Where in Seattle should we put our aunt?
December 25, 2018 8:33 AM Subscribe
I have to get my aunt a ticket to Seattle for a few weeks for a family business thing,
but she'll only do it if I can get her a place that will suit her. I was thinking of Capitol Hill because it seems to be in the center and full of good public transport (she cannot drive), but she was told it was a college town and doesn't want to be "surrounded by a bunch of kids". (She's mid 40's). But as a single person going there she'd also doesn't want to be only surrounded by families and be "an anomaly". She's probably just being difficult, but if there is a place that has easy access to transport, seattle sights, (lyft would be fine too) and wouldn't make my aunt feel like she's too old for the crowd there we'd like to set her up to stay there for 3 weeks. We just need her to have easy access to Downtown Seattle. Please let me know the names of these neighborhoods if any as I'm not very familiar with Seattle.
but she'll only do it if I can get her a place that will suit her. I was thinking of Capitol Hill because it seems to be in the center and full of good public transport (she cannot drive), but she was told it was a college town and doesn't want to be "surrounded by a bunch of kids". (She's mid 40's). But as a single person going there she'd also doesn't want to be only surrounded by families and be "an anomaly". She's probably just being difficult, but if there is a place that has easy access to transport, seattle sights, (lyft would be fine too) and wouldn't make my aunt feel like she's too old for the crowd there we'd like to set her up to stay there for 3 weeks. We just need her to have easy access to Downtown Seattle. Please let me know the names of these neighborhoods if any as I'm not very familiar with Seattle.
Queen Anne is a family-oriented area immediately north of the downtown. As far as transport goes, we have Lyft, Uber, Lime bikes & cars, Car2To, ReachNow, and more. I'm not sure about a synagogue or temple.
posted by jeffbarr at 9:13 AM on December 25, 2018
posted by jeffbarr at 9:13 AM on December 25, 2018
Capitol Hill is not a college area, put her there somewhere near the Temple of Hirsch Sinai, ideally east of it along Madison St or Union. (I live near there and there are 0 college kids in my 22 unit complex, it's an expensive area).
posted by the agents of KAOS at 9:32 AM on December 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by the agents of KAOS at 9:32 AM on December 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
Capitol Hill isn't college people, but it is far more oriented to younger working people with cool bars and food. As a late 30s person, I feel pretty uncool there - I go every few months.
Ballard might be good for her. It is a smidge family oriented but not overwhelmingly so. There are a ton of more adult oriented bars and cafes. There should be a lot of airbnb options too. Public transit is fairly good too. I do not know about the synagogue situation though.
If you narrow down and it is in North Seattle, feel free to memail me and I can give you a general sense of the sketchiness of where you're looking. You're pretty safe generally but sometimes one can stumble into less pleasant areas.
posted by k8t at 12:11 PM on December 25, 2018
Ballard might be good for her. It is a smidge family oriented but not overwhelmingly so. There are a ton of more adult oriented bars and cafes. There should be a lot of airbnb options too. Public transit is fairly good too. I do not know about the synagogue situation though.
If you narrow down and it is in North Seattle, feel free to memail me and I can give you a general sense of the sketchiness of where you're looking. You're pretty safe generally but sometimes one can stumble into less pleasant areas.
posted by k8t at 12:11 PM on December 25, 2018
There is Chabad Queen Anne, so as long as you've got your aunt on top of the hill (check a topo map before you put her anywhere unless she's a hiker) and she's down with that type / level of engagement (their menorah lighting featured a kid on stilts in a dreidel costume juggling and I am told that that is very Ashkenazi-normative), that's an easy walk. QA has reliable transit downtown.
Capitol Hill is not a college town and it skews towards childless adults due to the paucity of 2br+ apartments / dwelling units. Somewhere east of Temple De Hirsch Sinai is probably ideal, as you're close to the 2 / 13, 10, 11, 12, all of which go downtown, and you're away from the main party / $$-$$$ restaurant zones, but also close to a Trader Joe's and Safeway. If she's LGBT, there's Congregation Tikvah Chadashah nearby.
