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Old 04-19-2014, 12:42 PM
 
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From my visits to Seattle it doesn't seem to me there's all that much difference among most of its neighborhoods. West Seattle, Magnolia/Upper Queen Anne, Montlake, all of north Seattle (from Ballard to Laurelhurst) seem pretty similar.

Largely suburban, lots of craftsman homes, with occasional brick tudors and low-height apartments, lots of trees, SUVs, few chain stores.

Downtown is different, of course, but most of Seattle's neighborhoods all look very ... Seattle. I suppose a native could spot differences, but they'd be nuanced differences. Certainly no one would mistake any of Seattle's neighborhoods for anything in New York or Los Angeles.
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Old 04-19-2014, 02:40 PM
 
Location: State of Transition
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Maple Leaf is mostly small tudor-style houses, quiet, with parks, well-served by transit.

Laurelhurst has larger homes, a variety of styles, a country club, views of the water, easy access to Lake Washington.
Pinehurst/Victory Heights (east of Northgate) has a lot of small one-story homes, a high percentage of immigrants and singles in those "starter homes", and is full of cedar trees, having preserved parts of the original NW forest. No SUV's.
The University District is very distinctive, with a core of fraternities/sororities, rooming houses, and large family homes originally built for university administrators, and a periphery of craftsman houses and apartment buildings. Few SUV's.
Ravenna has some beautiful large homes near the park, and more modest family housing. The park really makes this neighborhood.
West Seattle has great parks, and beaches. Madison Park also is on the water, but on Lake Washington.
Greenlake has the lake and park as a nice amenity.

Some neighborhoods are full of more modern, boxy, cheap construction homes. Others have their own style. So there are variations among some of the neighborhoods, but overall, you're right. Though in Seattle, it's mostly about access to water: Lake Washington or Puget Sound.

Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 04-19-2014 at 03:10 PM..
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Old 04-19-2014, 03:12 PM
 
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I think the largest differences between the neighborhoods lie in the people, not the architecture.

And that makes sense, considering that Seattle's vision of density is maaaaaaaaaaaaybe 20 years old, TOPS. This city was not necessarily designed for density - that happened in small corners in certain neighborhoods, but is has not been inherent in the design of the city.

Due to the city's rampant popularity - especially in the last decade or so - that vision has had to change. You won't see it reflected in the architecture for the reasons I gave. You primarily see it in the people, and in the future planning that is going into rebuilding each neighborhood.
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Old 04-19-2014, 03:27 PM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by amaiunmei View Post
I think the largest differences between the neighborhoods lie in the people, not the architecture.

And that makes sense, considering that Seattle's vision of density is maaaaaaaaaaaaybe 20 years old, TOPS. This city was not necessarily designed for density - that happened in small corners in certain neighborhoods, but is has not been inherent in the design of the city.

Due to the city's rampant popularity - especially in the last decade or so - that vision has had to change. You won't see it reflected in the architecture for the reasons I gave. You primarily see it in the people, and in the future planning that is going into rebuilding each neighborhood.
I agree with this, for the most part, and one would really have to live or work there to be able to recognize the differences. The biggest and most obvious visual differences are between the residential areas, downtown, Pioneer Square, and the industrial areas, as in most cities.
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Old 04-19-2014, 09:44 PM
 
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They are all basically the same.
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Old 04-20-2014, 03:09 PM
 
1,108 posts, read 2,276,343 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cinema Cat View Post
From my visits to Seattle it doesn't seem to me there's all that much difference among most of its neighborhoods. West Seattle, Magnolia/Upper Queen Anne, Montlake, all of north Seattle (from Ballard to Laurelhurst) seem pretty similar.

Largely suburban, lots of craftsman homes, with occasional brick tudors and low-height apartments, lots of trees, SUVs, few chain stores.

