Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Why is there negative local sentiment about West Seattle?
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June 28, 2013 at 6:27 pm #608042
WSdreamingMemberI’m new to Seattle this year, and have fallen in love with West Seattle. Like, seriously head over heels. We’ve been househunting there, I read this blog all the time, and we just can’t wait to move over there (we’re in Ravenna now)!
I mentioned this to the girl who helps me clean and organize my house, and she looked terrified. She spoke of West Seattle like it was the location for the next “Escape From New York” sequel. She said with absolute certainty that if we move over there we are at risk of being shot and killed (she says she was shot at there!). We are simply risking our lives, in her opinion.
Uh…WTH? I’ve never felt unsafe in West Seattle. Not once ever. I’ve read less than glowing things, some on this blog even, but never heard such a cautionary warning. Am I missing something? It’s hard to come from somewhere else entirely and not fully understand the lay of that land in a new city. Any insight is appreciated.
June 28, 2013 at 6:36 pm #792631
KatherineLParticipantJune 28, 2013 at 6:36 pm #792632
JanSParticipantCrime happens everywhere. Before the internet, you only heard about it through newspaper articles, or word of mouth.Now we hear about every little thing. So it seems like more. No, you are not in danger over here. I have lived here for 38 years, have never been shot at, never been mugged, never been beat up, never been burgled or robbed. I go out at night ( I don’t walk down dark alleys at night), I don’t leave things I value in my car overnight. I walk to Safeway across the street at 9, 10pm if I need something.
Use common sense, and be aware of your surroundings. Like I said, crime happens everywhere. It’s not like it picks one area and stays there.
June 28, 2013 at 6:37 pm #792633
JanSParticipantKatherineL…lol…dull, huh?
June 28, 2013 at 7:00 pm #792634
miwsParticipantCrime happens everywhere.
Yep.
Here’s some recent stats from a website I found after doing a quick Google.
http://spotcrime.com/wa/seattle/ravenna
I’m not posting this to bash Ravenna, or to decide which neighborhood is “worse”, just to prove Jan’s point of crime being everywhere.
WSdreaming, you might want to share this data with your cleaner/organizer, especially if she lives in or near Ravenna. (Unless you think it will unduly freak her out.) ;-)
When I saw the title to this thread, I thought it was going to be another one of those regarding people elsewhere in the City still thinking that West Seattle is out in the boonies, nearly 30 years after the High Bridge opened! :-D
Mike
June 28, 2013 at 7:12 pm #792635
BonnieParticipantLet people think it’s bad here so we can all enjoy it. It’s propaganda we spew to keep people away.
June 28, 2013 at 7:18 pm #792636
JiggersMemberWe must be talking about that great diversified neighborhoods known as Delridge maybe White Center?..lol
June 28, 2013 at 7:27 pm #792637
trickycooljParticipantShe might have an incorrect assumption from decades past. When I moved up to Seattle permanently after my years at UW my mom was always furious when I suggested I might pop over to West Seattle. She kept saying what a dangerous bad place it was. Her assumption was from 1965 and colored by her parents’ opinion. Turns out a lot changes in 50 years. She loves visiting and poking around the local restaurants/shops. The only parts of Seattle I would remotely consider dangerous are some pockets of the Rainier Valley and Belltown/Pioneer Square at closing time.
June 28, 2013 at 7:40 pm #792638
MBParticipantSorry, but she sounds like a pansy from the Eastside (as long as we’re throwing out generalizations about neighborhoods and the people in them).
But in all seriousness, I was born and raised here, I’m in my 30s and have never been shot at. Not even close, in fact. Bad stuff happens sometimes, as it does everywhere. No hiding from that. I wouldn’t go for a midnight stroll, but I wouldn’t do that anywhere. You will hear from a lot of people that you should live West of 35th if you are to survive as well, but that’s bs too (IMHO).
Basically, everyone’s got an opinion. Go with what YOU think. I love West Seattle and though there are things that get on my nerves, including crime, I have never felt unsafe (and I grew up in Delrdige, a neighborhood other pansies think is scary). Be aware of what’s happening around you, get to know your neighbors and do your part to keep your neighborhood safe…wherever you move! Good luck and welcome to the neighborhood (hopefully)!
June 28, 2013 at 7:46 pm #792639
MBParticipantOoh, Bonnie…you have a great point. Yep, it’s über scary here in the West…please, tell your friends!!!! ;)
June 28, 2013 at 7:47 pm #792640
skeeterParticipantI’m still fairly new to West Seattle but an old-timer told me that crime really decreased in the area when they built the police station next to home depot. Increased response time and stronger police presence cleaned up some of the crime problems.
June 28, 2013 at 8:00 pm #792641
Ms. SparklesParticipantI’m originally from the arm-pit of S. California, so when people talk about the “dangerous” neighborhoods of Seattle and Tacoma, I can’t help but giggle.
I’ve been in WS (west of 35th, north of the Junction, just because that’s where we found the house we love) for 10 years. I’ve had a stone gargoyle and a few carved pumpkins stolen from my front yard in the first 3 yrs, no crime since.
