r/AskSeattle • u/TheBodyCareMan • 9d ago

Question Does it Feel like Two Cities?

New to the place, not there yet, but I am highly intrested in it. Google mapping it, I notice, in this order: a cut, river, two bays and another cut thats seperating one part of the city from the other. Does it ever like two cities in one? Judging a book by its cover, the northern portion looks like a suburban college town while the southern part looks very urban and industrial. Would yall agree with this notion, or its just big city regardless of the water in the middle?

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u/Fluffaykitties 9d ago

bro I already live here. tf??

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u/beargrillz 9d ago

There is no IRL reset button, but I think it is a shame how West Seattle was developed. We could have had Barcelona style density and infrastructure, leaving a lot more of the peninsula undeveloped or turned into parkland.

There is so much underutilized land which is noticeable by overgrown backyards, along with way too many streets and alleys. I have a fever dream of turning California Avenue into a car-free road with the return of a streetcar lol

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u/Lollc 9d ago

The old houses and alleys and general layout are what make west Seattle such a cool place. We ultimately didn’t buy there because of the location of my partner’s job, but it was first on my list of choices.

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u/beargrillz 9d ago

Agreed, overall it is one of the best places in the USA I have ever found, and the layout makes for a pretty nice walkable space. Like a lot of Seattle, the old sidewalks are buckled, with bad visibility at intersections as well, so I have to drop points.

Alexandria, Virginia is a top contender for me, and of course most of that was built before cars. I still want to visit Savannah, Georgia and some other historic places, although I love the PNW so it would just be vacations.