Next home location? (Seattle, Bellevue, Shoreline: renting, houses, safe neighborhood)

[kreebby]

So sometime in the next few years we're looking to move. I work from home, and my fiance works for Microsoft and has no plans to quit any time soon. We realize we're probably not going to own our dream house in our 20s but we have some idea of what we want.

Desires list:

• Minimum of 1300 sqft
• Two stories (hate ranches!)
• Yard big enough to run around in with a 2x big dogs.
• Safe neighborhood.
• 2 bathrooms (we have guests fairly often).
• An office room/basement.
• Charm/personality.
• Easy access to downtown Seattle.
• Under $400,000.

What neighborhoods fit this criteria? Suggestions on both sides of the bridge are good. We're a couple in our lower to mid twenties, no plans on kids yet, getting married this year, and we like exploring. We must be relatively close to the downtown area (within 15-20 miles) because we often host friends/family who want to visit. We live in Issaquah and love it but a lot of the homes here in our price range are run down.

Before anyone points this out yes I have read the other threads on this. Our situation is a little unique because we're not renting, we already own around here, and we're a lot younger than many of the people asking about single family homes.

[Inkpoe]

Have you checked out North Kirkland? The houses are older, but there are lots of MS employees living in the area and would provide great opportunities for hosting. Also look into Shoreline (though "charm" might not completely describe the whole area, but there are definitely nice parts), Lake Forest Park (very quiet).

[kreebby]

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

Have you checked out North Kirkland? The houses are older, but there are lots of MS employees living in the area and would provide great opportunities for hosting. Also look into Shoreline (though "charm" might not completely describe the whole area, but there are definitely nice parts), Lake Forest Park (very quiet).

Lake Forest Park is a perfect area it seems! Where are the nicer parts of shoreline? Also, what about Kenmore?

[tobester]

Look into Columbia City ... 20 minute bus ride downtown, lots of funky houses, great neighborhood

[kreebby]

We don't really use the bus.... we own 2 cars. There were some great places in south-eastern Bellevue (by West Lake Sammamish) but they're all one story and most of them are in need of a lot of updates and are too close to the top of our budget. Lake Forest Park hit the nail on the head but I'm wondering if there are even more suggestions.

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by kreebby

Lake Forest Park is a perfect area it seems! Where are the nicer parts of shoreline? Also, what about Kenmore?

I think the nicest part of Shoreline is Richmond Beach. Kenmore is a funny place. Less fancy, less pretentious, slightly more industrial, and seems to be more out of another decade. But I think St. Edward's State Park is within the Kenmore boundaries, and that's a real pretty area.
The negatives I hear about Lake Forest Park are things that some view as positives: There are very few newer homes. Lots of mid century moderns. Many houses are reached via winding roads. Huge trees.

[kreebby]

Originally Posted by Ira500

I think the nicest part of Shoreline is Richmond Beach. Kenmore is a funny place. Less fancy, less pretentious, slightly more industrial, and seems to be more out of another decade. But I think St. Edward's State Park is within the Kenmore boundaries, and that's a real pretty area.
The negatives I hear about Lake Forest Park are things that some view as positives: There are very few newer homes. Lots of mid century moderns. Many houses are reached via winding roads. Huge trees.

Not even joking, these are things on my list in my Word document for "Ideal Home":

• Natural neighborhood that doesn't feel like straight blocks.
• BIG TREES EVERYWHERE
• More mature (houses, foliage, etc).
• Quiet.

So the negatives are definitely positives for us. It's so weird house hunting because we're at that in between stage. We do want space though to accomodate life changes, people visiting, dogs, etc. I personally have always been creeped out by over developed neighborhoods with houses right on top of each other and straight right angel roads. It makes finding a place close to everything hard.

I'm willing to compromise though, because I'd rather be close to everything than live in the boonies like I did growing up. That was a nightmare (nearest grocery store was 8+ miles away).

[kreebby]

I still could use other suggestions if people have them.

[Inkpoe]

Definitely Richmond Beach is the nice part, also the Sherwood area is nice. Reading your "ideal list"... it definitely reminds me of Woodway (just north of Shoreline, south of Edmonds)... Lot of these houses have long driveways and the houses are hidden from street-view (lots of trees). However, there aren't as many options in your budget. Maybe check north of Edmonds like Talbot Park, Perrinville.

Another to check out is Normandy Park and the Burien neighborhoods of Gregory Heights, Seahurst, 3 Tree point.

[Kayela]

I personally rather liked the Crossroads area of Bellevue. Very close to MS, big yards, about as affordable as Bellvue gets and convenient to both DT Bellevue, Redmond and Kirkland. Not too bad of a trek to Seattle either. The area I lived in was just SE of MS and North of the Crossroads Mall (around NE 24th and 164th Ave NE). The commute to MS was all of 5 minutes and the neighborhood was a really neat mix of all different cultures. It's a really diverse area - one of the most diverse on the eastside and I do miss that where I live now. Our house was right in your price range, met every item on your bullet list, and the lot was nearly 1/4 of an acre. Considering that we sold it 3 years ago - I'd suspect you should be able to find a decent selection right around your target price range.

Happy House hunting!