Please tell me about this area - S.Beacon Hill (Seattle: apartments, crime)

[Mareish]

I've just gotten a job offer in Pioneer Square, but am coming all the way from Boston! I had literally a week or so to look for apartments, and the first order of business was to find one on the Light Rail or bus lines. Needless to say, I'm overwhelmed and need advice.

There's a whole bunch of brand new housing complex/luxury apartments coming up in the Othello Park (Right on MLK) area that I noticed, and I went to look at some. There's a brand new building up called "The Station" and I have to admit, it was really lovely. The surrounding area though - not so much. There was a Safeway and my bank directly across from the building, and the Light Rail, so in my mind, it was worth a check out.

Give me the deal. How bad is it really? The building, if I live here, is completely secured by electric keys and cell phone buzz in... heck you can't even get into the elevator without a passkey. The Rail is literally a step outside, and so is the bus. I saw what the area looked like and while I would never hang out there just to hang out, I felt it might be an easy commuting option? Let me know what I'm getting into if you can I'm a single female, but I'm pretty undisturbed by diversity.

Thanks for any help!

[Ira500]

You know, 5 or 10 years ago if you asked people if living at Martin Luther King and Othello would be a good option, the common response would have been " Are you nuts?"
It WAS a really dilapidated, run down, dangerous area by Seattle terms.
It's different now. It's still highly multi ethnic, but crime is higher further east towards Rainier. It's an interesting area, one that's transforming as a result of the light rail.
I don't know. Wherever you live, there are going to be tradeoffs involved, and I can name some goods and bads about MLK and Othello.
Good:
Wouldn't be a bad commute to Pioneer Square. New building, emerging neighborhood, kinda exotic with Mexican,Ethiopian, Vietnamese Cajun places to eat. Only a one stop trip to Columbia City on the light rail if you're looking for comfortable places to hang out...Not too far from Seward Park, the VietWah supermarket on Graham, or the PCC store.

Bad: It's too early to tell what the neighborhood is going to become. I don't perceive it as a dangerous neighborhood, but it's very different from most Seattle neighborhoods. In most Seattle neighborhoods, most of the apartment choices will be older or more expensive, but there are a ton of neighborhoods closer to Pioneer Square, where the rents wouldn't be higher than what you'd be paying at Othello. You'd get more apartment for your money at Othello, but you could be closer to Pioneer Square in a neighborhood that's long established, places like Columbia City or North Beacon Hill or West Seattle or Georgetown, places that have a lot of things that people in Seattle are looking for.
What's the appeal of the place at Othello? The fact that it's right on the rail line? Or how nice the building/apartment is?
I don't think the neighborhood at Othello is scary/dangerous. Maybe a little boring. But if you're looking for a neighborhood more comfortable and established, you might want to look elsewhere.