I've lived in Seattle since 2014, with a short break living in Tacoma. For most of that time, I've wandered downtown. I like the high-crowd energy. 3rd and Pik

I've lived in Seattle since 2014, with a short break living in Tacoma. For most of that time, I've wandered downtown. I like the high-crowd energy. 3rd and Pike/Pine has been a bad location for this entire time. I am given to understand that it's been bad since, idk, the 80s? When Covid hit, the visible homelessness situation exploded. I can't speak to all the factors as to why, but it was unbelievable. Normally 3rd and Pike/Pine were mitigated by the normals wandering through. That all vanished. It was rough. In the last few months, it seems that there's been a shooting in Seattle daily. Many do not seem to be directly connected with traditional gang-gang violence over drugs/turf wars, or the long-standing tradition of arguing with armed drunks after the bar closes. I can't speak in nuance to homelessness relationships to violence, but I can clearly note that there seems to be a relation. > Last month The Wall Street Journal editorial board declared that “lawlessness now hampers Seattle’s economic recovery.” I would not rent or buy any office space in Downtown Seattle until the City addresses the violence; addressing that at a deep enough level, the homelessness situation - nonprofit services, camps, etc. that are all downtown will need to be relocated. That is almost certainly politically untenable here. What the WSJ might be missing is that there's very little reason for knowledge workers to show up to an office daily to stare at their computer. So cities like Seattle, which have spent 20 years investing into knowledge work companies, are going to take that hit to the face, hard. I'm personally talking with my wife about finding a city with more sun and cheaper houses...