My fiance and I are considering moving into the neighborhood around the west seattle reservoir and westcrest dog park. I was hoping someone could share their thoughts about the neighborhood in general in terms of sense of community, schools, accessiblity to amenities, traffic, and crime.
Thank you in advance for your comments.
miws
Member Profile
Hi BigSky.
I live in the Morgan Junction area, so can't speak from personal experience about living in the Highland Park neighborhood.
However, I'll bump this back up to the top, to make it more visible, so those that do live there can give you their thoughts.
I do know, that HP is a very loved and popular neighborhood. (Of course, the same is true for all West Seattle's neighborhoods. ;-) )
Mike
CarolPB
Member Profile
I've lived in Highland Park for 25yrs now. It has slowly improved over the years. I think it is due to the affordability of real estate compared to other Seattle neighborhoods. Young new homeowners that take pride in their home/neighborhood. Know your neighbors, join or start a block watch. Have had some car break ins, but no home robberies. Easy commute to many areas-airport, downtown, etc. Wish I could afford one of the "better" areas of WS-but it is what it is.
It is a great area to live in, I think.
great commute times..
we tried to find a house there during our last move
When my husband and I moved here from Spokane, we were told by our agent to "stay west of 35th" if possible. After being here for less than a year I'd say that was good advice since the Westcrest park area can be a bit seedy.
westseattledood
Member Profile
Francis57
I have to ask, what do you mean by a bit "seedy"?
DBurns
Member Profile
We have lived in Highland Park for over 7 years and we really love it. Every neighborhood/street in WS has both good and bad features - depending on who you're talking to! It's funny, when we moved here 12 years ago, we were told the same thing about east of 35th but I thought you were going to say what I think, francis57, which is that this was the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!! Certainly the water views are amazing over there but truly there is no reason to avoid any certain area or "side" of WS - like any other place in the world, you have to research (what you're doing here is a great step), drive around the neighborhood at all times of day/night, and choose a place where you see yourself living. We frequent Westcrest with our dogs 5-10 times a month and have never had any problems. It's a dog park! Right next to that is housing for the Seattle Police horses! It's not a bad area at all, I drive through it multiple times every single day! I own a business in this neighborhood, have raised two kids here and feel very secure in recommending it to newcomers. BigSky, look over the crimewatch page here, which is intensely detailed and you will find that there is crime all over West Seattle neighborhoods. (I would guess without really looking that there is equal or even more petty crime west of 35th!)
It's a city. This is what happens. Good and bad. But West Seattle has so much going for it and the commute anywhere, like JoB said, north or south, from this "side of 35th" is awesome!! Sssshhh! Don't tell!!
Good luck with your move!!
We were told the same thing... and our first rental was west of 35th...
our second is east. the only real difference is that we don't get mailers for the "posh" groceries and we didn't have At&Ts upgraded internet available when we moved a year and a half ago... i think it is available now since they keep sending advertisements...
oh.. and we pay less rent on this side of the 35th st tracks.. and our power doesn't fail as often...
in retrospect.. i wish i had looked harder for a house in the westcrest area... best West Seattle commute times to downtown for anywhere other than the admiral district...
and they aren't likely to be altered by the construction starting this summer.
somewhere on the forum is an excellent video on White Center.. an area near Westcrest.. where i was told it wasn't even safe to drive through...
better crime rates than the junction.
sometimes a reputation is nothing more than a lot of loose talk generated more by fear than by experience.
I have lived in West Seattle my whole life (as has my husband). As newlyweds we could not afford to buy a home in the neighborhoods that either us us grew up in. Thankfully, our real-estate agent (another West Seattle lifer, who graduated from WSHS with my mom) steered us towards our "starter" home in the Westwood neighborhood (not far from Highland Park at all). He actually recommended the neighborhood as nice, safe and getting better all the time. We have lived in our "starter" home for 17 years now. We have never had a car break-in or a house break-in. We feel safe. Now that would could actually afford anywhere in West Seattle, we don't want to move anymore. I would be leery of an agent recommending nothing "east of 35th"; after all houses cost more there and that equals more commission. Drive through your potential neighborhood and decide for yourself.
If Home is Where The Heart is ...
by John McLeod
If Home is where the heart is
Then may your Home be blessed
A shelter from the storms of Life
A place of rest,
And when each day is over
And toil put in its place
Your Home's dear warmth
Will bring its smile
To light the saddest face!
Paradise is where you make it.
-Me
flowerpetal
Member Profile
I get rankled every time I hear that a real estate agent warns future home owners to stay west of 35th. Elitist snobbery? Yes. Higher commission for the agent? More likely. Of course she/he is going to make that recommendation.
