What's Seattle really like these days?

[starcrafttom]

I have been a way for a week in Idaho and just got back to see this post. Where do I start? Well lets start at the beginning. First my back ground. I have lived in 27 homes. 9 states, several two or more times, both coast and all along the south. In 2001 I was living in Sacramento ca at the time and hated it. I was born not far from there and spent the best part of my high school and youth in the mountains near there. Sac and SF of the 99 early 2000 was a dirty crime ridden shadow of its 1970-80 self. homeless , drugs, crime gangs etc. When Susan told me she had a job offer in Seattle I was horrified. I love her, but dam... All I knew of Seattle was that it was " SF North" and SF had turned in to a shit hole. I would no longer go there to see the sights I so much enjoyed as a young adult.

So she talked me into going to Seattle for the interview with her. On the best of days I am not a city person. Much rather be in the woods, on the water, in the country but I do like to visit a clean city and see the sights. Long story short I was amazed how clean , beautiful and friendly Seattle was . We went to the space needle, the market, the water front and lake Union. Lake Union was amazing to me. Just the high light and gem of the city. Boats, planes , kayaks restaurants and several museums right on the water. The boat museum with boats for rent was my favorite. There was a museum next door ( were the burke is now) and the history and industry museum ( now part of the burke) and many others. All the little parks around both lake Union and lake Washington. Boat ramps and kayak launches, Mom and pop restaurants and far far less TOURIST type shops then most large cities. To top it off I rented a car and drive 30 miles to Monroe and sat on the bank of the river and watched a guy land a nice salmon in clear cool water. The people were all frendly. Nice to talk to and very willing to talk to anyone or answer a question. I have lived places where this is not the norm and not really encouraged. One of the most notable things about the city and surrounding area was the lack of trash on the ground. In comparison to Sacramento it was almost Disney land at opening bell like clean. Like it had been manicured at night after closing for the next days guest. It was very noticeable how much it differed from Sac and SF. It was almost as clean as Salt lake in the 80s. I do not think I saw more then one homeless guy the whole week. Needless to say we moved here that month.

And now we have today. Seattle is without a doubt one of the dirtiest , piss poor managed cities in the country. I just got back last night from a week in Idaho and can not tell you the stark difference. You can blame the city council, the governor or the people that continue to vote them in office or who ever you want but Seattle has gone to shit in the last 10 years and do not think it will be coming back any time soon. There is no law in Seattle if you are poor and homeless, Or just look like it. It is now legal to steal up to $900 in goods. You will not be arrested. Its now legal to do any drugs you want including heron in the street in front of the police. You will not be arrested. If you go on vacation it is now legal for someone to move into your home with a hand written " lease" on a napkin and they will not be arrested or removed. ( three cases of that so far in the area and police will not evict). If you beat a old guy to the ground and drop kick his dog into the street and kill it , just last week, you will be arrested and then release by the judge with out bail before the old guy gets out of the doctors. I don't care what you think about the idea of The Chop but it left not only dead bodies behind ( 4 killed?) but a lasting impression on the residents of Seattle and they did not like it. How do I know living 30 miles north in the Burbs / country? I am an realtor here in the north sound and we are experiencing the fastest price increase in years of fast price increases. And who is buying all these homes for 100k over asking in cash?? people from Seattle that are fleeing. People from Seattle that can now work from home and will not ever go back. I hear their story's everyday. Seattle is not safe. From the Seattle PI " 2020 crime report: Seattle saw highest homicide number in 26 years". From the NYPost "Seattle sees 525 percent spike in crime thanks to CHOP: Mayor Durkan" and from Kttn Seattle burglary explodes 87% downtown after coronavirus policy, crisis"

So what does this mean for the surrounding areas? I live in Marysville wa and just like all the surrounding areas our property crime went up dramatically after the legalization of pot just as I said it would. Not because of roving bands of pot heads looking to steal your stuff but because of the obvious reaction to the law by the cartels. Find a cheaper more addictive product to take its place. And that was cheap heroin made with Fentanyl. Its the driving force behind the massive increase in property crimes, gang warfare, homelessness and over all filth that plagues many cities both large and small. Seattle is the worse and getting even worse but we do feel the effects in the burbs. Marysville has been reducing this problem slowly over the last year and has not got caught up yet but is working on it.

