I'm coming up on 6 years in Seattle. Lived in SLU or Denny Triangle (parts some people consider "downtown") the entire time. I've learned to just largely ignore the incredibly negative comments because my experience and the experience of all the people I know who live here are vastly different. While the city still has its problems I would like for people to approach solving them from a realistic point of view.
I lived in Seattle proper for over two years (2012-2015) and it absolutely was awful, at least in many parts of the city. Anywhere near Pioneer Square, for example.
I wonder the same about Seattle. How many commenters are speaking from Redmond or Kirkland or Bellevue etc instead of the city?