Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Considering purchasing in Highland Park but worried about safety… advice?
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February 8, 2009 at 6:18 am #589725
firsttimebuyerMemberHi there,
My name is Meghan and my boyfriend Chad and I are first time homebuyers who are interested in the Highland Park area- we found a house we really like, but we’re a little nervous about the crime we’ve seen posted on this blog in close vicinity of the house in question. We’re curious what your perceptions of safety in the neighborhood are- do you feel comfortable walking dogs at night, for example? Do you worry about needing a security system in your home? We typically don’t worry too much about these things (our current place in Ballard is pretty safe) but I bike commute to downtown and we often walk our pooch at night. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks very much, great blog!
February 8, 2009 at 6:48 am #657490
CarolPBMemberI’ve lived in HP since 1985. My house has never been broken into, and I have never had an alarm-just a German Shepherd. Would only walk at night with a dog, but I am a wuss.
February 8, 2009 at 7:41 am #657491
westseamikeMemberIt really depends, we have friends that live over there and the location they are at is pretty well tucked away and quiet. Some areas can be sketchy but it’s been getting better over the past few years it seems.
February 8, 2009 at 10:24 am #657492
AnonymousInactivefirsttimebuyer,
You could research using Redfin:
Type in the ZIP code
98106
Click one of the house icons on the map. Click on
View Details
on the right side of the webpage. Scroll almost all the way down the resulting webpage. Click on
Neighborhood Demographics
Scroll almost all the way down the resulting webpage to see the Crime comparisons with the national average.
Repeat for other neighborhoods or ZIP codes to compare.
Click the FAQ link next to “Crime” to read how Netflix derives the bar graphs.
I have no affiliation with either Redfin or the real estate business. I am a Highland Park homeowner and I like Redfin.
February 8, 2009 at 10:43 am #657493
AnonymousInactivefirsttimebuyer,
You could drive to the house you are considering buying, then walk your dogs at the times of day you would do so if you lived in the house to see how it goes.
It is surprisingly easy to put up a chain link fence if the house does not have an adequate fenced area/yard. Fence posts should have one third of their length in the ground. Google for
install chain link fence
Lowes used to have a brochure that explained how to install a chain link fence. Maybe McLendon does… dunno.
February 8, 2009 at 11:03 am #657494
WSBKeymasterMy personal belief is that we hear a bit more from Highland Park because a lot of folks there are alert and aware. We published maps recently showing a month’s worth of crime trends around West Seattle and it was fairly evenly distributed. See them in this post:
https://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=13410
Meantime, this may or may not be the same database for what Scott B pointed you to, but this is the jumping-off page for the SPD crime stats:
February 8, 2009 at 4:59 pm #657495
ZenguyParticipantMy first house was in Highland park, 17th and Webster. I would not hesitate to live there again.
February 8, 2009 at 5:42 pm #657496
inactiveMemberI live in HP. Here’s my $.02.
I walk my dog at night all of the time. So do many, many of my neighbors, many who are women and alone. I’ve NEVER had anything happen to me. Ever. That is not to say there are not a few very sketchy creeps and jitterbugs around, but out walking the dog, one learns to sense who is a problem and to what degree. I’m still out walking the dog and talking to my neighbors after six years. That’s important to a sense of community – surrendering and allowing fear to direct one’s life is, well, it let’s the bad guys win.
When I walk, I’m also very focused on the other dogs around mine. The only time harm came out walking was when three pit bulls jumped a chain link fence and attacked my dog. That was horrific; thank gawd the dogs were eventually removed from that home. That was four years ago and the dog remembers and I still have a visceral reaction to that house. I am FAR more worried about dogs than thugs, honestly.
Another thing I wanted to mention to you was that folks confuse what the area of Highland Park actually includes. The actual boundaries are Holden Avenue to the north, West Marginal Way to the east, Roxbury to the south and 16th to the west. The area north of Holden is called Riverview. The area west of 16th is called Westwood and the area northwest of 16th by the community college is called Puget Ridge.
Recent events reported on WSB have been in all three areas: Highland Park had two armed robberies at mini-grocery stores; Riverview had a couple of events on the street (12th) right across from the Riverview Playfield; and Puget Ridge had, I think, a shooting??? on 28th? Too often, folks refer to all of those neighborhoods as HP. I insist on making the distinction over and over again, even to people who live in West Seattle now, because of PERCEPTION. Highland Park is certainly not the only victim in, nor responsible for, all of the city-wide crime increase, both at felony and misdemeanor crime levels. The murder on California last weekend is a tragic, terrible indicator of that. I was shocked, but a Junction business person tells me that things have happened there too, but it just doesn’t get followed up on in media stories. I’m not referring to WSB’s coverage, but rather city media.
