I have become obsessed with West Seattle (Vashon: hairstyles, theatre)

[angelenogirl]

Originally Posted by Adrian71

It's sort of like Vashon, only easier to get to.

That's next on my list for a visit. I hear such great things about Vashon.

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by Adrian71

I've been here for a couple of years now, and yes, I'd say there's a little bit of a snob factor. The south suburbs are more working-class and more affordable than a lot of other areas around here, but the way some people talk about this part of the area, you'd think it was some kind of a burned-out ghetto. Sure, there are some patchy areas, but then you have those in Seattle, too. As I've said on here many times, we live in a clean, quiet, multiracial neighborhood in the Renton area, and I've never once feared for my safety. We've even forgotten to lock our doors a couple of nights (not that I recommend that, but just making a point).

The south side is great! I love Seattle the most, but you definitely get more house for the money down this way. If I'd had my way, we would have settled on Vashon Island, but I'm not at all unhappy with where we settled down. West Seattle is definitely one of my favorite parts of Seattle proper. Quirky, hip, fun, and refreshingly un-corporate. It's sort of like Vashon, only easier to get to.

I certainly agree there is a snob factor - but that aside, I'm not sure it totally explains why the house prices dropped so much further in the south end. SE King County was the hardest hit of all areas. There has to be some reason so many people decided to walk away from their south end homes relative to other areas. The effect it had on prices does allow you to get more house for your money, but something else is going on there as well. On the surface, it seems like a lot of people chose to buy homes there because it's less expensive, not necessarily because they wanted to live in that area. Then when prices dropped many of them said 'F-it, I'm out of here'.

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by mkarch

I certainly agree there is a snob factor - but that aside, I'm not sure it totally explains why the house prices dropped so much further in the south end. SE King County was the hardest hit of all areas. There has to be some reason so many people decided to walk away from their south end homes relative to other areas. The effect it had on prices does allow you to get more house for your money, but something else is going on there as well. On the surface, it seems like a lot of people chose to buy homes there because it's less expensive, not necessarily because they wanted to live in that area. Then when prices dropped many of them said 'F-it, I'm out of here'.

This has little to do with West Seattle, but why the foreclosure rate in SE King County is much higher, in my opinion, has more to do with the looser lending standards than anything else. A lot of thses folks would have not qualified for home loans prior to 2003ish, when the lending standards got eased. It wasn't simply that home prices were less expensive, it's that many of thses people would not typically qualify for home loans at all, and shouldn't have been. Also, the types of loans given to a lot of these people were often adjustable rate or subprime, making the payments higher.

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by Ira500

This has little to do with West Seattle, but why the foreclosure rate in SE King County is much higher, in my opinion, has more to do with the looser lending standards than anything else. A lot of thses folks would have not qualified for home loans prior to 2003ish, when the lending standards got eased. It wasn't simply that home prices were less expensive, it's that many of thses people would not typically qualify for home loans at all, and shouldn't have been. Also, the types of loans given to a lot of these people were often adjustable rate or subprime, making the payments higher.

There's still the question of why such a large concentration all decided to buy in those specific areas. Parts of west seattle fall into that category as well. There's some hidden reason why people with bad credit, little down, and poor financial planning skills converged in certain neighborhoods. Some of it is chance, but I believe the other part is these areas have less long term owners, and less affluent ones at that.

[pete98146]

I've lived in West Seattle since 1995. Love it here and I wouldn't live anywhere else. Most who move to West Seattle feel the same way and they never leave.

[Adrian71]

Originally Posted by mkarch

On the surface, it seems like a lot of people chose to buy homes there because it's less expensive, not necessarily because they wanted to live in that area.

Sure, I have no doubt that's true. Some people want to buy a home but have limited financial options. And whether they should do it or not, they look to the areas with cheaper home prices.

As for us, we knew our budget, and we knew what size of house we wanted and the kind of neighborhood we liked. It just happened that the place that met our needs was in Renton. But it could have been anywhere. (Just ask Ira -- he was our agent, and he hauled us all around the metro area, from the north side to the south.)

[angelenogirl]

Originally Posted by Adrian71

I've been here for a couple of years now, and yes, I'd say there's a little bit of a snob factor. The south suburbs are more working-class and more affordable than a lot of other areas around here, but the way some people talk about this part of the area, you'd think it was some kind of a burned-out ghetto. Sure, there are some patchy areas, but then you have those in Seattle, too. As I've said on here many times, we live in a clean, quiet, multiracial neighborhood in the Renton area, and I've never once feared for my safety. We've even forgotten to lock our doors a couple of nights (not that I recommend that, but just making a point).

The south side is great! I love Seattle the most, but you definitely get more house for the money down this way. If I'd had my way, we would have settled on Vashon Island, but I'm not at all unhappy with where we settled down. West Seattle is definitely one of my favorite parts of Seattle proper. Quirky, hip, fun, and refreshingly un-corporate. It's sort of like Vashon, only easier to get to.

Off-topic: Is there enough stuff to do in Vashon to spend a Saturday there? My dad is visiting this weekend and he's an old hippie, so I'd love to take him there if it's worth the trip. Sometimes we hear about spots, drive there, and discover it takes about half an hour to see everything.

[CarawayDJ]

Since you're looking at islands, we're staying in a vacation rental on Whidbey at the moment. We're only here because we have friends from SoCal with us for a week and they heard a lot about the place. Well, I think we've become smitten with the place ourselves. We'll probably call it home. My business is online, so I can run it anywhere I have an Internet connection.

Have you considered Whidbey? We'll be staying on the south end near the Clinton ferry. Very nice. Rural country living and yet a short ferry ride to everything else. What a nice place.

[Adrian71]

Originally Posted by angelenogirl

Off-topic: Is there enough stuff to do in Vashon to spend a Saturday there? My dad is visiting this weekend and he's an old hippie, so I'd love to take him there if it's worth the trip. Sometimes we hear about spots, drive there, and discover it takes about half an hour to see everything.

Yeah, Vashon is more about getting away and relaxing than seeing the sights. There really isn't a whole lot there. Some nice little mom-and-pop shops you can browse in downtown Vashon, and you can always visit the lighthouse at Point Robinson (great views of Mount Rainier, and if you're lucky you might spot some whales in the Sound). Vashon is a great island for biking, too. The Strawberry Festival (which, last I knew, actually didn't have any strawberries!) is in July.

And then, of course, there's the bike in the tree.

Kent's Bike Blog: Vashon Island Bike Tree

[angelenogirl]

Originally Posted by CarawayDJ

Since you're looking at islands, we're staying in a vacation rental on Whidbey at the moment. We're only here because we have friends from SoCal with us for a week and they heard a lot about the place. Well, I think we've become smitten with the place ourselves. We'll probably call it home. My business is online, so I can run it anywhere I have an Internet connection.

Have you considered Whidbey? We'll be staying on the south end near the Clinton ferry. Very nice. Rural country living and yet a short ferry ride to everything else. What a nice place.

I hadn't considered Whidbey. Though my husband and I both work from home, he is not into the remote island thing. Maybe when he gets old.

Adrian71, I've been reading all about that tree bike! There was a pretty cool article in the NY Times last year about Vashon.