What are some neighborhoods I should look into if relocating to Seattle?

Question

I am a 25 year old male and will possibly be moving to Seattle next May. I have never been there before, and know very little about the city. Can someone please give me some insight into different areas with lots of restaurants/nightlife? Looking to spend between $800-1500 on a 1 bedroom..

Answer 1

belltown and pioneer square are definately the big neighborhoods as far as the nightlife scene goes.

in my opinion, belltown would be the nicer area to live in of the two.

capitol hill is also pretty big on the nightlife scene, except i would say it's a bit more of an eclectic/artsy type nightlife.

if you want to be downtown, especially in belltown, the cheapest you'll probably find a 1 bedroom for is probably $1050+ i don't think you'll find much at the lower end of your budget unless you start looking into studios.

Answer 2

Belltown is the north end of downtown and has lots of clubs and bars, but also lots of sketchy heroin addicts in the alleys, etc.  

Capitol Hill is very close to downtown and has lots of bars and clubs, but it is the "g*y" neighborhood so most of the clubs cater to the g*y community.  Still, I think it's nicer than Belltown because unless you're right on Broadway (the main street) it will be a lot quieter.

The University District will have lots of bars that cater to the college crowd (University of Washington).

Other nice neighborhoods that may not be such a "party" scene but are still worth checking out and close to downtown:

Eastlake (wonderful restaurants and a really friendly neighborhood)

Wallingford (quiet, lots of cute cafes and shops)

Green Lake (similar to Wallingford)

Ravenna (ditto)

Greenwood (farther away from downtown; some good shops and restaurants)

Ballard (quiet, large Scandinavian population, close to the beach)

Queen Anne (rich neighborhood just north of downtown; you're up on a big hill so there's the potential for a killer view)

Phinney Ridge (same as Wallingford)

Fremont (trendy, hippie, funky, neat boutiques and restaurants)

First Hill (between downtown and Capitol Hill...not much in the neighborhood itself but within walking distance to downtown)

West Seattle (Alki Beach is nice; some fun cafes but no real "bar" scene)

Stay away from Pioneer Square...yes, there are a lot of bars there, but they're the ones catering to tourists (go to Belltown for locals).  And there's a big problem in Pioneer Square with homeless people and addicts on the streets.  Plus, you get the rowdy "sports" crowds whenever there's a Mariners or Seahawks game.

Hope that helps!  Seattle is a beautiful city and you will probably like it a lot!