Yes, there are crimes in the entire area of West Seattle. Is it reason enough not to move here? You have to answer that for yourself. But I will tell you I have lived in “nice” “crime free” affluent neighborhoods all over Seattle over the past 30 years. There was always a certain amount of crime in each. Certainly not as much as there is now, all over the city, but there was a need to be alert there and then, as there is here now. Meaning, I still had to be alert and aware of what was going on around me in those ‘hoods. Even in “good” neighborhoods, I STILL had to confront my own fear and decide if I was going to let the b*stards win. I have tried, over the years, to replace paralyzing fear with “empowered alertness”. Right now, given the general climate created by reading about so much local crime on WSB and attending community meetings about it for the past six months, it is easy to be overwhelmed. It is easy to imagine living somewhere else these days. But, I’m still here. Perhaps it really is true – the greatest thing we have to fear is fear itself.
Regardless of where you choose to live in the city, find ways to ride your bike, walk your dog, engage with your neighbors and live in your home so you are empowered, not disempowered.
End of speech.
Good luck where ever you choose to live!
February 8, 2009 at 6:18 pm #657497
datamuseParticipantSeconded what Westseattledood said. I’ve lived in Highland Park for 10 years and I still like it. The first several years I lived alone, too, with no dog either: a public forum like this isn’t the place to discuss my home security measures, but I can say I’ve yet to have any real problems.
Honestly, I felt less safe when I lived on Capitol Hill, I certainly had more negative encounters after dark there.
That said, it’s really up to you, your feel for the neighborhood, and your comfort level with the impressions you have of the place. For me, HP and White Center just aren’t that unlike where I grew up and I know that’s part of why I like it here.
February 8, 2009 at 6:30 pm #657498
firsttimebuyerMemberWow, thanks to everyone who posted- this is really helpful, informative and makes me feel better about shopping in the neighborhood. Many great points from all of you- esp. Westseattledood, thanks for you perspective. Also, Lowmanbeach, great point that you hear more from neighbors that are alert. I think we’ll also take Scott B’s advice and come down there for a dog walk some time this week to see how it feels- and I should probably do a bike ride to get a sense of how that feels, also. All in all great advice from everyone- thanks very much for your help! If we wind up in the neighborhood I’ll be sure to let everyone on here know. Cheers!
February 8, 2009 at 6:53 pm #657499
firsttimebuyerMemberalso, just wanted you to know- I just followed Scott B’s advice and used Redfin to compare crime by zip code from Highland Park to my part of Ballard (zip code 98107- south of 65th street) and guess what? There is actually more reported crime in Ballard!! Assault and car theft are much higher there, as is overall crime (although robbery is higher in HP). Amazing how perception works. Anyhow, this gives us much more confidence in the neighborhood- thanks again for the advice! :-)
February 8, 2009 at 9:09 pm #657500
ZenguyParticipantHope to count you as a neighbor soon, welcome.
February 9, 2009 at 1:23 am #657501
alki_2008ParticipantOne other site you can refer in regards to potential safety concerns, especially if you have (plan to have) kids in the house: http://ml.waspc.org/SearchAround.aspx
February 9, 2009 at 1:42 am #657502
WSBKeymasterAlso a note, that site (sex offender search) and others are in the resources section at the bottom of the Crime Watch page, in case you ever need to find them again and Google isn’t fast enough. Click the Crime Watch tab from any WSB page.
February 10, 2009 at 1:09 am #657503
oddrealityParticipantWhoa!!!What the heck is going on in zip 98136?? I have lived here for 29 years and have never seen the stats look like that.
February 10, 2009 at 7:13 am #657504
AnonymousInactivefirsttimebuyer wrote:
“I just followed Scott B’s advice and used Redfin to compare crime by zip code from Highland Park to my part of Ballard (zip code 98107- south of 65th street) and guess what? There is actually more reported crime in Ballard!”
Click the FAQ link next to “Crimes” to read about how Redfin derives the bar graphs. I didn’t copy/paste any of the Redfin content because I am a little leery of my liability regarding Redfin’s intellectual property. If that gives you pause: it’s no big deal. All it means is I feel like I should not copy/paste any Redfin content.
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