Where do people find housing in south Seattle these days?

January 15, 2018 4:57 PM

This question might be primarily for people from the Seattle area. Where do you fine decent housing in south Seattle in today's world? Details within.

My spouse and I are splitting up. We live in south Seattle (south Beacon Hill) and a great plan I had to share housing with a friend fell apart today for non-personal reasons. I want to stay in this part of the city, but everything on Craigslist seems to be catering to Amazon employees who want to live close to work (sorry if that's you, I'm sure you're lovely but we have different housing needs).

How do people in south Seattle find decent places to rent in today's world? I have decent income, good credit and a three year old who goes to daycare in Columbia City, and I work downtown, so I'd like to stay south-ish. Sharing housing with strangers isn't fantastic with a kid, but I'm a little flexible on that. I have until
March. Where besides Craigslist should I be looking?

posted by centrifugal to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

I'm in North Seattle but here's how it seems to work:
- Padmapper alerts and respond immediately
- Put something on Nextdoor and your neighborhood list serv/Facebook groups - people sometimes don't list in other places
- Tell people you're looking so if they hear something they'll let you know

The market is so tough right now. Good luck!
posted by k8t at 5:01 PM on January 15, 2018 [2 favorites]

The SO who used to live in Seattle suggests Alkai Beach.
posted by Splunge at 5:06 PM on January 15, 2018

Alki Beach and most of the Northwest part of West Seattle are going to be super expensive. I’d suggest the eastern and southern parts of West Seattle, as well as White Center (working class but gentrifying fast) and Burien (ditto).
posted by matildaben at 6:16 PM on January 15, 2018 [1 favorite]

Not in Seattle, but I always used Craigslist and I just found a new place on Apartments.com that wasn't on Craigslist. My new landlord said he advertises on Zumper too, which partners with Facebook, so that might be an option.
posted by AppleTurnover at 6:27 PM on January 15, 2018

Are you looking to rent or buy? What is your budget? Two bedroom apartments in the newer Columbia City complexes (Angeline, Greenhouse) are modern, spacious, and can be had for about $2,500 a month. I live in Columbia City and work downtown, and being within walking distance of the Light Rail is great, especially if you're currently paying for parking at work.

You can probably find something cheaper from a private landlord. The pet-friendly 750 sq.ft. 2 bedroom condo next to mine rents for $2,200 a month and it has a fenced yard, but the building is not secure and there is no doorman. Similar spaces are often listed on local Columbia City Facebook groups. What exactly are you looking for?
posted by halogen at 7:33 PM on January 15, 2018

I occasionally see people link to Zillow listings when advertising their rentals -- you could check there, plus hotpads.com.

Also, just to be sure, are you using the map view on Craigslist? That should get rid of most of the Belltown / SLU studio apartment listings targeting tech workers.
posted by batter_my_heart at 8:00 PM on January 15, 2018

Windermere has a rentals business that uses MLS and such. You could try going through them.
posted by jeffamaphone at 11:43 AM on January 16, 2018

We're really happy living at the Angeline Apartments at Rainier and Alaska. We overlook the Columbia library and Columbia Park is our back yard. We'd enjoy having you over to our place to check it out.
posted by QuakerMel at 7:05 PM on January 16, 2018