Moving to Seattle
 

So I'm taking a bit of a plunge and moving from Colorado Springs to Seattle, WA (Seattle "wahhh") in about ..two weeks. I'm going to be keeping my job with the people I work with here but from the office in Bellevue. I'm hoping to phase it more and more to working from home.

So - any suggestions on nice places to live somewhat near Bellevue, or at least within a decent bus ride of Bellevue? I'm looking to spend $1400 or less a month, renting (ideally) a 3BR place for 2. Being super close to Bellevue isn't as critical as being in a place I can walk/bicycle to a lot of places, because I'm used to really sprawling cities and I want to be able to get the "hey, lets walk to x or y or z" sort of place, which I hear Seattle is, because it's so densely packed.

Is driving across the bridges (Lake Washington) really as bad as they say for traffic? Any other tips for me? Also, are there many local TFPers there?:thumbsup:

Yes, driving across the bridges can be pretty killer, but it totally depends on the time of day. Seattle's done (and is doing) a lot of work on improving the flow of traffic throughout the city, but there's no doubt that the 520 is overloaded. The I-90 bridge is not as bad. I have a friend who commutes from Wallingford to Issaquah and braves the I-90 bridge every day.

Renting in Seattle can be seriously expensive, so you might have to downgrade your expectations, and I hope you're okay with a condo/townhouse. :)

And abaya and ktsptsp are up in Seattle. My SO and I have also been known to get up there every few months, especially since one of my SO's best friends moved up there last year.

Bellevue is inherently "nice"

it's pretty much Seattle's rich bitch backyard, enjoy.

The 405 and that bridge and all the ramps where they meet turn in to a absolute mess at rush hour, (6-9am - 3-8pm to be safe) We're talking obese swampassed levels of mess.

Yeah, all the ramps in the Seattle area are metered, by and large, but there are HOV (2+ passengers in a car) exceptions. If you are going to commute, ride the bus or try and look at carpooling.

'metered' ?

There's a stoplight on the ramp to regulate the flow of traffic onto the freeway.

oh oh, those are fun :)

Is $1400 for renting a 3BR house/townhouse really that unreasonable?

---------- Post added at 12:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:12 PM ----------

Also - how is Renton? Looks like it says 17 mins, 30 mins with traffic to Bellevue, and looks like you could also make a short jump into Seattle without taking either bridge..

Renton is more suburban, so don't expect to be able to walk a lot of places. I also don't think it has the flavor that Seattle has as a city--Seattle is a city of neighborhoods. Personally, I'd look for a place in North Seattle (Wallingford, Ballard, Roosevelt, Green Lake) and brave the commute, but that is because I love those neighborhoods. They all have a really cool feel and lots of stuff within walking distance.

If you're in Renton, it's about a 15-20 minute drive to downtown (depending on traffic and if you're able to use the HOV lane).

One thing to consider: can you rent a less-than-ideal place for a while without a lease and get a sense of where you would really like to live in Seattle before committing to a place? There are a lot of choices, depending on what you're looking for.

Look out for freeway exits on the WRONG SIDE of the freeway. They put them on the far right and the far left.

You picked a good time and a bad time to move. The housing market is in the toilet, so you shouldn't have a hard time finding a nice place in your price range. I found a couple dozen with a quick google search. I don't know how you are set financially or credit wise, but if you have the means, banks are auctioning homes throughout that area. They are getting under 100K for homes valued at $300-$400K. That would give you a mortgage around $700/mo and keep you in the black with your property value. So, should things not work out for you here, it would not be difficult to get your money back out of the place in a sale.

Unfortunately, the next 5-10 years will be traffic hell in the Seattle area with all of the over due road projects they have planned.

If you are commuting by public trans, that won't affect you as much. If you will be driving, I would stay on the Bellevue side side of the water. It will make life much easier.

If I were using public transpo, had the means to buy and liked the city. I'd look for high rise condos and penthouses in and around downtown Seattle. There are some smokin' deals to be had. Don't hesitate to ask about renting something you like that is for sale either. Most people who are trying to sell in this market are hurting and while they may not want to rent, most will.

Good luck and Welcome to the Great Northwet. Yes, WET.

