5 ms·

Seattle is already on the path to being SF junior, and house prices are far beyond what is affordable for most. We're not SF prices yet (or hopefully ever) but

Seattle is already on the path to being SF junior, and house prices are far beyond what is affordable for most. We're not SF prices yet (or hopefully ever) but pretty crazy right now. Sad, because what made the city interesting is being actively driven out.

mulmen 9y ago
When did you move to Seattle? 2011 for me. The city has certainly changed but I'm still unclear on this nebulous culture shift that has supposedly "ruined" Seattle. What was more interesting about Seattle when you moved here vs today?
- tjr225 9y ago
  I moved out here last year - I do not live in Seattle proper, but I work there. I love Seattle but it is a crazy town that to me seems like it must've always been in flux. For the love of God do not move here if you don't want to be stressed out about housing costs and don't want to deal with an insane commute regardless of almost anywhere you live. I'm trying to find it but there was this old video recording from either 1995 or 2005 (I don't remember which) of a Bob Dylan-ish parody song being performed on acoustic guitar and the lyrics were complaining about the exact same things back then that you hear complained about here today. As a matter of fact, don't move here if you can't handle complaining.
  - mulmen 9y ago
    Seattle is a boom(and bust)town. Always has been. That's what makes it appealing to me. I'll ride out whatever happens next because I have no illusions that this crazy growth can continue. I'm willing to accept the complaining, it hasn't driven me out yet. As one of the most educated cities in the nation I expect to be able to challenge perceptions. I hear the line repeated often in local media but nobody has ever been able to explain to me what magic thing Seattle has lost. I suspect that's because it hasn't actually lost it.
  - saratogacx 9y ago
    There are a lot of them from an old tv show called Almost Live. Here's a good spot to start from '97 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr5-Obhi1pE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr5-Obhi1pE
    - tjr225 9y ago
      That is the exact video I was searching for! Thank you!
- jorblumesea 9y ago
  2004, while I agree it's "not completed ruined", it feels like we're slowly pushing out much of the middle class, and with it, artists and other culturally important folk. Give it 10 years and the only people that will be able to afford the city is one specific income bracket. I think if you moved to the city post 2010, you probably don't realize what "old Seattle" was like.
  - mulmen 9y ago
    There's an art gallery across the street from me. Many coffee shops and restaurants have locally created art for sale. There are all kinds of quirky performances on the street and in local businesses. I can't even begin to find time to attend all the live music shows I would like. Who are these other "culturally important folk" and why are they so important? Not denying they exist, I just don't know who you are talking about. I still see a lot of opportunity for middle (or possibly upper-middle) class families to live in Seattle although it is not easy. It seems a lot easier than SFO and entirely within reach to me. Something should be done to make sure this stays within reach but we have to be realistic about how that looks. A single family home on a 1/4 acre isn't gonna fly. You're probably going to be sharing at least one wall with someone. You are echoing the concern I hear often and I have no doubt that you feel what you are describing but I'm just not convinced that it reflects reality. I lived in Seattle for the summer of 2009 and while I didn't explore a lot of it back then I don't think it has changed much culturally. I hear the "it's an old Seattle thing you wouldn't understand" cliche a lot too. I'm just surprised nobody can articulate what was different then.
    - kenning 9y ago
      I've never even been to seattle but i can at least tell you that grunge started there. Can you imagine a new genre of music starting in seattle now? Also, > There's an art gallery across the street from me. Many coffee shops and restaurants have locally created art for sale. There's a ton of those in SF, too. Gentrifiers enjoy the old culture and all its signifiers; that's why they moved there in the first place. (IDK what you mean by street performers but there sure aren't those in SF.)
BurningFrog 9y ago
I understand that Seattle is still allowing housing construction though?
- mulmen 9y ago
  I believe rent here was stable in January 2018, the first time since 2008. Supply seems to slowly be catching demand. There's still some serious concerns about space to build higher density but the city has not totally locked down new construction or density increases. My neighborhood is largely single-family and there are a number of places that have been demolished recently in favor of town homes and small apartment complexes.
  - taurath 9y ago
    Yet the median house price increased by $50k last MONTH. They have a lot of new apartments on the market from the midrise and highrise construction, but almost nothing to own.
  - lukeschlather 9y ago
    Rents are always stable for a little bit in the winter. To get an accurate picture you have to compare year-over-year, otherwise you're just looking at noise. https://www.apartmentlist.com/wa/seattle https://www.apartmentlist.com/wa/seattle
- seltzered_ 9y ago
  To some degree yes but there's still neighborhoods that will reject proposals. There's all sorts of debate on this (just yesterday saw windshield flyers against upzones) - to summarize in a fun way see https://twitter.com/YIMBYwiki/status/951255440481857536 https://twitter.com/YIMBYwiki/status/951255440481857536
  - seanmcdirmid 9y ago
    I have family in West Seattle and can sympathize with the increased traffic that increased density has brought. Compared to 10 years ago, it is much more built up but no road infrastructure was upgraded so it has turned into quite a mess.

