Where to live/play??

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by AreWeThereYet??

Honestly I am open to suburbs or city living if I can find a place I like. The selection seems very thin right now. I cant really find anything I like anywhere . I have been primarily looking for places on Craig's List. Any other resources I should be looking at? The North Beach/Blue Ridge area looks nice, but I do not see 1 rental listing up there in our budget ($2800/month)

Given that it's a SFH neighborhood with a lot of long term owners, the rentals are thin - but they do exist, and you should be able to find something nice for $2800 or less if and when it comes available. More units start turning over this time of year, more so once school is out.

[new_to_seattle]

Originally Posted by AreWeThereYet??

Thanks Inkpoe. I will take Ballard/NB into consideration as well. I am looking for a regular gym that has lots of free-weights and other weight machines. Not really interested in cross-fit or other gyms that have all these frills. Something like a Gold's gym where you just go to lift weights. I think there is a Gold's gym between issaquah and Eastgate. So I might start to concentrate my search to that area. I really like Issaquah Highlands, but I know the commute would probably be at least 45 minutes from there

for what your looking for i think golds gym is probably the best pick.
dont listen to inky

[amaiunmei]

Originally Posted by AreWeThereYet??

Does anyone commute from Redmond to SLU? How is the Redmond P&R? Is it completely full by 8:30am?

This park and ride is usually filled completely before 8 am.

[amaiunmei]

Originally Posted by AreWeThereYet??

Honestly I am open to suburbs or city living if I can find a place I like. The selection seems very thin right now. I cant really find anything I like anywhere . I have been primarily looking for places on Craig's List. Any other resources I should be looking at? The North Beach/Blue Ridge area looks nice, but I do not see 1 rental listing up there in our budget ($2800/month)

There are a lot of long-time landlords in Seattle who do nothing more than put a "for rent" sign in the window. This strategy works for the landlords because they don't have to pay someone to use the internet or figure out how to use the internet themselves. This strategy works for those who live in the area as well, because they know the cheapest rentals are snapped up by walking around the neighborhood.

However, out-of-towners are often unaware of this segment of the market. Landlords advertising online tend to be chasing that Amazon/Google/Microsoft $$$, and the higher prices of those rentals largely reflect that.

If you can swing it, you might want to consider getting a hotel room for a week or two and driving around to get a feel of neighborhoods (and to look out for rentals). There is a whole other rental inventory that you simply cannot have access to without being in Seattle (or, knowing someone here).

[AreWeThereYet??]

Originally Posted by amaiunmei

There are a lot of long-time landlords in Seattle who do nothing more than put a "for rent" sign in the window. This strategy works for the landlords because they don't have to pay someone to use the internet or figure out how to use the internet themselves. This strategy works for those who live in the area as well, because they know the cheapest rentals are snapped up by walking around the neighborhood.

However, out-of-towners are often unaware of this segment of the market. Landlords advertising online tend to be chasing that Amazon/Google/Microsoft $$$, and the higher prices of those rentals largely reflect that.

If you can swing it, you might want to consider getting a hotel room for a week or two and driving around to get a feel of neighborhoods (and to look out for rentals). There is a whole other rental inventory that you simply cannot have access to without being in Seattle (or, knowing someone here).

Good advice! Thank you. I am trying to get out there in the next week or 2 for about 4 days. Guess I will have to hit the pavement hard to look at all the different neighborhoods.