Hey, I'm also moving to Seattle! (Although not for 6-18 months depending on how well our offices in LA and Miami open.)

I would recommend buying a condo or something if you can, you can buy a great condo or townhome for a lot less per month than renting. If not you can get a larger place further from the city. Even studios can be rented for 900-1200 a month in the city.

I saw some nice, cheaper places in Kirkland but if you look around I'm sure you can find something in Bellevue.

Good luck, and let me know what you think!

Welcome to Seattle, Jinn :) (and possible Cadre!)

So yes, abaya and I live in Seattle. I live in the NE Seattle, but I work on the Eastside (Redmond) and commute there by bus everyday.

Seattle traffic is defined by the geography - you're talking about a hilly city that narrows at the center, and large employment/residency centers across a wide lake. So the bridges are chokepoints and get very busy - especially the 520 bridge, which I take everyday. To be precise, it's the sections right before/after the bridge that are very busy, especially the interchanges with I-5 and I-405. Also note that the HOV lanes on some sections of 520 are 3+ passengers.

However, the bus system is pretty good (and there's even a light rail, but it won't get to Bellevue for another 10 years at least). Check out the websites of King County Metro and Sound Transit for routes.

The bus ride takes me anywhere from 20 minutes on a really light day to 1 hour on a really bad day. But I really prefer living in Seattle as it's more urban than the Eastside. If you pick a good spot for a bus commute, living in Seattle and working in Bellevue is certainly doable.
The Eastside is largely suburban-residential. But Bellevue has been adding lots of condos (in tall buildings) to its malls, and its downtown is getting bigger. It feels very new, and perhaps slightly artificial to me.. But some people certainly like it. Redmond has some density towards its town center, but it's a bit out of the way. Kirkland is another Eastside city that has some density around its downtown. Still, overall... That whole area is quite residential. Parts of it are quite expensive too.

Seattle is a city of neighborhoods, as snowy mentioned :), so different areas have different flavors.. Have you visited yet? Capitol hill is fun, so are Wallingford, Green Lake, Fremont, Roosevelt... Ballard is great too, but it's a bit far from the Eastside. Belltown is also a bit far, but has lots of bars and nightclubs if you like that. The 550 bus from Sound Transit is a good way to get from the SE edge of cap hill to Bellevue, for instance.

When it comes to buying a place... I would certainly advise renting first, and then figuring out what areas you like the most, if you want to buy.

1400 for a 3BR would work for some places, but not others.. Craigslist is your friend.

Feel free to ask any questions!

Glad to see a response from you, the true expert!

Most of my research of Seattle is based on the fact that my SO may or may not attend a Ph.D program at the University of Washington sometime in the near future (2 years), so ktspktsp, your replies count for a lot, given where you live!

I would avoid Renton, aside from the highlands, it's very very "ghetto" in terms of quality, the roads planning looks like someone fed spaghetti and exlax to their dog, had it crap on drafting paper and said "hah, there's your roadplan!"
seriously wtf is this?

I dunno I lived there for 3 months or so, hated every day of it. Would much rather live on the north end of the commute in to Seattle instead of coming from the south, the only exception being Federal Way, They've got a bus that runs right out of FW in to Seattle and back anyway. The less ramps to where you have to get, the better.

I have a question for those of you who know Seattle. Is there a financial district and if so where is it?

I noticed there are quite a few finance offices (ie- Blackrock, Merrill Lynch) in the south part of downtown but I haven't actually been there yet.

Thanks Snowy! We are indeed very close to the UW, so if you have any questions, just ask me.
Cadre, the financial institutions are mostly downtown, generally were the big towers are. The downtown core is not that big, overall.

After a 1500 mile drive on Friday, we've spent Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday looking at more places than I can count in North Seattle (Ballard, really nice apts in Magnolia, Wallingford), lots of West Seattle (Delridge), and some in downtown Seattle. It really seems to vary - 800 sqft houses in walking distance to Alki Beach are $1500, 3 BR 1400 sqft apts in Magnolia are $1500.. ultimately we found three or four different townhomes in Delridge (right off Delridge in West Seattle).

We've got our fingers crossed on the latest one. I think we'll get it but it's still nerve-wracking since we're flying back to CO to pack the rest of our shit tomorrow.