If you really want easy transit, I recommend Capitol Steps Apartments at 1633 Bellevue Ave; they have furnished executive suites and reasonable management, as well as a rare corner convenience store across the street. The 10, 11, 47, and 49 all go downtown from near there.
posted by batter_my_heart at 12:17 PM on December 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
Capitol Hill is not a college town and it skews towards childless adults due to the paucity of 2br+ apartments / dwelling units. Somewhere east of Temple De Hirsch Sinai is probably ideal, as you're close to the 2 / 13, 10, 11, 12, all of which go downtown, and you're away from the main party / $$-$$$ restaurant zones, but also close to a Trader Joe's and Safeway. If she's LGBT, there's Congregation Tikvah Chadashah nearby.
If you really want easy transit, I recommend Capitol Steps Apartments at 1633 Bellevue Ave; they have furnished executive suites and reasonable management, as well as a rare corner convenience store across the street. The 10, 11, 47, and 49 all go downtown from near there.
posted by batter_my_heart at 12:17 PM on December 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
Check out 15th Ave E as a particular piece of Capitol Hill. It's *way* less bars-and-twentysomethings than Broadway-Pike-Pine and the high-street stretch is still quite close to the synagogues batter_my_heart mentions. There are a bunch of well-regarded bed-and-breakfasts in the gorgeous big old mansions around there. Slightly less convenient transit than the node at Bellevue, but I walk around it after dark all the time. The high street section of 15th has Ada's and some excellent small restaurants and coffeehouses that are happy to have someone sit and read for a while and a grocery, etc. It's near an Olmstead park which is, okay, very damp at this time of year, but still somewhere to walk, or go into the conservatory around midday.
posted by clew at 1:32 PM on December 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by clew at 1:32 PM on December 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
I live right off of 15th Ave E, and can vouch that it's a much quieter, yet still happening, part of Capitol Hill. It's known as 'Upper Capitol Hill'. There's even a couple of grocery stores in the area, if she needs foodstuffs, including an organic co-op (Madison Market), and a Trader Joe's. There's also a couple of regular grocery stores in the area, such as a Safeway and a QFC. You'd also be within walking distance to both Volunteer Park and it's sights, and also to Temple de Hirsch Synagogue, which was mentioned before. There's also two legal pot shops on 15th and Republican, in case she wishes to experience that side of Washington State.
The #10 bus runs right down 15th Ave E to Downtown. It also stops by the Light Rail Capitol Hill stop, so that she can transfer to that as well.
If she's going to be here for 3 weeks and taking the public transportation, you'll want to get her an ORCA Card - the various transit agencies don't really talk to each other, and the only way you can transfer from one to the other is to use an ORCA card for the fares. However, it is good for buses, the Light Rail, the streetcars, and also the ferries. (However, it does not work on the Monorail.) If she won't be here an entire month it might not be worth it to put on a monthly pass, but either you or she could load money into the E-Purse to pay for fares and such.
posted by spinifex23 at 12:11 AM on December 26, 2018
The #10 bus runs right down 15th Ave E to Downtown. It also stops by the Light Rail Capitol Hill stop, so that she can transfer to that as well.
If she's going to be here for 3 weeks and taking the public transportation, you'll want to get her an ORCA Card - the various transit agencies don't really talk to each other, and the only way you can transfer from one to the other is to use an ORCA card for the fares. However, it is good for buses, the Light Rail, the streetcars, and also the ferries. (However, it does not work on the Monorail.) If she won't be here an entire month it might not be worth it to put on a monthly pass, but either you or she could load money into the E-Purse to pay for fares and such.
posted by spinifex23 at 12:11 AM on December 26, 2018
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posted by fantasticness at 8:42 AM on December 25, 2018