So to the original question. Should you move here? Well I dont know the south sound as well as the north end so I would leave that to others to give detail on but, The area near the airport is shit. from Seattle south to the air port is just turning into gang land at night. No police presents, No true enforcement, less and less law enforcement numbers as all the cops retire or quit. "Seattle police officers are fleeing the department at a record pace: At least 249 people have left the force over the past year alone, according to a new report." and its the same all over the area. They are down almost 400 since 2018 and no one is applying. But what does that mean to you and me? Well I live on 2.5 ac on the res and have a drug house at the bottom of my hill across from the state police station....... but never had any property stolen. We used to have a lot of druggies and prostitutes' parking out side my house on the dead end street but I took care of that a few years ago and its no longer a problem. So if you spend enough and live far enough out you should not have any real problems for you and your family. If you work inside the airport fence and just drive in and out or take transit ( though thats becoming less safe) you should be fine and be able to enjoy all the reasons I still live here.

Why do I still live here??? I love the weather. I do I love the seasons but not the extremes that others have. Its over a hundred at my mom and dads house right now. In winter its under 0 for weeks at my in-laws house. I fish for salmon and ling in the summer as well as crab and shrimp. I hunt ducks, goose and snows in the winter with one of the longest seasons in the states. I pheasant hunt release sites in the fall. And of course we boat some of the most beautiful water in the country. I have 10 things that float in the parking lot right now. Just driving around doing my job supplies me with endless views of mountains and sea. I just love that I can do all of that with in an hour drive of my home. no going out of state and hunting. No driving to the coast once a year for a week on the boat and then storing it again. I LOVE LIVING HERE.. but you will not catch me in or near seattle un armed if at all. If you live in Seatlle and had have not suffered a crime its only pure luck not the goodness of the city. Seattle, in 2002 when we came here for that interview that changed our live for the better in so many ways, was the only major city I ever gave a thought about living in the center. If I could have bought a floating home or one with a view of the lake at the time I would have. Its a complete and total shame that a city with jobs, wealth, view , parks and every advantage has been destroyed so badly by nothing more then failed policy's. Those that passed them, can not or will not do anything but repeat those same policy's over and over again only with more money. This is how Detroit went from the shinny city on the hill to a shit hole. And now its happening to the center of Seattle. but dont ask me what I really think.

[hardee]

"Just because we can't see anything in the fog doesn't mean there aren't rocks on the shore."

BTW. Tom, There are many that agree with with your view point.

Sandy, Just because it is a conservative viewpoint does not mean it is wrong.

I have said what I will on this.

"A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still." If you call a pigs ear a purse, does that make it one?

Harvey
SleepyC

[dotnmarty]

error, sorry

[smckean (Tosca)]

[smckean (Tosca)]

[krc]

I don't think there is really all that much in dispute in the doc I watched - and it seemed to be backed by Sea Times reporter based on feedback from readers. That said, readers who are upset at the situation will more likely provide that feedback than those who think all is well. So there could be a silent majority that is fine with the situation - and is likely the case or we would see more change in local gov politics (vs current one-party system).

But saying it is chocolate vs vanilla basically says there is nothing to the argument - which is definitely not the case for those of us who lived there or are very familiar with the city. And I grew up a bit in Kent, went to UW, etc...

Crime is very much block by block, so you can always check out sites like this and navigate your situation.

https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/wa/seattle/crime

[krc]

The question really is how much has there been a migration of wealthy out of the larger cities into suburbs. SF has definitively seen this migration, and most real estate agencies report on this. Seattle is still growing a lot compared to SF... but suburbs are growing at a much faster pace. This could be because remote work is enticing people out of cities, but it could also be low interest rates creating a general buying opportunities. RE investment in the suburbs payed much better than in Seattle over the past two years.

https://www.noradarealestate.com/blog/seattle-real-estate-market/

You have to look at market areas:
Here is the housing forecast for Seattle, King County, and Seattle MSA. The home appreciation has been incredibly strong over the past year.

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue Metro home values have gone up 17.1% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will rise 18% over the next 12-months.

Seattle home values have gone up 10.7% over the past year and will continue to rise at a similar pace over the next 12-months.

King County home values have gone up 14.1% over the past year and will continue to rise at a similar pace over the next 12-months.

Pierce County home values have gone up 18.6% over the past year.

Snohomish County home values have gone up 20.8% over the past year.

SF has certainly seen the flight from the city to suburb. SF still grew at low single digits, but good areas in East Bay saw price increases at 10-25% depending on location.

This could all change as covid ends and people are more comfortable back in denser locations.