We heard the "West of 35th" line from our Realtor too, over 10 years ago when we moved to WS.
.
But we were also shown many houses "East of 35th" that were just as nice or nicer than what we ended up with on the West side.
.
My parents moved to West Seattle in 1952. Not knowing anything about the area they bought a "new" house on 19th SW by the new Cooper School. They lived there for 42 yrs. They were happy but made very little on their investment over the many years. So having knowledge of the area, by having lived here all my life, and at the advice of my parents, I invested in properties only west of 35th. I too have been happy. But ended up more finacially secure than my parents. My father admitted he wished he had had the knowledge when he made that first investment. Growing up west of Delridge as I did, we never thought the people in other areas of West Seattle as being snobby or elititst as we had friends in White Center and the Admiral district.
bebecat...
times change...
an investment in the "east side" is far more likely to show good returns today.
i suspect the collapse of the latest housing bubble will erode the kind of return for you that your father could have made if he had purchased on the west side over 42 years ago.
BigSky, try this link and compare demographics by zip code. It's based on the latest census. It doesn't give housing appreciation but that can probably be found on Zillow.
plug in 98116, 98136, 98126 and 98106
http://zipskinny.com/zipcompare.php
Here is Zillow:
smitty...
do demographics speak to character
or simply to economic opportunity?
and will zillow measure the pending upswing in housing prices in a local undervalued market?
probably not on either count..
but those two indexes will give you a good picture of the status quo...
there is no question that there is more money on the west side of 35th and a higher average educational index...
Home prices are also higher. Rent is also higher. and commute times to downtown for everyone except those living in the Admiral district are longer...
the admiral district is about to lose out on that one too if the projected wait signs that were just installed are any indication.
Smart young urban professionals buying homes in the Westcrest park area and new construction infill is probably a good indicator that the status quo is changing....
We aren't in Highland Park, but we are east of 35th. More people are discovering the area and the reasonable prices. Houses in our area sell relatively quickly, and are being bought by young professionals. Our two newest neighbors are an IT manager and an attorney. I think we have more room for prices to appreciate over here than the west side does.
exactly..
that snobbish line at 35th has kept housing prices in the great unwashed east from inflating so quickly...
that won't last:(
dhg
Member Profile
Two thoughts: 1. Regarding the dig at White Center. It is a challenging area but it is steadily improving. I think Proletariat Pizza and Full Tilt Ice Cream are the vanguard of a vital center. We go there often. (And shout out to Salvadorean Bakery!) It is not only safe to drive through, it is safe to stop and enjoy.
2. I have come to appreciate the neighborhood where I live (Fauntleroy) because it forces me to drive right by the ferry and the water every day. It reminds me of why I moved here. When I lived on Capitol Hill I did not get close to Puget Sound for weeks at a time. Having a route forced on me that takes me within feet of it is a pure pleasure.
dhg..
if i had to move out of West Seattle.. going to the beach on a whim is what i would miss most...
Westseattledood-I didn't make the intital remark 'but I would say 'seedy' is single men walking into the woods without a dog. 'Seedy' is single men in their cars-waiting? 'Seedy' is 2 men walking out of the woods and going different directions. Just my observations over the years. The dog park however is awesome and doggy-not seedy at all :)
I live right down the street from Zippy's Burgers in Highland Park. We bought our house three years ago and have loved every minute of it. All our neighbors are nice and friendly. The area is very diverse and the schools rock. I would reco this place to anyone.
Thanks "speakloud", I wasn't sure how I was going to reply and describe what I heard and experienced but what you stated is what I meant. Seedy areas are everywhere so it's probably good to accept it and not be bothered so much. Be glad this isn't Spokane!
westseattledood
Member Profile
The community and SPD have been working on the male prostitution. There is far less of it than there was even six months or a year ago. The hookers and johns (many married men, I will add) have actually already migrated to another hapless park down the road. It is shame-based behavior and it is unfortunate to come upon on a walk, as many of us know.
But, they are nearly dispersed and I believe when the West Seattle Reservoir work is completed, with the possible inclusion of a disc golf course through those very trails, it will all be but history.
westseattledood
Member Profile
BigSky -
Forgot to mention to you. Ken Knoke is a realtor who lives here in Highland Park. He works out of the Prudential office in the Junction, I think.
He knows everything you will want to know. And, he is a very good guy. Give him a call and tell him I sent you. :)
I live right by the reservoir. I have outstanding neighbors, the schools in this neighborhood are on the fast track for academic excellence, the Westcrest Park is about to become a destination park beyond the awesome dog park, there is diversity, there is community here. Call Ken.
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