Living in central Seattle (to buy, safe, retirement) - Washington (WA) -Seattle and King County Suburbs - Page 7 - City-Data Forum

leastprime · 03-04-2019, 04:37 PM

Nothing wrong with Univ St Station or Westlake area. Many new high rise apts and you pay accordingly. Same transit lines to Bellevue.
Walking distance to most places of note.

Kayela · 03-04-2019, 05:22 PM

As someone who lives in Cap Hill - >1000 sq feet + laundry + parking? Yeah, that's not actually the common case. This is an older, quirky neighborhood that for years was the questionable/bohemian abode of Seattle's artists, musicians, and LGBT community. It's not yet full of new buildings with newer amenities no matter how much us residents complain about new construction. Not to say there aren't any, but there are still a lot of older buildings where you will not get american-size square footage, bathrooms, or washer/dryers. Many of those buildings were either built before everyone owned cars, or before the neighborhood got as dense as it is now. Plus it was close to the city, and people walked - Bellevue was still pretty sparse when many buildings in Cap Hill were getting built, so it wasn't built with commuters in mind. It's also highly in demand, so I can definitely believe that you might not be swimming in options.

Instead it was full of older, affordable apartments until it became 'The' neighborhood to be. What that means is that it's a neighborhood with great walkability to stuff you actually need to walk to on a daily basis like grocery stores, dentists, gyms, the optometrist, veterinarians, etc... (not just restaurants and coffee shops) vs living in a business district with some residential buildings. I lived DT (near the Paramount Theatre), loved it, but moved here because it feels like a neighborhood where people live, not a place where people come to work and it totally changes personality after they all go home. Having said that, DT is a pretty fun place too, so why not try it? That's the fun part of renting - you're not locked in and you can try anything that tickles your fancy. If you don't like it, a year is not forever.

homesinseattle · 03-04-2019, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kayela

As someone who lives in Cap Hill - >1000 sq feet + laundry + parking? Yeah, that's not actually the common case. This is an older, quirky neighborhood that for years was the questionable/bohemian abode of Seattle's artists, musicians, and LGBT community. It's not yet full of new buildings with newer amenities no matter how much us residents complain about new construction. Not to say there aren't any, but there are still a lot of older buildings where you will not get american-size square footage, bathrooms, or washer/dryers. Many of those buildings were either built before everyone owned cars, or before the neighborhood got as dense as it is now. Plus it was close to the city, and people walked - Bellevue was still pretty sparse when many buildings in Cap Hill were getting built, so it wasn't built with commuters in mind. It's also highly in demand, so I can definitely believe that you might not be swimming in options.

Instead it was full of older, affordable apartments until it became 'The' neighborhood to be. What that means is that it's a neighborhood with great walkability to stuff you actually need to walk to on a daily basis like grocery stores, dentists, gyms, the optometrist, veterinarians, etc... (not just restaurants and coffee shops) vs living in a business district with some residential buildings. I lived DT (near the Paramount Theatre), loved it, but moved here because it feels like a neighborhood where people live, not a place where people come to work and it totally changes personality after they all go home. Having said that, DT is a pretty fun place too, so why not try it? That's the fun part of renting - you're not locked in and you can try anything that tickles your fancy. If you don't like it, a year is not forever.

Kayela nails it about Capitol Hill. A really great place to live is north on 15th Ave a little, easy access to Pike/Pine, Volunteer Park, but a little more quiet, treed and "neighborhoody".

Yorkshire Kooky · 03-04-2019, 10:02 PM

Thanks guys, will read up and discuss additional information with Mr K, who is now unlikely to get out of Bellevue for the rest of the week.

I'm honestly not sure how much space we need - we're not going to be moving all our worldly goods - but I do know our current place is about 153 sqm, which is around 1650 sq ft, so under 1000 seems small to me.

leastprime · 03-04-2019, 10:34 PM

If you can do 4k/mn and want area of 1600+ft2, you could probably do this just in anywhere in Seattle or Eastside. I'd kick out our renter for $4k in a CentralDistrict location, $1600ft2, new build with parking.

CrazyDonkey · 03-05-2019, 12:57 AM

Kayela · 03-05-2019, 12:12 PM

Another thing to consider is not making a decision now. There was a point where husband and I spent 6 months in a different state for family reasons, and rather than try to find a short term lease, we rented 3 different VRBOs; for 2 months each. They were different types of places in very different neighborhoods. Hint: the place we loved most was the one we thought we'd like least. It was an awesome way to check out how it really felt to be part of a neighborhood while only needing a suitcase. Maybe put your stuff in storage and spend some time trying different options before you narrow it down?

Yorkshire Kooky · 03-05-2019, 12:55 PM

CrazyDonkey you are amazing, thank you! Will look at those tonight - it's breakfast time here and I have a busy day ahead, interviewing for my replacement at work.

Kayela - all good advice and, if it was just the two of us, we'd definitely go that route. But with two cats (oh man it hurts to say that, when the third is snuggled into me right now) we're not quite so mobile and limited in our options.

Yorkshire Kooky · 03-16-2019, 11:39 PM

Just wanted to say thanks again, for all your input.

We've applied for a place Downtown, near the transit stop Mr K tested out when he was over. I know, I know, against all your sage advice, but he really fell for it and it has solid floors throughout - which we have now confirmed is the only way, after six weeks in a rental while we got new bathrooms and kitchen here. (Cat puke can be very hard to get out of a plush carpet.)

He's hoping to move over at the end of April; for reasons mentioned previously I won't be there so quickly.

We're not moving much over (no furniture at all) so I'm sure I'll be picking your brains before long about the best shopping areas.

Ruth4Truth · 03-17-2019, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yorkshire Kooky

Just wanted to say thanks again, for all your input.

We've applied for a place Downtown, near the transit stop Mr K tested out when he was over. I know, I know, against all your sage advice, but he really fell for it and it has solid floors throughout - which we have now confirmed is the only way, after six weeks in a rental while we got new bathrooms and kitchen here. (Cat puke can be very hard to get out of a plush carpet.)

He's hoping to move over at the end of April; for reasons mentioned previously I won't be there so quickly.

We're not moving much over (no furniture at all) so I'm sure I'll be picking your brains before long about the best shopping areas.

Let us know how it works out, after you've settled in. Downtown has its gritty areas, and its not-so-gritty areas. It can seem fine (-ish) by day, but can change at night. Best wishes!