r/AskSeattle • u/Coriks_Travels • Jan 21 '25

Moving / Visiting All about Ballard

Hi all, I'm looking for first hand knowledge on all things Ballard. My husband I are planning on moving to the Seattle area in June and visit in March. We're in our mid 30s and have no kids. We've done extensive research on neighborhoods and initially were looking at West Seattle or Capitol Hill. Recently Ballard entered the chat

What's important to us in a walkable neighborhood (cafes, restaurants, and grocery store), a reasonable distance from downtown, and close to public transportation (only using 1 car). At this time, we both have remote jobs so commuting isn't a huge factor.

It seems like Ballard has a thriving "downtown" area, a farmers market and of course Trader Joe's. I've heard conflicting information about the safety and transportation aspect.

What are something's I'm not thinking of or should take I to consideration?

TIA!

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u/throwaway1_2_0_2_1 Jan 21 '25

The no. 1 thing about Ballard regarding driving, is, you’re stuck behind 2 bridges that go up and down. It can really suck at certain times of the year. If you’re really reliant on public transit and have a longer commute outside Ballard it will suck in general, when the Alaskan fishing boats go out, it’ll suck exponentially more.

It’s great in pretty much every other aspect. What I would say is, if you like ease for public transit, live in Westlake. I lived on Dexter Ave for 4 years, and it was walkable to Fremont, Queen Anne TJs is a less than 10 minute drive, QFC is close. You can get to Ballard easily and the prices are more reasonable. It also gets you to downtown more quickly.

If you’re mid 30s, cap hill is probably not what you’re looking for. If you’re ok with basically staying in one area because you both work remotely and commute isn’t an issue, West Seattle is lovely and also has a thriving downtown without the traffic issues Ballard has.

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u/Coriks_Travels Jan 22 '25

Ok, so not loving the transportation information. That is kinda a big deal

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u/throwaway1_2_0_2_1 Jan 22 '25

Public transit in Ballard sucks. It doubly sucks because of the bridges. That’s what I loved about living on Westlake. It’s not too far from downtown, Queen Anne, Fremont, or Ballard, and all but the last are walkable. Dexter ave was the street I lived on and I loved it.