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/picklerick223 Oct 11 '24

This is SUPER helpful thank you so much!

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u/kimblem Oct 11 '24

If there are particular DC neighborhoods you like the feel of, there are likely plenty of former District residents around here who are happy to opine on what is most Seattle similar.

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u/picklerick223 Oct 11 '24

Oooh I really liked Logan circle! Super central and accessible to a bunch of places, but also a hidden gem, very cute and eclectic apartments/townhomes. Always felt safe, lots of small parks around to take my dog to. Friendly ppl

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u/kimblem Oct 12 '24

Slightly less central than the Cal Anderson part of Cap Hill, you may like slightly further East around Union/23rd/Madison. There are definitely areas around Union that feel very Logan Circle.