There are plenty of apartments going up, so you should have plenty of options on where in WS to live. =-)
June 28, 2013 at 8:46 pm #792642
WSdreamingMemberThanks for all of the insights, which are both interesting and affirming. I am going with my gut, and WS is still my No. 1 destination, but she seemed so wide-eyed and fearful I just had to ask!
I, too, hail from Southern California. The places referred to as scary and “ghetto” here tend to make me scratch my head sometimes. You guys have some of the most beautiful ghetto areas I’ve ever seen! :-p
June 28, 2013 at 8:47 pm #792643
WSdreamingMemberOh, and I knew about Ravenna crime going in. I mean, city living is just that – you need to be cautious, but it can’t rule your life, right? It’s actually a beautiful area, but it doesn’t speak to me in the same way. Driving into West Seattle always makes me feel like I am coming home.
June 28, 2013 at 9:01 pm #792644
annaeileenParticipantEvery area has it’s good and bad parts and crime. I too get tired of all of the negative statements about the Delridge neighborhood. We have been here for 12 years and have had few issues. I was robbed in the U-District and Bellevue and had mean neighbors in Fremont. Delridge is ethnically diverse with friendly people. I run a couple of times a week around Delridge and I have had so many people nod or say Hi or cheer me on. When I run at Alki, I have to dodge moms on their phones with strollers dragging dogs not paying attention to anyone around them. Delridge is where it’s at!
June 28, 2013 at 9:36 pm #792645
TanDLParticipantThat’s funny. I’ve never heard anything about how dangerous it is here. Maybe she’s just trying to help us out with population control, like Bonnie mentioned. Yes, yes – it’s horrible here. All those joggers on Alki are really running for their lives.
June 28, 2013 at 9:54 pm #792646
GinaParticipantIn the Admiral District had garage roof vandalized with spray paint in 1975, dining room window shot through in 1976 and 3 bicycles and two lawn mowers stolen and gas tanks siphoned repeatedly during the 1970s.
In the modern era the only losses have been two concrete yard sculptures, knock on wood.
Don’t let anyone pull that crap about how there was no crime in WS before the (fill in the blank)happened. We are able to talk with each other on a larger scale now, my perception is that things are much safer and we are more aware how to prevent losses.
June 28, 2013 at 9:59 pm #792647
kayoParticipantWe have lived here (in North Delridge – gasp!) for over 12 years. We moved from Ravenna/U District and we were freaked out at first, too. Looking back, I laugh because we felt less safe there than we ever have in West Seattle. We love it here and are raising our kids here. It is a great place to live.
June 28, 2013 at 10:27 pm #792648
miwsParticipantGina’s first paragraph verifies what many of us know; teens of the ’70’s were no good punk asses.
Mike
Sealth Class of ’76
;-)
June 28, 2013 at 11:15 pm #792649
GinaParticipantYes, I laugh when folks in our age group talk about the no good kids these days!
June 29, 2013 at 12:34 am #792650
WorldCitizenParticipantMs. Sparkles:
I completely agree with you about how people’s perception of crime is skewed in West Seattle…really Seattle in general. It’s not that there’s no crime, but it sure FEELS non-existant.
I would say to the original poster that West Seattle is about a benign as it gets. There’s thuggish kids on Alki some days during the summer, but don’t touch their rides and just leave them alone (or better yet, avoid Alki like the plague in the summer). Other than that, it’s really not much to speak of anywhere else. City sensibilities should be adhered to at all times in any part of any city. I can’t recommend West Seattle enough for safety and a sense of small-town community.
June 29, 2013 at 4:41 am #792651
dcnParticipantI was worried about crime when I was looking to buy a house in the Westwood area (east of the magic 35th Ave line). My realtor suggested looking up the crime statistics in the much more expensive Greenwood neighborhood where I was renting, and then compare to my potential new neighborhood. Turns out that Greenwood had way worse crime stats than Westwood. In the 2 years I spent in Greenwood, I had a rock thrown through my living room window, my bike stolen off my porch, a drunk passed out on my porch, and a stolen car abandoned in the alley behind my house. In the past 2.5 years in West Seattle? No problems so far. I love my neighborhood.
June 29, 2013 at 6:26 am #792652
oddrealityParticipantThere’s an expensive Greenwood neighborhood?? :)[where is it??]
We lived in W.Seattle for over 30 years with very little trouble. I however have always felt at home once I got to the North side of the Aurora bridge.That is where I grew up and all my friends were. My kids too once they grew up.We are now moving back to the North End.It is all a matter of perspective.All of Seattle is pretty safe ,every area seems to get a turn with criminals.W.Seattle is a great place to live, just not homey to me. You will love it in W.Seattle since it feels right to you.
June 29, 2013 at 2:33 pm #792653
miwsParticipantoddreality, I’d be willing to bet that your West Seattle neighborhood improved greatly once that weirdo that moved in across the alley from you in 1985, and lived there for about 15 years, left.
Mike
June 29, 2013 at 3:09 pm #792654
CandrewB1ParticipantAll 90,000 of us are living on borrowed time. It is not a question of if, but when we will all be shot and killed. Cops won’t even drive down Beach Dr anymore and I don’t blame them.
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