Madrona area? What's your opinion? (Seattle: house, buying, schools)

[homesinseattle]

They will be fine. I know many who are excited about it.

[angelenogirl]

Madrona is gorgeous. Schools are horrible. It's the total opposite of what I'm used to in L.A., where the affluent areas have high performing public schools.

[seattlefun]

Originally Posted by angelenogirl

Madrona is gorgeous. Schools are horrible. It's the total opposite of what I'm used to in L.A., where the affluent areas have high performing public schools.

I didn't realize Madrona was affluent! The schools boggle me. I guess there is no perfect area. I love all of Seattle. But Madrona seems to be a special spot

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by seattlefun

I didn't realize Madrona was affluent! The schools boggle me. I guess there is no perfect area. I love all of Seattle. But Madrona seems to be a special spot

The area just a few blocks west of Madrona used to have exceptionally high violent crime. During the summers there would be multiple shootings near 23rd and Cherry not that many years ago. Only a couple of blocks separated one of the wealthiest areas from the poorest. The areas in between have gentrified a lot so it's difficult to tell exactly how big the divide used to be. A lot of neighborhoods have that good side/bad side divide but I'd say Madrona probably had it worse than most.

Madrona K-8 zone includes some of the old notorious areas, some of which are more transitional than others. 23rd still seems to have an unusual number of shootings, but it's no longer a weekly activity the way it was a while ago.

[fnh]

Madrona is lovely, we are nearby in the Central District. St. Cloud's is where we made our decision to buy, we dine there almost once per trip.

I think it is overstating it a bit to say the schools are horrible. Are you basing that purely on scores? Certainly Washington Middle and Garfield High are very good schools with Garfield consistently ranked one of the best in the nation. These schools attract AP students from all over the city but they do still have disadvantaged local students, reflected in overall scores. My Seattle neighbors' oldest child is doing well in 7th grade at Washington, taking advantage of the very strong orchestra program there that feeds into Garfield. My son's violin teacher in Houston grew up on Upper Queen Anne and attended Washington and Garfield in the late 90's/00's. She has wonderful things to say about them, and this was before the current wave of gentrification was in full swing. I toured Garfield in February and loved it. We are seriously considering it for our own children even though we live primarily in TX.

I'm not sure what to say about the elementary schools. I think that Madrona/Leschi is an understated, old Seattle family area adjacent to an area that had been redlined and blighted for decades. Many of the families send their children private because, well, they just always have. The schools then are not reflective of the neighborhood, and newcomers who might improve them write it off because the schools look bad despite being in an affluent neighborhood with an amazing location. Plus, the neighboring Central District still suffers from its violent reputation though it is tremendously changed. (We ourselves bought a former burned-out crack house. Literally!)

Also (purely anecdotal) a couple of young men/boys knocked on my door selling something to raise funds for a Madrona K-8 activity. These boys were so polite and well-spoken, very carefully dressed. I admit it challenged my own prejudice since Madrona K-8 seems often discussed in hushed tones. My point is, I wouldn't automatically dismiss the schools from afar. You have to visit them yourself and then interpret the scores.

Anyway, aside from the elementary schools, I would have no reservations about Madrona or Leschi, or obviously the Central District for that matter.

[seattlefun]

Originally Posted by fnh

Madrona is lovely, we are nearby in the Central District. St. Cloud's is where we made our decision to buy, we dine there almost once per trip.......

Thanks for the informative post!

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by seattlefun

It's a beautiful area and seems to be changing rather quick. I see lots of rehabbing and construction going on. But, I guess I could say that about all of Seattle. Seattle looks like it's a boom town in general.

Is Madrona safe to walk at night?

Parts of it aren't even safe during the day! Read NewbiePoster's comment. On the west side of Madrona, the unexpected can happen at any time. Don't take anything for granted. I haven't seen the east side, though. I've heard it's very nice. If you're thinking of moving there, why not visit the area, and drive around, and talk to the neighbors. Stroll around on the east side of it, and ask questions when you see people out and about. Or check out the shops people recommend here, and chat with the locals. Do some reconnaissance. I always do that before moving into an area.

[seattlefun]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Parts of it aren't even safe during the day! Read NewbiePoster's comment. On the west side of Madrona, the unexpected can happen at any time. Don't take anything for granted. I haven't seen the east side, though. I've heard it's very nice. If you're thinking of moving there, why not visit the area, and drive around, and talk to the neighbors. Stroll around on the east side of it, and ask questions when you see people out and about. Or check out the shops people recommend here, and chat with the locals. Do some reconnaissance. I always do that before moving into an area.

I just stumbled onto this site http://spotcrime.com/ If you input Madrona vs. Queen Anne you will see that QA has more crimes than that of Madrona. Granted Madrona has a shooting in it and QA has mostly burglaries. Is this what they call "urban living"? Maybe I need some shooting lessons, an alarm system and a doberman! lol

[Ira500]

A few things:
To suggest the parts of Madrona aren't safe even during the day is kind of sensationalistic. Houses get burglarized. It's an urban thing, and happens in Ballard and Wallingford and Magnolia. It makes sense to have an alarm. And yes, a guy driving his car at 23rd and Cherry a few years ago was hit by an errant bullet. But what is the likelihood that you or your children will get mugged or shot living in Madrona, even in the "worst" parts? Pretty close to zero. The border of Madrona is Martin Luther King. Everything west is the Central District, which itself is thought of as improved and gentrified in recent years.
But the best part of Madrona is east of 34th.
My two daughters both attended Washington Middle school, and both had good experiences, but this was a million years ago. One was in the gifted program( known then as IPP) and one in the regular program.
As far as houses go, they don't get much nicer stylewise than Madrona and Leschi. The retail strip on 34th in Madrona is wonderful, and the neighborhood, at least the eastern part, has been really nice for a very long time.

[beautifulseattlehomes]

My dear friends have lived in a stunning huge craftsman in Madrona for 21 years and (silly) don't often lock their doors. No break ins but I would call that luck more than anything else.

It is truly one of my favorite neighborhoods in the whole city....it feels urban, edgy and family friendly all at the same time. Best Ethiopian in the city is right down the hill.

Schools are terrible and everyone I know who lives there sends their children to private schools...take a look at Valley School...people adore it! All the best private middle/high schools in Seattle are in close proximity and Madrona also feeds into Garfield which is a highly rated public high school in the CD.

There are so many great little restaurants and shops in Madrona and the wine bar is fantastic and charming.