Living in central Seattle (Bellevue: apartments, condo, townhouse)

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by drshang

Capitol Hill or adjacent seems perfect for you. Relatively easy commute to the Eastside, a variety of housing types and density levels within the area, with different levels and types of vibrancy.


Lower Queen Anne is a very poor choice for you - mainly because you have to cross the mercer mess twice a day to get to/from work five times a week. It is also a less interesting part of the city compared to Capitol Hill (IMO) based on how you describe yourself.

Lower Queen Anne is great, but the commute from there to Bellevue is a killer (I used to do it). You not only have to deal with the hair-pulling "Mercer Mess", but also the hair-raising "520 Shuffle". Google them. Without the Viaduct, the I-90 route isn't very practical either. Best to stay east of I-5, within easy reach of the 520 or I-90 bridges.

Columbia City will put you close to I-90, plus you'll be minutes away from Sea-Tac, Downtown, Capitol Hill, and UW on light rail.

On Capitol Hill, look at Madison Valley. See: https://madisonvalley.org/about/

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by thatguy950

The main problem with Cap Hill is it’s basically a dumpster with tons of homeless and drugs

There are certainly worse neighborhoods than Capitol Hill in terms of homeless. It gets worse and worse the closer to the water you get.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by Bluefox

There are certainly worse neighborhoods than Capitol Hill in terms of homeless. It gets worse and worse the closer to the water you get.

And 15th Ave E is a whole 'nother story from Broadway or Pike-Pine. Much more laid back. Just that you have to climb the hill helps keep down the riff-raff. And 19th is almost sleepy.

[thatguy950]

Originally Posted by Bluefox

There are certainly worse neighborhoods than Capitol Hill in terms of homeless. It gets worse and worse the closer to the water you get.

True, but compared to a nice place like Bellevue...

OP go with Bellevue, commute advantages aside it’s just a much nicer place to live

[myname_isborat]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

And 15th Ave E is a whole 'nother story from Broadway or Pike-Pine. Much more laid back. Just that you have to climb the hill helps keep down the riff-raff. And 19th is almost sleepy.

I've been reading the capitol hill blog and it appears there is a major issue with homeless on 15th ave east now around qfc and the weed shops. Is that not the case? With that said I am happy we lived there when we did, still my favorite neighborhood in Seattle.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

Lower Queen Anne is great, but the commute from there to Bellevue is a killer (I used to do it). You not only have to deal with the hair-pulling "Mercer Mess", but also the hair-raising "520 Shuffle". Google them. Without the Viaduct, the I-90 route isn't very practical either. Best to stay east of I-5, within easy reach of the 520 or I-90 bridges.

Columbia City will put you close to I-90, plus you'll be minutes away from Sea-Tac, Downtown, Capitol Hill, and UW on light rail.

On Capitol Hill, look at Madison Valley. See: https://madisonvalley.org/about/

You seem to be knowledgeable about transit in that area; do you know how long it takes to go from Columbia City to the UW on light rail? Just wondering. Thanks.

[jakebarnes]

Originally Posted by Bluefox

There are certainly worse neighborhoods than Capitol Hill in terms of homeless. It gets worse and worse the closer to the water you get.

Agreed - I live on the western slope of Capitol Hill and there are fewer homeless starting about 15th. It's not dangerous, just unpleasant. If the idea of seeing someone shooting up, being in a clear mental health crisis or sleeping in doorways bugs you, Capitol Hill may not be the neighborhood for you. Also, I live close to a small park, and in the summer it gets to be a real party during the late nights with the homeless and noisy with windows open.

For Capitol Hill, the further east and north you can afford, the better it gets.

[jakebarnes]

Originally Posted by myname_isborat

I've been reading the capitol hill blog and it appears there is a major issue with homeless on 15th ave east now around qfc and the weed shops. Is that not the case? With that said I am happy we lived there when we did, still my favorite neighborhood in Seattle.

What I've mostly seen is kind of "hobo" kids panhandling for pot money outside of the pot shops. I haven't seen any tents or anything though on 15th. But I'm not there every day.

[tkz4]

Keep in mind, everyone is talking about generalizations, so your experience might vary, and will be biased by your comfort level. You are used to living in a big city near a "red light district", so I really doubt that the homeless crisis in Seattle will shock you or even make you feel that uncomfortable. Seattle is generally considered a safe city by US standards. But for many others from more suburban (sheltered and homogeneous) backgrounds it's more of a culture shock.

That said, my main point differentiating Capitol Hill from downtown is that at at 7PM Capitol Hill's main commercial streets are vibrant- while also having some homeless (and at later times some drunken revelers.) While downtown at the same time in the evening has much less vibrant activity, so a higher proportion of the people out on the streets are people living on the streets. This makes walking around Capitol Hill more enjoyable in the evenings compared to downtown. The exception downtown is Belltown is active on weekend nights- but that is mostly clubs/bars.

During the daytime downtown is vibrant, probably more so than Capitol Hill. Daytime Belltown feels a bit empty despite all of the restaurants and storefronts. South Lake Union feels a bit sterile with all of the construction and only partly occupied new builds. It is cleaner and fancier, all and all making it feel a bit more like Bellevue

I expect downtown Seattle to get much more vibrant over the next 5-10 years, with all of the new residential and hotel building and the upgrade of the waterfront. It's already really vibrant in the daytime as a huge employment hub and tourist destination, it just needs more people to stick around after the workday. For now it feel like after the workday many parts of downtown that are enjoyable during the day are sort of turned over to homeless and dealers in the evenings, so you feel unwelcome walking around. But maybe this is changing- perhaps someone who lives downtown can chime in?

Again, this is a generalization, but I think it gives you an idea of Seattle. If we go to an evening concert near Seattle Center or downtown we Uber and don't walk around. But when we go somewhere in Capitol Hill at the same times, we generally will take an enjoyable 30 minute stroll around the area. Yes, Capitol Hill gets grittier as you head East, but it also gets more vibrant. Unfortunately, in the evenings downtown is not the same.

On the flip side, we love strolling around all parts of downtown during the daytime. But there is a huge difference in day vs evening in places such as Pioneer Square or by the Art Museum. Even tourist meccas like Pike Place and Seattle Center seem pretty empty at 7PM. There is more evening activity closer to the Convention Center (likely because of the hotels.)


-Also, as an FYI. The light rail (Link) extension to Bellevue will have a station (Bellevue Downtown Station) that is about an 8 minute walk from Bellevue Square. The light rail itself is not very fast. That station to Downtown will be about 24 minutes. About 26 minutes to Capitol Hill station. So a bit faster than the current bus lines to downtown, but about the same or even a bit slower than the current transit times from Capitol Hill when you factor in the walk.

[jakebarnes]

[quote=tkz4;54539862]
That said, my main point differentiating Capitol Hill from downtown is that at at 7PM Capitol Hill's main commercial streets are vibrant- while also having some homeless (and at later times some drunken revelers.) While downtown at the same time in the evening has much less vibrant activity, so a higher proportion of the people out on the streets are people living on the streets. This makes walking around Capitol Hill more enjoyable in the evenings compared to downtown.


Excellent point.