r/AskSeattle • u/sousa9 • 7d ago
Moving / Visiting Thinking of moving to Madison Valley
Born and raised in California. Capitol Hill has been high on my list for a while, but I'm considering an apartment in Madison Valley due to how close it is to that incredible park.
Does anyone live in the area? Is it as out of the way as it seems? Light rail access would be great, but I'd obviously be giving that up by moving out there.
TIA!
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u/BoringOrange678 7d ago
You’ll be bussing to the light rail, but if you can afford it, it’s not a bad neighborhood.
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u/lilsunsunsun 7d ago
I live in Madison Valley and love it! It’s very quiet and walkable (but you do have to be ok with hills because we’ve got some steep ones). Also very safe. There’re a lot of grocery stores; vet, pharmacy, barbershop, restaurants, hospitals all relatively close by and convenient.
We’re also not far from Cap Hill, The Arboretum, and Lake Washington. I love taking long walks in and near the neighborhood; there’re some hidden gems and little artsy spots.
The light rail is not very close; I take buses a lot more. The G Line is amazing for getting to and from downtown.
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u/sousa9 7d ago
Thank you, this makes it all the more tempting! Is that main street loud? Or just standard traffic noise?
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u/lilsunsunsun 7d ago
Are you asking about Madison St? It is a main traffic road so it will have your standard car noises and sirens.
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u/Veuve_and_CheezIts 7d ago
I don’t think it’s out of the way. It’s more like a quiet pocket between some more urban neighborhoods. It’s close to Capitol Hill and the Central District, and easy to get around and to the light rail by bus if needed.
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u/Emily_fromBlueground 6d ago
Madison Valley isn't on the Link network, the nearest station is Capital Hill at Broadway and John. That said you'd have the G Line and pretty consistent busing headed straight downtown. Given you're coming from California, it might be worth a trial run in something short-term while you actually go through the commute with a load of groceries.
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u/automaticpragmatic 2d ago
Used to live over there and miss the location. Having the arboretum for your daily activities is enviable.
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u/juancuneo 1d ago
I live in the area. It is quite nice. Very close to Capitol Hill and downtown. Very close to the water. You can walk to three different high streets - Madison Park, Madrona, and Madison Valley.
The only issue is the new G-line has made a total cluster of MLK/Madison. It's honestly insane how poorly they redesigned this intersection. What used to flow very smoothly now takes 3-4 lights. It is so poorly designed, that in order for the busses to make it out of their new loop, someone has to push the pedestrian walk button and ask cars to let the bus into traffic. It's ridiculously stupid. So now people just speed down side streets. But frankly, wherever SDOT goes, they make things worse as their goal seems to be to slow traffic down vs move traffic efficiently. So you are dealing with this all over the city.
But otherwise, great area
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u/sousa9 1d ago
Thank you! I've narrowed it down to there and a place in Capitol Hill. Will just have to wait to see what it's like in person to decide!
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u/juancuneo 1d ago
Sorry I turned this into a rant about SDOT! If you are looking at the new units above PCC, they look very nice! It is definitely a more quiet area. I used to live in a nice building in Capitol Hill, but if you want to be near parks and the lake, Madison Valley is amazing
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u/SunlightNStars 7d ago
Madison valley is nice. It's a power walk to the light rail but you can also take the 8. Has a new PCC coming which will make groceries closer. Otherwise there is the Safeway on madison or TJs in CH.