[krc]

https://www.noradarealestate.com/blog/san-francisco-real-estate-market/

[starcrafttom]

smckean well there is more to it them just your numbers. And its interesting as hell. Rental prices in Seattle are dropping like a rock, In certain areas. Just like home prices are slowing. See the problem with Seattle home prices it is cover far more then Seattle . Lots of areas are Part of Seattle now but are not really Seattle proper. so Pioneer square is is a shit hole in seattle but Magnolis is not. Now there are 500k 800 sq ft condos in pioneer square that are getting sold and people are moving to magnolia to million plus homes or to madison park. People are moving out and we are at the cusp of the down turn. Marysville numbers are just marysville. check out stannwood or lake stevens. Prices are not seattle prices yet, but they are way up. I am doing a listing appointment tonight for a 2 year old home in lake stevens that sold for 500k when I helped them buy it. we are going to list for 725 and get closer to 800k.. Its not two years old until september! that is how bad people are willing to get out. Also what is een more interersting is where are the people that are buying in seattle coming from?? L. A. and Sf. Seems that wven a shit hole like down town is better then those places and EVEN more interesting is why? If you are working from home anyhow and you move from Ca. To WA. you just gave your self a 30k raise buy getting out of Ca state taxes..... and if you like cites, crazy people, then seattle is better then SF and is cheaper. Hell rents in SF are down 40% this year.

No matter who you blame or how you cut it there is no sane person that can tell you that Seattle is better today then 10 years ago. Oh and about sinclear. They own a lot of stations. some left some right . And I doubt they care. They are there to make money. But if you think that the very well made documentary linked above is " right leaning" then you must be seated so far down in the echo chamber that is your life that no light will ever reach you. The guy worked for KOMO news for gods sake. Not quite CNN but a very good echo of it.

No Seattle has gone very far down hill in the last 10 years because of the policies enacted by the city council, the mayor and the county board. NO one else can change what is happening there unless the voters remove them and replace them with people with different answers. Seattle currently spends 1 billion, yes with a fing B, on homelessness yet the population of homeless grows every year. Until some one stands up and calls it a DRUG ADDICTION problem and stops the stupid lie that its homelessness then the problem will not go away. They say in AAA that the first step is to admit the problem but in Seattle the first step is it IDENTIFY the problem.

[starcrafttom]

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue Metro home values have gone up 17.1% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will rise 18% over the next 12-months.

Seattle home values have gone up 10.7% over the past year and will continue to rise at a similar pace over the next 12-months.

You see here that seattle home prices only grew 10 %. thats lower then the last 10 years. It was growing 14 to 18 %.

And Here is quote from king 5 news," Rent is down 18.9% for the average one-bedroom apartment at $2,056 and 30.6% for the average two-bedroom apartment at $2,698."
Sandy made the mistake of using the " greater seattle " numbers make a point. I will be nice as always and call it a mistake. I do this for a living and even thou I do not go to or sell in seattle I keep a good eye on it. People are moving out and its only going to get worse.

And a word of warning if you own a rental in seattle or king county now, sell it while you can. It will soon be worth very little and you may not be allowed to sell it. you got about a year or so.

[lloyds]

I am certainly with Tom on this one. I lived on my boat in Elliott Bay Marina in the 90's and it was great. Go downtown any time of day and find something to see or do. But those days are gone. I used to work in portland and it has gone the same route. Really poor management has driven the nicest cities into the ground.

[rogerbum]

[SnowTexan]

From the first post: “Last time I was even in the Seattle area was 12-13 years ago”.

I think there’s your first step. Fly to Seatac, use public transit to get around and see how you like it. I cant comment on what’s relative to your DC metro experience because I am not a city person. I just got back from a 5 day boat trip and while I was gone I left the house door unlocked and the windows open to air the place out. I don’t like cities anywhere in the world (and I’ve seen a couple). Keeping this is in mind...Seattle up until about 12-13 ears ago was the ONLY American city i’d ever considered living in. Going to the airport to pick someone up was an excuse to go be a local tourist, to grab lunch near the market or people watch on capitol hill. I really enjoyed visiting THAT city. So from an outside perspective of a lifelong rural casual visitor of Seattle: 2021 I wont go near the place. If you’re tossing around the idea of moving there, ya really owe it to yourself to fly in and move around the city in whatever your chosen method of transit as a resident would be. Best of luck to you regardless!

Side comment: city people visiting always seem to joke about the broken things we leave in piles outside in the country. But those are just things, it’s not like we leave broken people laying about!? That would be crazy!

[dotnmarty]

[ssobol]