First visit, safe area to stay and walk around? (Seattle: where to stay, renting)

[Flopsweat]

My wife and I have a trip booked to Seattle in the middle of March, and I wanted to see if anyone has suggestions on where to stay. We are both in our early 30's, and although it makes me cringe, a "hipster" area is kinda what we're looking for. We'll be there for 5 days and likely will not be renting a car, but we do love some good craft beers so I figure it's a good jump off point (breweries? bars with 50 crafts on tap? etc). So basically we want somewhere we can mostly walk around, have a drink or twelve, and safely walk back to the hotel.

We're from Chicago, and I was looking at how crime stats seem to show the areas in/around downtown Seattle are the worst; However, I know that A) the low population skews the data, and B) of course there will be more crime where more people congregate, so the data is open to interpretation.

I know Chicago has recently been dubbed the "murder capitol" of the US, but even I know how misleading that can be as I am in the city very often. I just know the main neighborhoods to avoid (like Humbolt Park and Englewood), so I'm looking for the big main red flag areas to steer clear of as well. Of course we know you can be mugged anywhere, but having never been to Seattle I figured this is good place to ask all you wonderful persons on the interwebs.

[kaday]

You could check out The Ballard Inn. Its a new boutique hotel in a really fun Seattle neighborhood. You can walk to lots of bars, restaurants and cute shops. It is a great walkable Seattle neighborhood. Also before we moved here we stayed at The Inn at Washington Athletic Club. It is downtown walking distance to Pike Place Market and the waterfront. We felt very safe there (and still go downtown all the time). For the most part Seattle is a safe city. Lots of good options though.

[mkarch]

^ Second this. If you don't mind spending a little more (for Seattle, it's still cheap by NY standards) the new Hotel Ballard is really nice. Capitol Hill is more hipster than Ballard, but it's also a younger crowd (20's) in a lot of spots. Definitely check it out though since it's Seattle's most urban neighborhood.

As for places to avoid, there aren't too many. I'd recommend not going to Pioneer Square later at night - not because it's inherently unsafe, just it's not all that great of an entertainment district overall. It's more where people who don't live in Seattle go to party on the weekends.

[Ira500]

Ballard alone has something like eight microbreweries, so you can't go wrong there. Stay in Ballard and you can sample several of them and happily stumble back to your hotel. Maritime Pacific has been there 30 years, and they have a great brew pub with a terrific happy hour.
There are some great B&Bs on Capitol Hill, but I'd stay a little further east on the hill, closer to 15th or 19th.

[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.

[west seattle gal]

...and don't get a hotel on Aurora Ave!

[kaonevar]

Yeah, avoid Aurora Ave aka 99 like the plague.

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by west seattle gal

...and don't get a hotel on Aurora Ave!

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

[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: http://www.hotelhotel.co/gallery

[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!