beautifulseattlehomes]

I think you would love Ballard and the new Hotel Ballard is amazing! Reminds me of boutique hotels in London...everything is right there and hardly any need for a car. The hotel is attached to Olympic Athletic Club and you can use the facilities there when you stay at the hotel. You can walk everywhere in Ballard which is filled to the brim with restaurants, bars, live music, shops etc!

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by Ira500

I think some of them have rooms available by the hour.

Yes, and the same with International Boulevard.

[kaoticfury]

Watertown hotel at University District is a good place to stay. Good location. easy access to I5 highway and 520. they also have shuttle service to downtown. I stayed about 4 days, good experience.

[JonasW]

If you want to walk a pub crawl - breweries/beer bars - and get a local vibe then Ballard is the place. DT probably has more taps overall but only 1 brewery at Pikes, unless count Elysian and Pyramid which are by the stadium. (pretty fair distance from DT and require a stroll through Pioneer SQ) The DT vibe is very corporate/tourist. If you're willing to grab buses you can stay about anywhere. The D/C line is the magical beer line if you do a little research on places. Hotels like Silvercloud will shuttle you to DT. DT is an okay hub for everything. Fremont is close to Ballard and has lots of good places with lots of taps, and a couple of breweries. Definitely a must stop and drink place.

As to safety, it's like any city - keep your eyes open and be aware. If you don't make yourself a target then chances are you won't become one.

[Flopsweat]

Well I cannot thank you all enough, this has all been a huge help. We ended up booking our stay at Hotel Ballard based off of your suggestions, I've been swooping around the area on google street view and it looks great around there. I'm especially excited about the 800 breweries in the area, compared to the 1 that I have near me now.

Last question, I've been looking at transportation around the city, and from what I gathered, we can take the light link rail from the airport to Westlake Center, and then it looks like the green streetcar route ends nearly next door to the hotel. Does this sound correct? It was kind of confusing picking out the differences between the light link, sounder, and streetcar routes, but it looks like the sounder is moreso of a cross-city commute, whereas the other two seem to be centralized within Seattle.

[Flopsweat]

Originally Posted by JonasW

If you want to walk a pub crawl - breweries/beer bars - and get a local vibe then Ballard is the place. DT probably has more taps overall but only 1 brewery at Pikes, unless count Elysian and Pyramid which are by the stadium. (pretty fair distance from DT and require a stroll through Pioneer SQ) The DT vibe is very corporate/tourist. If you're willing to grab buses you can stay about anywhere. The D/C line is the magical beer line if you do a little research on places. Hotels like Silvercloud will shuttle you to DT. DT is an okay hub for everything. Fremont is close to Ballard and has lots of good places with lots of taps, and a couple of breweries. Definitely a must stop and drink place.

As to safety, it's like any city - keep your eyes open and be aware. If you don't make yourself a target then chances are you won't become one.

What is the D/C line?

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by mkarch

The last few times I was down there it seemed like everyone was from kent, Renton, Everett, Tacoma- ie tourists coming to "the big city" to party on the weekend

lol tourists from Renton . It's like saying tourists from Lake City or Northgate.