where should I live ?? neighborhoods... (Seattle, Renton: salons, apartments, renting)

[fys]

Hello,

I may be moving to Seattle in the next few months, and was wondering if anyone out there can tell me about the Queen Anne area ? is it a cool place to live ?
whats the main difference between capital hill, first hill, queen anne, belltown .... why does it seem that queen anne apts are less than these other neighborhoods ??
what about wallingford ??

Basically, I do not want to have a car, I would love to walk everywhere, and use public transport sometimes... I will be working part time, at a cafe or bookstore or something like.... looking for an apt under $800 per month or so....

thanks for any answers you can give,
FYS

[scubashawn68]

Capitol Hill is pretty cool...You can walk to a lot of places from there.
Wallingford is very Nice. Queen Ann is nice too.

[CityGirl72]

Ballard, WAllingford, or Fremont (if you can afford it), Queen Anne is wonderful

Ravenna, Roosevelt, Maple Leaf might be more affordable

[malarkey]

Well, having lived on Queen Anne for the past 14 years, I'm a little biased. But it is a great place to live if you are looking for a walkable neighborhood and good proximity to downtown. Several bus lines cross Queen Anne so transport shouldn't be too difficult, depending on where you want to go.

The top of the hill has a business section where you can get pretty much everything you need for daily living. Good grocery stores, nice restaurants and plenty of coffeehouses. Ditto for lower Queen Anne (now known as "Uptown") which is at the south end of the hill. If you look on the north side of the hill, you will be in close proximity to Fremont & Ballard.

Look on Craig's List for apartments. They start to open up early in the month, by the end of any given month all that's left is the dregs. Expect competition for the nicer places. While a view is nice, be prepared for people to charge top dollar for a dump just because it has a view.

eta: let me know if you have more questions.

[wsugrad03]

Keeping in mind that you want to rely on public transportation, the main roads on Queen Anne that are serviced by bus are Taylor, Queen Anne Ave N., Roy, and Mercer. Apartments in these areas generally go for $800-1000 for a 1 bedroom unit. However, you can find cheaper studios if you really dig through the inventory on craigslist.org. The renting market has gone up in Seattle since the median income in Seattle can't even come close to afford the median home price. So, expect a lot of competition finding a unit. In fact, there's a lot of apartment building which are being converted into condos, so the market is shrinking in Queen Anne.

Queen Anne can be very desirable place to live. The hill has one of the lowest vacancy rates of any place in Seattle. I personally think the top of Queen Anne is like a version of Pleasantville. Lots of families, coffee shops, people walking their dogs. It's a great place! If I had millions of dollars, I'd want to live in Queen Anne proper.

First hill and Capitol Hill are much busier, noisier (First Hill), more violent (First Hill), and more eclectic places (Capitol Hill) to live compared to Queen Anne.

[won]

which neighborhood in seatle would be comprable to north vancouver area in vancouver?????????/

[JupiterFire]

An apartment under $800 would probably be a cramped studio. Most 1-bedrooms in the areas you're talking about would be at least $900 if not over $1,000

Queen Anne - excellent neighborhood, probably cheaper because living on a giant hill can be like living on an island (pain in the arse sometimes), grocery stores, coffee, salons, restaurants, all very nice, relatively safe, lots of families and elementary schools, tons of beautiful turn of the century homes.

Wallingford - north of Queen Anne, a bit sketchy, lots of bars, old movie theater, close to Greenlake and Gasworks Park which is a plus, less neighborhoody than Queen Anne but edgier and some would say cooler, fun place to visit but not sure I'd live there.

Belltown - area of downtown, wouldn't live there if you paid me, huge firehouse with sirens going off all day and night, nasty park full of drug addicts and bums, doesn't seem safe especially for a single woman living on her own at least.

First Hill - just a hilly extension of downtown, lots of little shops, bars, okay during the day, sketchy in my opinion, no thanks.

Capital Hill - one hill up from First Hill, good parts and bad parts, Broadway filled with restaurants and shops but lots of bums and drug addicts, new park is nice, more residential areas just east of Broadway are nice, but overall I wouldn't live there either.

Try Zipcar if you are planning on going without a car.

Hard to find jobs here, so be sure you have something planned before assuming you are just going to hop over here and nab a job at a book store. The economy is terrible now and I have tons of friends with degrees and experience who can't land jobs at retail stores.

Good luck and hope that helps

[seattlenextyear]

Heh, you guys are so totally spoiled if Wallingford is sketchy.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by seattlenextyear

Heh, you guys are so totally spoiled if Wallingford is sketchy.

All of the areas mentioned have some sketchy parts, some more than others. I'd consider Wallingford a close second after Queen Anne for downtown. If it were me, I'd look at Ballard. Prices are staying pretty high but if you can afford the rent, much better area for non-highrise office jobs.

[cocopower]

There is this small city near Seattle called Renton. Best place ever (: