Life in Snoqualmie and North Bend (Seattle, Bellevue: apartment, how much, live)

[jakesaw91]

My fiance and I just moved to Bellevue in September of last year (me from Port Orchard, her from the San Juan Islands), and neither one of us is too thrilled with how busy it is. We've been looking at moving to the foothills, at first I was looking at the Monroe/Gold Bar area, but it was too far from Seattle for her to really consider it, but we both like the Snoqualmie/North Bend area. We did visit there earlier this week just to get a feel for that area and we both thought it would be nice to move there. And then tonight I found a great deal on an apartment in downtown North Bend, so that's making us want to move there more!

A few questions:

1. Right now neither one of us drives a car, though we're saving up to get one in the not-too-distant future. Is North Bend pretty much self-serving, or would we need to take the bus to Issaquah a few times a week for household items?

2. About how much snow does North Bend get during the winter, as compared to Seattle?

3. We're both reasonably active people, and we're wondering how well the Snoqualmie Valley Trail is equipped for cycling from Snoqualmie to Rattlesnake Lake?

[Verio]

Originally Posted by jakesaw91

My fiance and I just moved to Bellevue in September of last year (me from Port Orchard, her from the San Juan Islands), and neither one of us is too thrilled with how busy it is. We've been looking at moving to the foothills, at first I was looking at the Monroe/Gold Bar area, but it was too far from Seattle for her to really consider it, but we both like the Snoqualmie/North Bend area. We did visit there earlier this week just to get a feel for that area and we both thought it would be nice to move there. And then tonight I found a great deal on an apartment in downtown North Bend, so that's making us want to move there more!

A few questions:

1. Right now neither one of us drives a car, though we're saving up to get one in the not-too-distant future. Is North Bend pretty much self-serving, or would we need to take the bus to Issaquah a few times a week for household items?

2. About how much snow does North Bend get during the winter, as compared to Seattle?

3. We're both reasonably active people, and we're wondering how well the Snoqualmie Valley Trail is equipped for cycling from Snoqualmie to Rattlesnake Lake?

1. For common household items, the Safeway in North Bend is great. You'll need to go to Issaquah if you need larger amounts of papergoods, etc. as the Safeway is the only real bigger store. The outlets are nice as well, which are right across the street from Safeway.

2. I'd say the snow is just a tad bit more up here, but it all depends on where the convergence zone is. I live right on the ridge in Snoqualmie, and if you drive 1/4 mile down the highway in either direction the snow amounts vary quite rapidly. One time we had about 1/2" of snow in our yard, but at the top of the ridge they had nothing. To give you an example, I drive a RWD Camaro as a daily driver. I had no issues this season with getting to work, due to th snow, except for the one storm where we lost power from Wed-Sunday.

3. Yes, the trails are quite fantastic.