Questions about moving to Redmond (Seattle, Bellevue: mover, neighborhoods, place to live)

[allforcats]

Pittgal, I'm so happy to hear you're loving your life here! The kind of rolling gentleness and happiness of what you write is, I think, proof of the lovely nature of this place, that this place can take good people into its arms and make them lovelier. Make sense? :-)

[allforcats]

You can hear the Eagles commenting to each other if you live near a body of water (where their LUNCH lives). This pic was taken in ordinary residential Seattle near Lake Washington which is home to lots of salmon and other fish which Eagles love. I've watched this couple for years; they and I even had a brief, lovely conversation once. And I know where their nest is, which is ginormous -- most people never notice it, but I can see it in the autumn and winter after the leaves fall, from my commuter bus from Bellevue to Seattle.

Have your children ever seen Cormorants? A large tribe of Cormorants lives on Lake Washington. Redmond has a resident pair of Kestrels, various resident Owls, and a pair of Peregrine Falcons who raise their children in Redmond and go south for the winter. YUM!!!

[allforcats]

Ha! forgot the pic! Here 'tis.

[allforcats]

Globe, would you be interested in knowing there's a shop in Redmond where you can get authentic pasties, and other Brit goodies?? They're a long-established concern, and are much loved by the many Brits who lost their way in the fog and settled in this area, and by non-Brits alike. It's where I always buy my pasties. Yum!
http://seattle.citysearch.com/review/10758552

Another link you might enjoy is a video produced by the City of Redmond. Very pretty, very real. In the "About Redmond" section, where it says "View the 8-minute video online", click on that link and turn your speakers on.


Mod edit: use direct link below.

http://rctv.redmond.gov/internet/Fin...fInRedmond.wmv

[fritra]

allforcats - who are you and how in the world can we meet people like you!! loved the way you spoke about the area, and your spiritual-sounding approach to life!!

my husband and 3 small children and i are moving into the area soon. we visited about 2 weeks ago and i must agree with you - all based on first impressions. the people were indeed friendly. the feeling of the area, the air, was deeply... good! immediately i knew i wanted to live here - the heart-singing feeling you mentioned earlier. i've researched that some of the schools are excellent. we love the outdoors and want our children to be close to the water, mountains, quietness, and the green. loved seattle, so look forward to living only minutes away. want to live in issaquah.

only problem is it isn't easy finding a home for rent across the distance, in our price range, and no company seems to be doing phone interviews before we get there. we want to secure a home before we arrive so that we can unload the kids and settle in rather than spend needed money on a hotel, crunch our time, and wear out our kids trying to look at homes for rent.

otherwise, it feels very, very right to move to seattle.

[allforcats]

Hi, frita. How lovely to see your happiness! Thank you for expressing it for others to share in! I'm just someone who knows I'm a spiritual being having a human experience and so I try to live multi-dimensionally. You sound like such a person, too, and your husband and children are so fortunate to have your sensitive perceptions as part of their life experience!

Sounds as though you've made a glorious choice. Issaquah used to be farms and nearly-virgin forests, and there's still a lot of that country feel even in the folks who've built half-million dollar houses there. There's a strength and sweetness in the land, the mountains and the trees of Issaquah that retain that powerful country feel.

Real estate and apartments in Issaquah can be a bit expensive, and I believe they're worth it. Issaquah is off the beaten path for crime, has really good schools and a strong community feeling and strong family support network, and has views to die for out most people's windows. Like other small towns along the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, it originated as lodging for miners and loggers, and a few square inches of old downtown has that sort of "rundown" look, but there's nothing about Issaquah en toto that is anywhere near rundown-ness. In fact, one of the poshest shopping malls in the area, Gilman Village, is the local version of Henri Bendel and I. Magnin. La de dah! :-)

You sound intelligent and I imagine you've researched Rent.com and so forth. Don't forget the P.I. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper) where the vast majority of the area rentals are advertised. Some of those Classified ads would be by individual property managers, or owners, and would have a phone number you can call. Others would be by larger prop mgrs or rental firms which should also have phone numbers for you.

As far as previewing a rental possibility, have you considered the mad notion of engaging (employing) a BUYER's real estate agent to do the looking for you? This is just a gut feeling but it might cost you some hundred or a thousand dollars, depending on how much time you ask the agent to spend. But that would be a professional who, in your case of renting and not buying, would have no axe to grind. You could request interior and exterior photos, interviews with neighbors, mileages to megamarts and schools, their own personal impressions and feelings, etc. You could Google for a buyer's real estate agent Issaquah WA.

Happy heart, frita! You're following your song and creating joy. YAY!!!!!! Look forward to hearing the results of your search.

[seahawksweetie]

allforcats-

thank you for your wonderful posts and pic Also, great insight into the renting situation. I know what you mean when you talk about the way Seattle wraps her arms around you. There is such a wonderful vibe up there. It is difficult to describe.

It's good to know that there are spiritual, in a nature-minded way, people there like you. Our family celebrates nature in the same sort of way.

I would love to hear more about how you had a conversation with the Eagles. We have an owl that lives in our tree in our front yard. Absolutely breathtaking to watch in flight.

Thanks again for all your insight.

[allforcats]

Here are two links that are probably your strongest resources:

Seattle Apartment Finders, which covers the entire area including all the east side (east of Lake Washington) including Issaquah:
http://www.seattleapartmentfinder.com/ They have an 800 phone number on their home page.

The Classifieds for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (P.I.), the newspaper that covers the entire area including the east side: NWsource: Classified listings for used furniture, antiques, computers, electronics, household items, pets, garage sales, estate sales, services, announcements and much more in Seattle, Bellevue, Everett, Tacoma and the Puget Sound.

Those two are probably your strongest resources to find apartment, condo or house rentals that include being able to phone and talk with people, also probably do email communication.

When you are following the song in your heart, the path opens before you almost without your effort, and the synchronicities keep falling into your lap

[xsteen]

Hey there! I was born in Seattle and lived in Redmond, now in Sammamish. It's beautiful here although it rains a bit and is grey often. Lots of places to do yoga, run trails, hike, sail, and it's easy to find other people with similar interests. You might want to check out meetup.com to meet people for fun, whatever your interests, or redtricycle at red-tri.com if you happen to have any kids. Good luck with the move if it happens!

[Globe Trotter]

allforcats, thanks so much for taking the time to write back with all this helpful and encouraging info. Will definately check out the 2 sites and get the movers' quotes as you suggested. I would freak out if all my worldly goods went AWOL. Good tip and thanks again! Everything sounds so wonderful and definately a place I would want to move to!