Home › Forums › Open Discussion › What is it about Westwood area that people don't like?
- This topic is empty.
-
AuthorPosts
-
August 2, 2010 at 2:44 am #595795
kotaMemberMy spouse and I have been trying to rent out our home due to pending relocation to Portland, OR. We have had many calls about our fantastic place, but many “pass go” after they hear that it is located in Westwood area. One of responses I got was, “It’s too far from the junction and too close to White Center”.
I understand this area was “not safe” a few years ago, but this up and coming neighborhood is changing constantly. We have been living in our home for past 2.5 years and had no problems.
I guess some lucky open minded people will enjoy our brand new home…
August 2, 2010 at 3:02 am #700397
voodooMemberI would say that your guesses are fairly correct, along with a lack of “hip” factor. Let’s face it, having a Dress Barn in walking distance does not add cachet. But, it’s great to have bus routes, Lincoln Park, banks, grocery, liquor store all within a stone’s throw (not to mention Full Tilt, Big Al’s, and Proletariat Pizza).
What lured us to buy a home in the area was price. If the rent you are charging is appropriately below Junction rates, I would think you should have a taker before too long.
P.S. We’ve been here five years this fall, and no problems.
August 2, 2010 at 3:27 am #700398
ToddinWestwoodMemberwe are closer to W.C. than westwood folks are. No major problems. It’s all about your close neighbors.
lure them out to the house and get them to check out the ‘hood for them selves.
August 2, 2010 at 5:08 am #700399
JoBParticipantWhen we first moved to West Seattle we lived on California in one of the view houses. After a year we moved to a wee little house with a huge yard near the middle school and are much much happier..
lower rent may have been one of the reasons for the move.. but the neighborhood is why we stay.
August 2, 2010 at 9:58 am #700400
pigeonmomParticipantBeats me. I recently moved to Westwood from Sunrise Heights (a mere 4 blocks!)and it’s so far, so good. :-)
August 2, 2010 at 3:32 pm #700401
KBearParticipantCan’t blame people for wanting to be close to the Junction, but I’d be willing to bet that most of the folks who think being close to White Center is a problem have never actually spent any time White Center.
August 2, 2010 at 3:39 pm #700402
CarsonParticipantI can’t comment as to why I wouldn’t live in Westwood, but I can tell you why we picked Admiral. We are 2 blocks from a bus that gets my wife to work in less than 15 minutes. We can walk to 3 grocery stores (soon to be 2). We can walk to a dozen good restaurants. We are a nice 1/2 mile walk to the water. Its quiet and fairly safe.
August 2, 2010 at 4:40 pm #700403
JanSParticipantCarson, don’t forget having a movie theater in walking distance. Banks, too. And a library with easy access :)
I have been by where JoB lives..it’s a great area, even if you have to get in your car to go shopping. Westwood Village has shops and things that our area doesn’t have. And with rents that are cheaper in that area, it seems to me that would be an attraction. Every area has something to offer :)
August 2, 2010 at 5:09 pm #700404
CarsonParticipantand I can walk to the barber and dog food store and bagel store and a few parks and The Swinery and on and on and on. Whats even better is we can go days and never get in a car!
August 2, 2010 at 5:16 pm #700405
SueParticipantWhen I first moved to West Seattle, we lived on south Delridge, not far from White Center. I liked spending time in Westwood and said that if I ever bought a house in WS, it would probably be in that area. I did hear a lot of people question my wanting to live in that area of West Seattle because of their inaccurate perceptions – probably from people who just “hear stories” and really know nothing firsthand. One day I was taking the bus to the Junction from work (when I still lived on Delridge) and someone asked me about the bus route. I told her I wasn’t familiar with it since I usually took the 120. She looked puzzled and asked where it went. When I told her where it went, and where I lived, she had this snarl of disgust on her face and said, “oh, I never go ANYWHERE near THERE” as if it was where lepers lived. I wish people weren’t so elitist and misguided.
August 2, 2010 at 5:33 pm #700406
JoBParticipantwhen we moved to seattle we were warned by the people hubby met at work not to rent east of 35th or south of thistle…
just shows what they didn’t know.
August 2, 2010 at 5:56 pm #700407
JiggersMemberLet’s not sugarcoat it. The real reason the area gets a “bad rap” so to speak is because the area is part of low-income housing on one side of Westwood Villiage(QFC side, and sparatic). The farther South you go from the Junction, the more low-income the neighborhoods get. Go East and over on to Delridge were over 70% of homes there are low-income. In fact, a lot of those dwellings along Delridge are subsidized rents. There are a few nicer homes that have been built or remodeled, but a person who makes real good money will not look to live there if they can afford a nicer area to live in. I lived in White Center for over 6 years and found no problem living there because I loved the diversity, and most of all, different ethnic foods. But most upper or middle class white( it’s true) people who have __ for brains, and really haven’t been there, will talk it down. Crime runs rampant anywhere on any given day. Just because you spent $$$$ on a home and live in a posh hood, doesn’t mean that you aren’t prone to getting carjacked. I remembered when businesses in the Junction started to get a rash of robberies awhile back, I heard “oh not here In our fine Junction neighborhood”. It doesn’t matter were you live. People are so ignorant…:(
Westwood Villiage and White Center area’s have hard working families, and owning a home there is a very good investment if you don’t have much money to begin with.:)
Be smart with what you have and earn..
August 2, 2010 at 5:59 pm #700408
GoGoParticipantHey Kota, is your house on Craigslist? I’d like to see it.