mulmen 9y ago

When did you move to Seattle? 2011 for me. The city has certainly changed but I'm still unclear on this nebulous culture shift that has supposedly "ruined" Seattle. What was more interesting about Seattle when you moved here vs today?

tjr225 9y ago
I moved out here last year - I do not live in Seattle proper, but I work there. I love Seattle but it is a crazy town that to me seems like it must've always been in flux. For the love of God do not move here if you don't want to be stressed out about housing costs and don't want to deal with an insane commute regardless of almost anywhere you live. I'm trying to find it but there was this old video recording from either 1995 or 2005 (I don't remember which) of a Bob Dylan-ish parody song being performed on acoustic guitar and the lyrics were complaining about the exact same things back then that you hear complained about here today. As a matter of fact, don't move here if you can't handle complaining.
- mulmen 9y ago
  Seattle is a boom(and bust)town. Always has been. That's what makes it appealing to me. I'll ride out whatever happens next because I have no illusions that this crazy growth can continue. I'm willing to accept the complaining, it hasn't driven me out yet. As one of the most educated cities in the nation I expect to be able to challenge perceptions. I hear the line repeated often in local media but nobody has ever been able to explain to me what magic thing Seattle has lost. I suspect that's because it hasn't actually lost it.
- saratogacx 9y ago
  There are a lot of them from an old tv show called Almost Live. Here's a good spot to start from '97 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr5-Obhi1pE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr5-Obhi1pE
  - tjr225 9y ago
    That is the exact video I was searching for! Thank you!
jorblumesea 9y ago
2004, while I agree it's "not completed ruined", it feels like we're slowly pushing out much of the middle class, and with it, artists and other culturally important folk. Give it 10 years and the only people that will be able to afford the city is one specific income bracket. I think if you moved to the city post 2010, you probably don't realize what "old Seattle" was like.
- mulmen 9y ago
  There's an art gallery across the street from me. Many coffee shops and restaurants have locally created art for sale. There are all kinds of quirky performances on the street and in local businesses. I can't even begin to find time to attend all the live music shows I would like. Who are these other "culturally important folk" and why are they so important? Not denying they exist, I just don't know who you are talking about. I still see a lot of opportunity for middle (or possibly upper-middle) class families to live in Seattle although it is not easy. It seems a lot easier than SFO and entirely within reach to me. Something should be done to make sure this stays within reach but we have to be realistic about how that looks. A single family home on a 1/4 acre isn't gonna fly. You're probably going to be sharing at least one wall with someone. You are echoing the concern I hear often and I have no doubt that you feel what you are describing but I'm just not convinced that it reflects reality. I lived in Seattle for the summer of 2009 and while I didn't explore a lot of it back then I don't think it has changed much culturally. I hear the "it's an old Seattle thing you wouldn't understand" cliche a lot too. I'm just surprised nobody can articulate what was different then.
  - kenning 9y ago
    I've never even been to seattle but i can at least tell you that grunge started there. Can you imagine a new genre of music starting in seattle now? Also, > There's an art gallery across the street from me. Many coffee shops and restaurants have locally created art for sale. There's a ton of those in SF, too. Gentrifiers enjoy the old culture and all its signifiers; that's why they moved there in the first place. (IDK what you mean by street performers but there sure aren't those in SF.)

BurningFrog 9y ago

I understand that Seattle is still allowing housing construction though?

mulmen 9y ago
I believe rent here was stable in January 2018, the first time since 2008. Supply seems to slowly be catching demand. There's still some serious concerns about space to build higher density but the city has not totally locked down new construction or density increases. My neighborhood is largely single-family and there are a number of places that have been demolished recently in favor of town homes and small apartment complexes.
- taurath 9y ago
  Yet the median house price increased by $50k last MONTH. They have a lot of new apartments on the market from the midrise and highrise construction, but almost nothing to own.
- lukeschlather 9y ago
  Rents are always stable for a little bit in the winter. To get an accurate picture you have to compare year-over-year, otherwise you're just looking at noise. https://www.apartmentlist.com/wa/seattle https://www.apartmentlist.com/wa/seattle
seltzered_ 9y ago
To some degree yes but there's still neighborhoods that will reject proposals. There's all sorts of debate on this (just yesterday saw windshield flyers against upzones) - to summarize in a fun way see https://twitter.com/YIMBYwiki/status/951255440481857536 https://twitter.com/YIMBYwiki/status/951255440481857536
- seanmcdirmid 9y ago
  I have family in West Seattle and can sympathize with the increased traffic that increased density has brought. Compared to 10 years ago, it is much more built up but no road infrastructure was upgraded so it has turned into quite a mess.