Thoughts on West Seattle?

We just bought a place in the Junction area and love it. I had the same thoughts on West Seattle when I first moved here, but now feel like it is very underrated. I work from home and my wife walks to work, so we don't need to deal with any of the traffic issues mentioned though. Most everything we need is in a two by two block area, so everything is within walking distance and it is definitely easy to just end up spending most of your time in West Seattle. Some of my favorite things about it:

  • Bought a 3 bedroom place for under 400K. Mortgage + taxes and everything is less than what we were paying in rent for a small 1BR in First Hill near Pike/Pine.
  • Walking in the area around Edmunds St, seeing mountains in both directions, and looking over the Sound.
  • Less hipsters/bros/posers, less people coming to the neighborhood just to get wasted and leaving a mess.
  • I genuinely believe people are friendlier, easier to talk to here. They are less transient and more settled in the neighborhood. I know a lot more people's names now and see familiar faces, and see some more smiles/eye contact.
  • Food and drink is a little cheaper. It is nice to go to Easy St. and get a good breakfast for 4.50 and coffee for 1.00.
  • You are in walking distance of so many grocery stores, maybe too many. I can walk to Trader Joe's, QFC, Safeway, PCC, Metropolitan Market, Thriftway, and the Sunday Farmer's Market. They are building a Whole Foods in the area by the end of next year also.
  • Bakery Nouveau, Shadowland, Talarico's, Fiddleheads, Bang Bar, Verite, Husky Deli, Ma'ono Fried Chicken and Whiskey, Poggie Tavern, Beer Junction, West 5, West Side Pub
  • Watching football at The Bridge and Beveridge
  • Seeing a jazz/blues/comedy show and having a sazerac at the Feedback Lounge.
  • Walking around Alki or Lincoln Park on a sunny day
  • There are a ton of bar trivia nights, poker nights, and other community events that you can follow on the West Seattle Blog. The neighborhood feels very connected and I feel informed of all the new businesses and projects.

Cons

  • I used to walk to all of the music venues from our old apartment - Neumo's, Paramount, Barboza, Triple Door, Chop Suey, etc. So if I want to see a show now, I ride the Rapid Ride C downtown, which is really easy. I usually take an Uber home since I don't always feel like hanging around 3rd and Pike when I've had some drinks and am headed home late. The Rapid Ride also continues on to Ballard, so we can go to the Sunset and Tractor Tavern also, which is cool.
/r/Seattle Thread