Downtown is different, of course, but most of Seattle's neighborhoods all look very ... Seattle. I suppose a native could spot differences, but they'd be nuanced differences. Certainly no one would mistake any of Seattle's neighborhoods for anything in New York or Los Angeles.
Capitol Hill, Lower Queen Anne, First Hill, South Lake Union, Pioneer Square, International District, Belltown and University District are all quite different from that in that they are more urban, with more mid-rise apartments/condos, fewer single family homes, and more dense commercial corridors/nodes. Aside from the U District, these all comprise Seattle's urban core, which radiates out from Downtown and is about 2X3 miles total.

Georgetown and SODO are also quite different in their own right - more industrial with a good amount of nightlife (especially Georgetown) but not much residential.

In terms of the neighborhoods you mentioned, I think there are subtle but notable differences between them. Wallingford, Fremont, Ballard, Alaska Junction, Admiral Junction, Upper Queen Anne, Phinney Ridge/Greenwood, Columbia City, Madison Valley/Park and several other neighborhoods all have walkable commercial cores with some multi-family near that core, and then layers of more suburban-feeling craft homes sprinkled in with low-rise apartments.

However, the scale and character is different.

- Ballard has a large commercial core with many mid-rise monstrosity apartment buildings going up and a ton of nightlife and restaurants.

- Wallingford centers around the quaint, walkable 45th street corridor flanked by suburban-ish but compact craftsman single family homes.

- Columbia City has a light rail station nearby and is in the middle of the much more diverse Rainier Valley.

- Upper Queen Anne is a fairly yuppie area with a lot of new money and a nice walkable commercial strip surrounded by upscale detached houses.

- Madison Park is a more established wealthy area with a lot of older money. It's also near a beach.

- Fremont is a former artsy, hippe neighborhood with a lot of quirky features and trendy restaurants and bars but recently it's been taken over by Frat and Sorority alumni on weekends.

- West Seattle neighborhoods have a really laid back feel. The restaurants and bars are less "cutting-edge" but the people are friendlier.

- Phinney/Greenwood also revolves around a walkable commercial corridor flanked by craftsman homes, but is very family oriented with lots of neat, quirky businesses.

- Greenlake revolves around the lake and recreational activity.

- Eastlake has fewer single-family homes and more apartments and is lacking a supermarket but is very centrally located and has great views of the lake. It has a number of notable nice restaurants

I'm missing many others, including Roosevelt, Beacon Hill, Montlake, Madrona/Leschi, Ravenna, etc. But the point is you are correct that there are similarities, but there are also notable differences in how the neighborhoods are laid out, walkability, % of multi-family housing, character of the commercial districts, and most important, the type of people that live and hang out in the neighborhoods.

It's also worth noting that 60% of housing units in Seattle are multi-family, so there may be more multi-family housing than you think sprinkled throughout the City.
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Old 04-20-2014, 09:13 PM
 
Location: US Empire, Pac NW
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It depends.

If all you do is wake up, go to your 9-5, go home, eat dinner, zomb out on the couch and go to bed, then yes, most of Seattle ist he same.

But if you go out of your house, check out the local areas, see the sights, and actually try doing stuff, then no, you will find that all Seattle neighborhoods have unique quirks. Some more than others (see the various things in Fremont vs. say Magnolia).
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Old 05-03-2014, 10:21 PM
 
Location: Bellevue & Seal Beach
768 posts, read 714,126 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cinema Cat View Post
From my visits to Seattle it doesn't seem to me there's all that much difference among most of its neighborhoods. West Seattle, Magnolia/Upper Queen Anne, Montlake, all of north Seattle (from Ballard to Laurelhurst) seem pretty similar.

Largely suburban, lots of craftsman homes, with occasional brick tudors and low-height apartments, lots of trees, SUVs, few chain stores.

Downtown is different, of course, but most of Seattle's neighborhoods all look very ... Seattle. I suppose a native could spot differences, but they'd be nuanced differences. Certainly no one would mistake any of Seattle's neighborhoods for anything in New York or Los Angeles.
Wow! I can't believe you are serious! The differences in areas is so vast, it boggles the mind that you can't see it. Seriously, you think Ballard & Laurelhurst are the same? Do you also think Miracle Mile & Pacific Palisades are the same? What is your point anyway?
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