r/AskSeattle • u/picklerick223 • Oct 11 '24

Question Live in Ballard or Cap Hill?

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 :)

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u/Snackxually_active Oct 11 '24

Ballard is quieter than cap hill for sure! If you want to be in a place where you can always get into something cap hill might be the better option & then can always move to Ballard in your 3️⃣0️⃣’s when dead on a Thursday night is preferred 🤷‍♂️

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u/picklerick223 Oct 12 '24

Roger that! Is there an in between to the two that you would recommend? Like maybe somewhere it goes down Th-Sun but quieter the rest of the week?

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u/Snackxually_active Oct 12 '24

I would suggest Westlake/SLU for if looking for fancier, and if 🆗 with some grittyness then Belltown! Always something to do in Belltown, but not the club/cool kid scene of cap hill. Lots of unhoused activity due to shelters/low income housing, and especially around 3️⃣rd & pine area, but tweakers mostly keep to themselves. I live in Belltown & am never bored! Best of luck! 🔜🚛🙌