How bad is the drug and homeless problem out there? I plan to move within the next few months and starting to consider dealing with a garbage commute so I don't need to live near all that. TC: 170 YOE: 4 #seattle
Its bad in pretty much all of the city. Suburbs like Ravenna, Ballard, Bellevue, West Seattle are better but still not totally clear of homeless. The biggest issue are not the random homeless people walking around, generally they’re harmless. The issue is the tents blocking sidewalks and smell of human urine and garbage everywhere.
Any comments on how to avoid? Are there certain streets to stay clear of in downtown?
It’s especially bad in Belltown and International District. If you don’t like being harassed by homeless you should avoid those areas. Cap hill also has lots but they’re drowned out by young people. SLU is the most gentrified area but still affected. I moved out to Bellevue and couldn’t be happier.
Not nearly as bad as SF
Don't be hateful! Homeless people are harmless. Some of them are pretty cool actually.
I'm not hateful I just don't want that as part of my daily life. I would rather they go get help and fix their lives than be out on the street. Obviously referring to the drug abusers, hence the title
Not all though. I’ve had 4 pretty nerve rattling encounters this past year. One was a girl being chased and harassed as she was sobbing. Another involved having to call police to restrain. Edit: To clarify he was brandishing a 9” knife and screaming/coming towards people
It's way, way better than San Francisco. Not only in terms of numbers, but also in terms of how zombie-like they are. I don't see heroin needles and piss all over the streets, either.
Drugs? Generally pretty bad in the greater Seattle area. A needle in the grass isn’t an uncommon thing no matter where you’re at. Homelessness? Not -terribly- bad, but generally a lot of homeless people are the crazy flavor that talk like they’re singers in death metal bands. Can be hostile and/or confrontational, generally won’t fight you. Though recently the violence has been swinging up in downtown Seattle A big problem with Seattle residents is that King County generally isn’t doing much to fix the problem. On the contrary: repeat offenders go through the revolving door of the ‘justice system’ here and the real aggressive ones are dropped right back in the public space
I was in Seattle for the summer, coming from SF, and the homeless/drug addicts there are a waaaaay different breed than here. I don’t think I ever feared for my safety in Seattle and I even had a few good conversations w some in Seattle. The homeless in SF are unintelligible when they do talk to you and you’re always on edge around them because most of it is mental illness so there’s no predictability.
Why do you news to avoid? They are just people, many are nice and have jobs, some have mental health issues, some struggle with drugs. Almost none will bother you.
Sweet, can we have them all stay in your neighborhood instead then? Thanks!
They stay in my neighborhood and I'm fine with them.
We had 3 shootings downtown last month, 7 people were shot and 1 died. Drug possession is now decriminalized so it’s pretty common to find strung out crazies leaving their needles and (literal) shit everywhere. But yea “none will bother you”. 🙄
I would guess pretty bad in city proper. Austin is getting bad Seattle must be noticably worse.