Can you recommend some "affordable" down to earth, diverse neighborhoods in outer Seattle?

[Ruth4Truth]

The area east of Northgate, that starts on the east side of 15th Ave. NE (served by a bus line to downtown) and is north of Northgate Way is Pinehurst/Victory Heights. It's a beautiful, quiet neighborhood of cedar trees, a couple of small parks, a mix of small starter homes and family homes, with some ethnic diversity, all of it international. Walk to grocery shopping, coffee shops, and other amenities. It's a great neighborhood. If it's too pricey for you even there, go north a little more.

Lake Forest Park is another good area, to the north of there. Connected to UW and downtown by bus. Shops, etc. Not particularly diverse, though. No granola.

[Ira500]

If not every single thing on the list is a must, you may want to consider Burien. Yes, it's outside the city limits, but it's a 20 minute drive(or less) to downtown Seattle, and a quicker trip by bus to downtown than some neighborhoods within the city.
Affordable? Check. Down to earth? Check. Diverse? Yup. Walkable? Yup. A couple of supermarkets within a couple of blocks of "Old Burien", a nice new library, a branch of the Grand Central Bakery, a nearby Trader Joes, a brewpub serving organic beer, lots of good places for Mexican food, and Italian and Turkish, an independent cinema. Near Puget Sound.

[seattlelatte]

My top spot hands down.....Columbia City, located just south of the downtown in the area known as the Rainier Valley. It pretty much meets all of your criteria in spades:

Within city limits. Check
Mostly residential with a small scale business district (filled with interesting shops, restaurants, cafes, etc.). Check
Excellent public transit access (both light rail and bus lines). Check
Little bit granola mixed with cosmopolitan. Not overly trendy nor hipsterish.....yet :-) Check

Plus relatively affordable housing within its "city" limits or close by. Also one of the more "diverse" areas of the city in terms of ethnicity and class if that is what you're looking for. There's more.....convenient access to Lake Washington's recreational areas e.g. Seward Park

[victorianpunk]

Originally Posted by margaretBartle

I've always found that fascinating about Seattle - million dollar homes two blocks away from inner city ghetto. That may be changing now.

The "inner city ghetto" around here is where they don't recycle tin, hoodlums sit on the front porch with a forty ounce of kombucha, and the gang initiation involves mixing the garbage and the compost and *gasp!* jaywalking in broad daylight

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by Gardyloo

I drive through Lake City all the time - shopping, Ezell's chicken runs... and have been doing so for many years. It's really changing fast, and for the better for the most part. The commercial area around 125th is starting to get a little more interesting, good ethnic diversity is appearing, there are more convenient services, some higher-density housing is being developed all along LC Way, and transit options are good - downtown, U district, Northgate... I think it's quite an interesting area. Oh, and the Lake City farmers market is really quite good. The district reminds me a little of Ballard 15 or so years ago.

For Lake City to really improve the city needs to stop warehousing so many poorly functioning people up there. The Lake City and Bitter Lake neighborhoods are the north end's dumping ground for dirt bags.

[fnh]

Originally Posted by mkarch

For Lake City to really improve the city needs to stop warehousing so many poorly functioning people up there. The Lake City and Bitter Lake neighborhoods are the north end's dumping ground for dirt bags.

Bad mood today?

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by fnh

Bad mood today?

How so? The city concentrates half-way houses in certain neighborhoods. Our neighborhood tweaker was shipped off to live in a supervised living facility in Lake City after he got out of jail. Another friend manages a similar project over in that area. Certainly that doesn't affect every corner of Lake City but it does lead to a higher concentration of people with serious problems in some parts.