August 2, 2010 at 6:05 pm #700409
WSeaFam2MemberWe live about 7 blocks from Westwood in the Highland Park area, and our little neighborhood is very quiet and well kept. We have really enjoyed living here. I think one thing about Seattle that makes it so great to live in are the diverse neighborhoods, and Westwood is just one of them. I am always amused when people say certain areas of Seattle are sketchy or scary, and it lets me know they have never lived in another large city where you see much more crime and danger.
August 2, 2010 at 6:29 pm #700410
JoBParticipantthose who live insulated lives are always looking for more insulation :)
August 2, 2010 at 11:06 pm #700411
datamuseParticipantI need more insulation, my heating bills are ridiculous! Oh, wait… ;)
I’ve lived in Highland Park for over 10 years. Still like it.
August 2, 2010 at 11:26 pm #700412
flowerpetalMemberWe live close to Westwood Village and are very happy with our neighborhood. And we have worked at it to make it a friendly and safer place. I know everyone on my block to some degree. This year we are having our first “Night Out” event and folks are pretty excited about that. I like knowing that JoB is just a holler away; and now I read that Pigeonmom may be close by too? Whoo Hoo!
We have all read here in the forums about whacky neighbors. Some things are preventable and then every now and then you get the kind of folks who smoke under your windows or have camping tenants in their back yards. That’s difficult to prevent.
Don’t give up kota!
August 2, 2010 at 11:33 pm #700413
austinMemberThere is something about the Westwood area that I don’t like, but it’s really minor and pretty random.. I live a ten minute walk from the post office on california, but because of my zipcode or because I’m east of 35th they hold my packages at the westwood office. Once they tried to deliver my orca card via registered or certified or whatever mail, I wasn’t home to sign so I had to take the bus down there to pick up my bus pass. That was the last time I paid cash to ride a metro bus. Westwood otherwise seems like a perfectly nice part of town though.
August 2, 2010 at 11:55 pm #700414
me on 28th Ave SWParticipantWe live just off Thistle and love it. Easy walking distance to just about everything which is really convenient. I love that there is both a police precinct and fire station near by for the events that no family wants, but still sometime gets. Plenty of action during the day (cars, buses and pedestrians) but really quiet at night. I feel like we’ve got it made.
August 3, 2010 at 12:07 am #700415
WSeaFam2MemberSince tomorrow night is “Seattle Night Out” you could invite people to come see the neighborhood and get an idea of what a friendly place to live it is. I know our block has a party with a potluck, and we fill our street. And my parents also live in the area and thier block does one too so I am sure that this is common in our area :) This should show how nice our community and neighbors are!
August 3, 2010 at 8:11 am #700416
kotaMemberWell, thanks for all of your insights and/or opinions. We really love our home and after much discussion we decided to keep it as a rental. Who knows, we may return to Seattle in a few years.
My spouse pointed out that our house is in Delridge neighborhood…I say close enough!
Yes, it is listed on craigslist gogo, it’s the 2BR 2.5Bath house on Delridge.
August 3, 2010 at 4:43 pm #700417
JoBParticipantKota..
a link here to that listing might be the extra step it takes to secure a tenant… after all.. those of us who love this broader area of West Seattle… Delridge, Highland Park, Westwood and yes.. White Center… have had a lot that is good to say about living here.
those who reject your listing for the address aren’t likely to make good long term tenants anyway… someone who rents because of the advantages of an area is far more likely to stay than someone who rents because they can’t find a rental in their area of choice.
like flowerpetal.. i like living where there are so many WSB friends nearby….
in fact.. i think it’s time for another meet up east of 35th.
it’s too bad zippys doesn’t have more space.. their burgers alone would draw a crowd :)
August 3, 2010 at 4:49 pm #700418
JoBParticipantKota..
you can link your listing in response to a request..
your listing isn’t showing up on housing maps so i can’t easily find it and i know someone who is looking for a rental in West Seattle.
please post the link to your listing here.
August 3, 2010 at 4:55 pm #700419
SueParticipantkota, is this the house? http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/apa/1876810688.html
If so, two thoughts. If it’s on Delridge, a lot of people don’t want to live ON Delridge because it can be loud. I used to live on Delridge at Kenyon, but lived at the back of the apartment complex and didn’t hear the traffic. I know the people who lived closer complained about it often. I live on Fauntleroy now and I know it’s noisy to most people. I’m a New Yorker, so I don’t notice it. :)
My second though is, how does this house compare to the market rents in that area? I ask because I’m renting a house 1/2 mile from the Alaska Junction for the same rent as the house in this ad, and my house (although much older and not modern) is 700 sq. feet larger and also includes garbage and water. The house next to me was for rent within the past year and had a similar price point as well. So you may want to doublecheck that the price is comparable to other similar houses in the area. I haven’t looked at house rents in 3 years for the most part, so I don’t know what’s typical now – it’s possible I just got lucky. :)
August 3, 2010 at 5:02 pm #700420
MBParticipantI’m very interested as well. We will be moving (unfortunatly) out of our house Highland Park soon. Our landlord has to sell it :( I grew up in the Delridge neighborhood and my Mom still lives down there in the same house. Please post a link to the ad! I’d love to take a look :)
It’s funny to me that putting Delridge in the ad, as opposed to Westwood, would be thought of as more of a draw. I grew up in the 80s and 90s and people always gave me a dirty look when I said I lived in the Delridge neighborhood. Times they are a changin in that area…for the better.
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.