Which Neighborhood to stay in Seattle
 

Vacationing to Seattle in August w my husband and son (22). Want to stay in Airbnb. Which neighborhood should we stay in? Want local breakfast places close by and also don't want to spend too much time getting to downtown area. Will we need AC in august? probably not but is worth taking a chance? Thanks for any suggestions/thoughts!

Neighborhoods to look at -

Capitol Hill
Queen Anne Hill
Belltown
Wallingford
Fremont
Montlake
Ballard
Ravenna
University Village
Maple Leaf
Wedgwood
Fremont
Phinney Ridge/Greenwood
Admiral
Alki
Columbia City

Use Metro's trip planner - http://tripplanner.kingcounty.gov/ to look at bus and transit routes. You might want to consider renting a car in order to make visiting both the city and the surrounding region more convenient.

Air conditioning - I have one in my bedroom and have been using it more often than in years past. I need it maybe 10-15 nights/year.

I agree that those are good areas, but with a 22 yr old, I would aim for Capitol Hill, Fremont or Ballard. Our DD is 25 and lives in Ballard and most of her friends of that age are there or in Fremont, FWIW.

As for ac, yes there are not too many days a year that you need it, but it is really nice to have when you do get the hot days. We live across the water from Seattle and have a portable unit in our condo and have already used it a handful of times. Our DD has one as well as has already used it a few times. Since August typically is much warmer than now, if you can find a place with ac I would do that, or at least ask about fans and see how the layout is to see if there would be a cross breeze.

Capitol Hill or Queen Anne would be my pick. They are the two closest to downtown (one to the east, one to the north) with the best concentration of restaurants, shops, bars, etc.

I also really like the Ravenna/Roosevelt/Maple Leaf neighborhood, but it's more residential and geographically a bit further from downtown (north). If you have a car, it could work nicely though as it's right of I-5 (freeway).

I live here and don't have AC. Granted, a few nights each year I wish I did. But which month an annual Seattle 'heat wave' might hit is unpredictable.

Oh and I think mms' recommendation of Fremont and Ballard is fine too. Very fun neighborhoods! But again easier with a car than on public transportation as a visitor.

I haven't taken the bus around Fremont, but for Ballard, the D line is super easy to to get to the downtown core and the stadiums. Uber and Lyft are also really easy to use, and we use those a lot when we go out so that nobody has to drive if we have had anything to drink. Both of those have a lot of cars, so the wait time is basically nothing.

Also look for rentals in Downtown - lots of condos in the downtown core.

Capitol Hill. HTtY