What are the safe/nice parts of Seattle to live? (Bellevue: crime, how much)

A few members are trying to talk me into living IN Seattle. I say what the hell, I'm young and I've never lived in a big city. Might as well try it now. My fiancee doesn't have a car so it will make her life easier as well. Now viewing a map Seattle looks massive, many times bigger than the outlying cities. So obviously it will have nicer and poorer places. I'm willing to spend a bit more to live in a safe/nice place (both the actual residence, and outside of it).

I haven't researched this at all and I'm very curious what the different areas are. It is much harder to research this because I can't check each section separately like I can a city. I will be making decent money and I'm looking for something around $700 - $950 a month for one bedroom. I obviously prefer lower but am willing to pay for quality! Thanks you guys for putting up with me!!!

[CityGirl72]

HMMM - well you can find that easy

ANd IN the city - would be Belltown, Capital Hill, First Hill areas...these are close to Downtown and are hip and urban - safe enough but has the more crime

But I bet you might like Fremont, Ballard, Wallingford, Ravenna areas

Stay away from the U district - I hear it's a bit creepy

I'm kind of confused by the way you phrased that. So Belltown, Capitol Hill, and First Hill have more crime, while Fremont, Ballard, Wallingford, and Ravenna have less crime? Do the safe areas have nice building/units? Thank you!

P.S. Safety is a serious concern for me and Seattle appears to have much more crime than Bellevue... I kind of want to live in the big city, but isn't Bellevue pretty big?

[CityGirl72]

Bellevue is a commute over the water and has no connection to Seattle

ANd yes your interuptitation (sp) of my words (sorry tired) were correct

Belltown, CApital Hill, First hill are all within the Downtown area - so much more crime - BUT is where the hip urban people like to live, so it can't be too bad

Fremont etc are the areas that people think of when you think of "Seattle" (like the Singles movie) It's hip and young and liberal and a bit granola

Bellevue is also where the EXPENSIVE yuppies with kids live - it's suburbia

[secret_squirrel]

Beltown is hip, but it also has a lot of street drug dealing and panhandling. My friends got sick of it, but that doesn't seem to stop others. Capitol Hill has a lot of street kids and accompanying vagrancy and begging; but it's still eclectic, hip, the hub of alternative Seattle and walking distance to downtown.

Seattle is going to be grittier than Bellevue because it is a more diverse city. You might stick with Greenlake, Fremont, Ballard, lower Queen Anne, Wallingford - and I like the Ravenna area just north of the U District around Whole Foods. Those are all north of the Ship Canal Bridge and getting downtown will be more of a hassle than Beltown and Capitol Hill.

Well I can tell you I'm young but I'm not hip. Safety and nice living places are much more important to me than that. I don't go to clubs, etc.

[secret_squirrel]

Where does your finacee work? Without a car, you'll want to be close to work or near a bus line. Do you like the outdoors? I love Greenlake for it's park and trail around the lake and Blue Water Bistro is a nice place to eat.

And Bellevue is probably "big city" enough for you. Downtown is clean, with lots of upscale retail and chain eateries and movie theaters. You might really like it. Don't worry too much about other people - we all have different opinions and different wants. Just do what fits your needs.

One FYI: it's likely that there is going to be a toll on the bridges connecting Bellevue to Seattle in the future.

[scirocco22]

Originally Posted by secret_squirrel

Where does your finacee work? Without a car, you'll want to be close to work or near a bus line. Do you like the outdoors? I love Greenlake for it's park and trail around the lake and Blue Water Bistro is a nice place to eat.

And Bellevue is probably "big city" enough for you. Downtown is clean, with lots of upscale retail and chain eateries and movie theaters. You might really like it. Don't worry too much about other people - we all have different opinions and different wants. Just do what fits your needs.

One FYI: it's likely that there is going to be a toll on the bridges connecting Bellevue to Seattle in the future.

Take the bus to avoid the tolls. That will be an incentive to use public transportation for a lot of people.

Deja vu. I'm not old enough to remember the tolls on the Mercer Island bridge but I sure remember having to go through those darn toll booths at Evergreen Point on the SR-520 bridge.

--'rocco

How much are the tolls on average? I've never been on a toll road, it doesn't seem popular here.

[scirocco22]

Originally Posted by ShadowXOR

How much are the tolls on average? I've never been on a toll road, it doesn't seem popular here.

I don't know if all the reports that came out in the press last week said anything about how much the tolls will be.

I think an article that talked about it that came out last year mentioned a proposed toll but I can't rememeber what it was. Does anybody remember?

And Seattle isn't used to toll roads either so it's not like it's popular or common in the area.

--'rocco