Here's my "moving to seattle" story. Looking for a place to live. (Vancouver: apartments, home)

[casualsuede]

I had some great luck from the locals from where I am now, and so I am hoping Seattle folk can provide me with some direction on a new job that is bringing me to this area.

I am a 38 years old, single male and moving here for a job from good ol' Kansas City. Before you can call me a hick, I lived in San Diego and New York and am originally from Toronto so I am used to urban and suburban life in a big city.

I am working in Bellevue (Factoria) and am looking for an area that is close to decent amount of nightlife (bars, restaurants) but not necessarily in that district, as well as a racially diverse, professional demographic between the ages of 25~40. I have a car, but I don't really want my commute to be more than 20~25 mins. If living in Seattle is a reverse commute, then I think I will be lucky.

I am looking for a 1 bedroom apt in the 1000~1100 range and being in a safe area is key.

I have been told that Belltown and Capitol hill are nice areas but I am hoping I get some good feedback here!

[AlohaHuey]

Nothing wrong with Kansas City. Great BBQ, fountains everywhere, nice people. I hope you enjoy Seattle. If you haven't been to Vancouver BC, be sure to visit that city for a weekend.

Your commute will still be fairly heavy, but if you can jump directly on I-90 (from Capitol Hill) you can come in around your prescribed commute time.

Belltown is right downtown, so it will take at least 15 more minutes to get to I-90. That district can be fairly loud at night and has many bars and clubs.

I lived in Fremont and really enjoyed it...it's walking distance to nightlife and close to many districts. Queen Anne is a good location, and there are many apartments in different price ranges, and is very close to Belltown.

Parking in the city is always an issue, so you will want a place with a parking spot.

West Seattle has more reasonable apartments, its own nightlife district, but is 15 minutes from downtown Seattle. It's about the same commute time-wise from Queen Anne/Fremont and West Seattle.

Good luck!

[Ira500]

Let me suggest Columbia City. Fairly easy commute to Factoria. Cool, multi-ethnic neighborhood. Great farmers market. A great bakery and some good eateries, ranging from pizza to Mexican to sushi to Thai to Italian to BBQ. They've got live theatre in the neighborhood as well as movies.

[Inkpoe]

Reverse commute by living in Seattle? You're not really going to save that much time since there's almost no such thing. A lot of people live in Seattle and commute to the Eastside (Microsoft, for example).

I'd second the CC suggestion... I would also suggest Kirkland DT area. Love West Seattle, but the bridge traffic is notoriously unpredictable and when you got bad traffic... its bad.

[Djpuma]

I'd recommend Kirkland as well. I live there (North End, more like deep south Bothell) and I commute to the U district now and it only takes me about 30 minutes in light traffic (leaving at 645am)

Kirkland has a decent night life and it's not as packed as the belltown area.

[noexcuseforignorance]

Capitol Hill and Belltown are what you want. I'm sure you could bus it to downtown Bellevue. You can find what you're looking for in both places in your price range.

[Bill Loney]

Originally Posted by casualsuede

I If living in Seattle is a reverse commute, then I think I will be lucky.

No such thing any more. It's sort of like choosing between diarrhea and vomiting.

[Xanathos]

Personally I wouldn't recommend living in Seattle if you're working in Bellevue. The primary means for you to get to/from work every day (the 520 floating bridge) is going toll next Spring, and you'll pay 16 dollars a day for the "privilege" of getting to and from work or else you'll get to experience total gridlock driving south to 90, then more gridlock on 90 as you share the commute with every other person who realizes 16 dollars a day to cross a friggin' bridge is, literally, highway robbery, etc. If you work on the East side, live on the East side. Kirkland is a nice little area. You can find an apartment in Bellevue for 1100, but you'll have to dig. The Renton Highlands are literally 10 minutes from Factoria without even having to get on a freeway, but right in a spot where you have easy access to 90 going E/W and 405 going N/S.

[tobester]

I second IRA500 ... Columbia City . I live nearby and commute to Bellevue ... never a big problem. It is a reverse commute .. going East inthe morning, the only regular clog is the tunnel on the Seattle side. Coming West in the afternoon, Mercer Island is sometime slow, but no big deal. If you can shift your hours just a bit (I leave home at 530 and leave work at 300), you'll never see traffic.

[casualsuede]

Thanks for the feedback....One additional question.

I am seeing cheaper rents in Leschi and Madrona (east central Seattle) as well as Beacon Hill, and it seems close to the I90. What do people think about these areas?