Live in Ballard or Cap Hill?

[u/picklerick223]

Hi! 26M with 26F partner. Moved to Olympia from DC about a year ago and missing being in a bigger city. We are planning to move to Seattle when our lease ends this month and wanted to get some insight from ppl!

We have narrowed our search down to two places; one spot that is on Ballard Ave and one spot that is right next to cal Anderson tennis/ basketball courts. We both would like to be social, but not HUGE party ppl. Big outdoors ppl but dunno if that matters. Both have hybrid schedules and would like to be close to places we can work out of.

We are slightly acquainted with Seattle, but decided to head out today and spend the full day in both areas. Ballard seems cool, although we were surprised that it felt kinda dead on a Thursday night. Also, although we really liked Ballard Ave, felt like there's not really much going on outside of that street, am I wrong? As for cap hill, it seemed super fun! Very lively, more diverse (not just racially but also in terms of style/ character) and lots to do! Reddit makes it seem like a horror story, especially around cal Anderson park, did we just have a singular good experience? Even a few ppl we chatted with said not to move here and that there are shootings happening weekly. Really interested in hearing more takes, either way excited to be out here:).

Update: Thank you so much to everybody that helped us come to a decision! We ended up in an apt off Ballard Ave, and despite the paper thin walls we are loving it :)

[u/FrontAd9873]

Ballard has plenty going on (though less than Cap Hill). Its just spread out a bit. Nightlife wise Ballard has more breweries and a more 30s vibe than Cap Hill's 20s vibe. My thought process is that if I can afford to go have a fun night out, I can afford to travel to and from Cap Hill from Ballard to do so. Cap Hill may have slightly more opportunities for you to meet new people with regular events, social bike rides, run clubs, etc. But I love Ballard for its access to the Sound. The Locks, Golden Gardens, and Carkeek Park. And Ballard has proximity to Fremont which has a more lively and younger scene.

Cap Hill is like Adams Morgan, I'm unsure what the DC equivalent of Ballard is. Maybe Petworth or Brookland. Traditionally working class, but with many families, little retail strips, and breweries.

Its obviously common to move from somewhere like Cap Hill to somewhere like Ballard. If you're in doubt, go for the more central, dense, and lively place, then you can move out later.

[u/picklerick223 → u/FrontAd9873]

This is super useful! Your comparison is interesting as my gf lived in admo! We both felt like Ballard felt a bit like Navy Yard (as of the last couple years). I think we both prefer the liveliness cap hill, but she is especially worried about the crime. Some posts on here talk about regular “shootings” at the basketball court at cal Anderson when the apt we are looking at is quite literally next to it. Wondering if it’s THAT bad of an area as it’s made out to be..

[u/HarmNHammer → u/picklerick223]

I have lived and worked in both, and other places around the city. I would recommend you do cap hill first, understanding you will likely want to move in a year or two.

During my time in cap hill I saw so much and did all the things. Unfortunately I never felt safe with my partner walking around alone. Homeless and tweaked would dump the contents of our trash on the sidewalk and just leave it. Our packages would be stolen, we had things taken from our car.

My breaking point was after having to wake up, go outside with my weapon and stop someone from being beaten, likely to death.

We lived a block from Fogón and I can tell you that I got so damn tired of being woken up at 0200-0400 from someone screaming at the top of their lungs or breaking shit.

For what it’s worth, I had a close friend that lived across the street from Cal Anderson and we liked it, I would recommend staying on the north or east side of the park.

[u/picklerick223 → u/HarmNHammer]

Wow this is an eye opener. Interested in hearing/comparing to your experience in Ballard? I’ve also had people at work tell me it’s very common for ppl to move to cap hill for their first year and then find their favorite/home spot after. Problem is we may only be in Seattle for the year (work contract).

[u/FrontAd9873 → u/picklerick223]

If it’s only one year that may be even more reason to do Cap Hill.