Families: What would keep you in downtown Seattle?

Last night, I participated in my first “focus group,” hosted by the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA). It brought together parents and soon-to-be parents who live in downtown to explore what works and what doesn’t work when living downtown with kids (of all ages). Although we don’t have kids yet, we are going to this July (!) and plan on staying in Pioneer Square for as long as it makes sense.

My group was made up of four individuals with kids (ages 6, 3, 3 and 2), two individuals who are expecting, and one individual who is studying families in downtown areas as part of her profession. The group was also diverse in terms of those who would send their kids to private school vs. public school and those who have nannies vs. those who use daycare.

We started out discussing why we love downtown. Everyone in the group agreed – we love:

• being in the center of everything
• easy access to the theater and museums
• good transportation options
• walkable neighborhoods
• feeling connected to people in your building and owners of shops you frequent
• the diversity of the people that surround you
• not having to drive/commute
• the many daycare options downtown (but long waiting lists!)
• amazing programs for kids (children’s museum, SAM, sound bridge, aquarium, etc.)
• feeling like your kids are more cultured/sophisticated (know their way around downtown)

And then we hit the topic of challenges to living downtown as a parent:

• Hard Impossible to get strollers onto buses (but easy on light rail!)
• No “safe” open spaces/parks/playgrounds to connect with other downtown parents
• While there are some parks (SLU, Denny, proposed Westlake park), they don’t keep kids entertained for very long due to lack of a good playground structure
• People wanted playgrounds not just parks – and playgrounds for kids of different ages
• Lack of public schools (or knowledge surrounding public schools if you live downtown)
• Variety of housing types that allow for more space (i.e. cities like Vancouver offer townhouses at the base of big apt/condo buildings)
• Lack of programs downtown specifically targeted to downtown families (i.e. YMCA doesn’t even offer kids swimming lessons!)
• Difficulty connecting with other parents and families who live downtown

Surprisingly, public safety was only briefly mentioned, but no one in our group seemed to have a problem with it. I guess when you live downtown, you’re not one that struggles with the perception vs. reality problem because we just understand the reality.

As we went longer into the meeting, three of the four people who already had kids (PSq, West Edge, and Retail Core) admitted that they were either planning on moving in the next two years or were currently trying to leave. The two major reasons were lack of good school options downtown, and lack of a community playground that connected parents with other downtown parents.

The most interesting part of this meeting, however, was at the very end, when we went around the table and each person stated the one major thing that would have to happen that would keep them downtown with kids. I thought that based on how long the conversation was focused on schools that it would rank highest, but people actually voted for the community playground. They felt that if there was a sense of community downtown and a connection with other parents, that they would make public/private schools work when their kids hit age 5. Although I don’t have kids yet and may change my mind once I do, I voted for the school as the one thing that needed to happen, and two others voted for “school with a playground attached” as a (cheating) compromise.

So for those of you in the square with families – do you agree? What would keep you downtown? Or cause you to leave?