The density dilemma

[homesinseattle]

Don't know. My family and I still love our Phinney Ridge and Greenwood neighborhood. I think it depends where you live in the city, many neighborhoods have maintained their feeling (Maple Leaf, Madrona, etc). Some haven't (Ballard). Depends on zoning and a number of things. Walking with my daughter at Golden Gardens, Ballard Locks or Carkeek Park. Trying a new hole in the wall restaurant on upper Greenwood Ave. I still find a lot to love around here.

[CrazyDonkey]

And Ballard is more than Market St or 15th Ave (or a block or so off of either), which is where most of the Monopoly Hotels (apartment/condo clusters) have gone in. Sunset Hill, Loyal Heights, Whittier Heights, West Woodland...

I'm at the far end of West Ballard, so still untouched...

[homesinseattle]

Yup Crazy, I completely agree. I meant more the Ballard core. I love Sunset Hill, Crown Hill, Loyal Heights and Whittier.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by CharlesRamon

All big cities are getting denser, while rural areas are becoming increasingly depopulated. There's no escaping it. It's not a dilemma. It's a fact of life these days. Seattle will never again be like it was in the 90s and before.

And let's add something more, geography. Seattle-Tacoma metro has water and the mountains as its limiting factors, as do other West Coast cities. Makes for good aesthetic qualities. One reason I want to return. However, with a limited amount of land, and Seattle being a place many people want to be in, it is going to get crowded. It is what it is.

[RustinginSeattle]

Originally Posted by Dport7674

A question for all the "Back when I was young things were different!" people..

Are you the type of person who thinks they're special because their mom happened to give birth to them in Seattle, or are you the type who moved to the city and cry because they can't close the door behind them?

Question for you.... Do you feel like the natives should be happy to be financially pushed out of their city just because they never pursued a tech career? I'm third generation and I find it sad that my kids will probably never afford to live near me.

It is very short sided to say - "Well, I got mine! A fantastic townhome on a busy street. I'm sure I will never have a family or be concerned about the location of my property, as long as I can walk to cool bars".

Life sometimes changes in very fast and uncomfortable ways. Someday you might not be so concerned with being cool and might be interested in establishing a family and community culture around you that you don't want to disappear in what feels like a moment's notice. I was birthed here, as were both of my parents and some of my grandparents. That may not make me special, but it does make this my home.

I know a lot of really fabulous people who have also always called this home, but can no longer afford to live here. I feel sad for the culture that is being pushed out and what it's being replaced with. So many newcomers seem to have a "pack up and get out of my way - it's mine now" kind of attitude.

At this point I'm done and I'm all to happy to abandon my town and leave it to all the new cool folk. You can turn it in to exactly what you want. Just be careful what you wish for.

[SouthSota14]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

Interesting article related to this in the Times:

Newcomers pour into King County; Washingtonians quietly exit | The Seattle Times

I wonder if some of them moved to St Petersburg and were part of that "I love the Burg!" movement.

[mhays25]

Originally Posted by RustinginSeattle

Question for you.... Do you feel like the natives should be happy to be financially pushed out of their city just because they never pursued a tech career? I'm third generation and I find it sad that my kids will probably never afford to live near me.

It is very short sided to say - "Well, I got mine! A fantastic townhome on a busy street. I'm sure I will never have a family or be concerned about the location of my property, as long as I can walk to cool bars".

Life sometimes changes in very fast and uncomfortable ways. Someday you might not be so concerned with being cool and might be interested in establishing a family and community culture around you that you don't want to disappear in what feels like a moment's notice. I was birthed here, as were both of my parents and some of my grandparents. That may not make me special, but it does make this my home.

I know a lot of really fabulous people who have also always called this home, but can no longer afford to live here. I feel sad for the culture that is being pushed out and what it's being replaced with. So many newcomers seem to have a "pack up and get out of my way - it's mine now" kind of attitude.

At this point I'm done and I'm all to happy to abandon my town and leave it to all the new cool folk. You can turn it in to exactly what you want. Just be careful what you wish for.

I doubt most urban residents care that much about being cool. It's more about convenience (especially housing near work), liking dense urban places, and so on. For me it's also about sustainability.

[floridaboy92]

Originally Posted by SouthSota14

Good news for me if I move to WA. I have a heavy Boston accent, I live in FL right now though... Why would I come? more job opportunities AND everywhere is getting more expensive even Florida if you're living anywhere good so, might as well pick a quality city even if the cost is slightly higher.. That's my way of seeing it or at the very least, Olympia anyhow.. a smaller city not too too far. And one more reason why I come.. my mom and stepdad I have a feeling will relocate there from CA and it be easier for them as they're already on that coast opposed to some craphole in the Carolinas or something or TN.

You are definitely a typical New Englander..have you traveled much? The Carolinas and TN are "crapholes"?

How about you come up here and see for yourself. I am a native New Englander that lived in Florida (and hated it) and moved half way back up and found people in the Upper South to be open-minded, conservative--in a good way, civil etc. I see people here holding doors open for one another, treating others with respect despite skin color, orientation, religion, using "ma'am" and "sir" at the end of their sentences and etc. These places you mention as "crapholes" was a very judgmental statement made by you.

Why do you think tons of people are moving here in droves from places such as New England and Florida? Because areas here in these states are progressing, and though they may be progressing at a slower pace compared to the coastal areas of the U.S., they're getting there. Think before you type. Just sayin'.

[ncrunner77]

Originally Posted by floridaboy92

You are definitely a typical New Englander..have you traveled much? The Carolinas and TN are "crapholes"?

How about you come up here and see for yourself. I am a native New Englander that lived in Florida (and hated it) and moved half way back up and found people in the Upper South to be open-minded, conservative--in a good way, civil etc. I see people here holding doors open for one another, treating others with respect despite skin color, orientation, religion, using "ma'am" and "sir" at the end of their sentences and etc. These places you mention as "crapholes" was a very judgmental statement made by you.

Why do you think tons of people are moving here in droves from places such as New England and Florida? Because areas here in these states are progressing, and though they may be progressing at a slower pace compared to the coastal areas of the U.S., they're getting there. Think before you type. Just sayin'.

I wish more people still had the old-south "craphole" perception of the Carolina's. Then maybe people, especially form the northeast, would stop moving here. I live in the Raleigh-Durham NC area (home of little po-dunk institutions/companies like Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State, SAS, Red Hat, Quintiles) and we are having lots of growing pains with all the transplants coming here for jobs, mild weather -still with seasons, and affordable housing. Move along people....nothing to see here. My commute time has doubled in the last 5 years!

Now..... Squeal like a pig boy!

[mhays25]

Every state has good parts. Overall, these states is controlled by idiots. On stuff like planning for climate change they're in the dark ages.