Trying to find a place with good access to downtown (Seattle: affordable apartments, rental)

[wicked.sike]

Hey folks, so my situation is that I'm trying to find an apartment in the Ballard/Fremont/Wallingford area. I lived in Ballard and Queen Anne this past summer during an internship and loved both areas. QA was just too hilly and expensive though.

I've done quite a bit of research and from my understanding, Fremont and Wallingford have higher rental rates (if this or anything else in this post is wrong, please feel free to correct me).

Ballard seems to be a bit cheaper and still have great apartment complexes.

But the prices of these neighborhoods is just out of my rent ceiling I'd like to pay. I've started considering Green Lake but every time I look at the neighborhood, it's so distant from downtown. I know I won't be going downtown everyday (work will be probably in Bellevue) but still would like to have that ease of access. I would like to visit downtown on the weekends pretty often.

So my question is: should I keep on looking for apartments in Ballard, Fremont, and Wallingford and wait for a cheap listing? Or would it be best to take the cheap route in Greenlake?
What about West Seattle? I never even considered it because a colleague of mine from the summer had his car broken into. He mentioned crime can be bad in the area. Is this true, or is West Seattle a nice neighborhood like Ballard? And what is the commute time from West Seattle to Bellevue?

And lastly, is there any better way to find property managers other than searching in Google "Seattle property managers"? I've found some decent companies/managers but they don' have a big list of offerings.

[Brookdale46]

Ballard has glitzy new apartments (and more going up as we speak). But just north of Market Street, all the way up to 65th, there are dozens of older apartment buildings (some look OK, some less so) that have to have units below your "rent ceiling". I'd look into those. At least for now.

[Kayela]

Ballard to Bellevue is incredibly painful as a commute. Is there some reason you're not considering any eastside neighborhoods? I live in DT Seattle, and there are plenty of places on the eastside I can get to quicker than I can get to Ballard. And I work eastside and have friends in Ballard, so I have the opportunity to time both frequently. The wear and tear on your car + gas + tolls are going to add up quickly.

[Hemlock140]

Even on the bus from Ballard to Bellevue you are looking a long ride with transfers. Downtown Bellevue is more expensive than those areas of Seattle mentioned. You would have to live out around Crossroads are of Bellevue to find more affordable apartments. For that commute from Seattle, I'd be looking at Capital Hill, or better yet, within walking distance of the bus tunnel between Belltown and the International District. West Seattle is great, and not a lot of crime until you get to the south end, but that too will b a horrible commute, especially with the viaduct/tunnel construction, existing truck/train shipping, and a possible new arena in Sodo. If you wanted to go that direction and commute via I90 I would consider Columbia City.

[wicked.sike]

Sorry, I should've clarified that I'll have a car. But I do realize that even with one, the commute will be a huge burden. That's why I'd like to stay close to I-5.

I haven't considered eastside neighborhoods because they seem a bit more expensive. If Redmond (and other similar cities) is considered an eastside neighborhood, I'd rather not live there because there didn't seem much to do.

What would be the commute from West Seattle to Bellevue relatively compared from Fremont/Wallingford/Ballard?