bainbridge island vs. issaquah? (Seattle, Bellevue: apartment, rent, condo)

[toomuchsun]

We are a family with two children age 4 and 6 considering a move to Seattle area...

Based solely on online research, the two areas we are considering are Issaquah and Bainbridge island.

Issaquah... for it's proximity to trails/mountains and new homes.

Bainbridge Island... for it's better value in terms of what you get for your home buying dollars and the small town charm we think it may have

I work for myself online, mainly from coffee shops and I would love to try out a coworking setup in down town seattle.


Bainbridge vs. Issaquah...

commute to coworking office down town seattle?

mountain biking/trail running?

activities for younger kids?

Thanks for any thoughts you guys may have!

[seattlenextyear]

Do you want to commute by ferry or bus? Bainbridge means taking a ferry, which runs less often and is more likely to have delays/cancellations. You can get to downtown by bus from Issaquah in 30-45 minutes (depending on time of day etc.)

Bainbridge will put you closer to Olympic NP, which is awesome, but will still require quite a bit of driving. Issaquah has trails right in city limits: Cougar Mountain, Squawk and Tiger Mountains.

I think Issaquah might win for activities. With Bainbridge, you'll be a little more isolated. In Issaquah, there are a lot of family friendly activities in town, as well as in neighboring towns: e.g. kids museums in Bellevue, and a ton of stuff in Sammamish and Redmond.

Bainbridge is def. a cuter town with great little shops and restaurants. I wish Issaquah's downtown was more like it (in my opinion, although others might disagree, Issaquah's restaurant scene is dismal).

You'll have to check out both

[Hemlock140]

Unless you want to be in a small apartment or condo, the homes on Bainbridge are not near the quaint downtown. I work in Seattle and several co-workers commute by that ferry, if you walk on it's 35-40 minutes plus a mile walk at the Seattle end, and they have to pay to park or add 20 minutes to take a bus to the ferry from a park & ride on Bainbridge. There are buses from the Issaquah transit center that get downtown in 20 minutes. Issaquah also has anything you could need, theaters, restaurants, Costco, home Depot and Lowe's, hospitals and urgent care. Bainbridge is isolated, and requires either the ferry to Seattle or a 45 minute drive to Silverdale/Bremerton for any more than the few downtown shops.

[new_to_seattle]

the thing you need to weigh here is the traffic.
it is incredibly bad and getting worse not better due to the city/state not addressing the problem.
you will see that when you get here and you are going to want to make your driving time as short as possible.

the commute to banbridge island would be killer imo.
dont you have to take the ferry every day, and from what i have been told that can be an hour wait to get on the ferry.
i wouldn't do it. much better home prices though.

[knucklehead_vol]

What about the schools? I am considering Bainbridge myself, but are open to other areas.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by new_to_seattle

the thing you need to weigh here is the traffic.
it is incredibly bad and getting worse not better due to the city/state not addressing the problem.
you will see that when you get here and you are going to want to make your driving time as short as possible.

the commute to banbridge island would be killer imo.
dont you have to take the ferry every day, and from what i have been told that can be an hour wait to get on the ferry.
i wouldn't do it. much better home prices though.

No one should consider a car commute by ferry, the wait from Seattle is 2-3 boats (45-90 minutes) every weeknight going back to Bainbridge from 2pm on. Walking on is the only way to keep sanity, and you can get there 10 minutes to sailing time and get right on.

[toomuchsun]

thanks for all the replies guys... the wife would probably appreciate access to the big box stores that are not available on the island. I prefer the remoteness and more land with properties idea... but issaquah has great trail network right there as well.

Where I live currently, I have 1 mile to a huge network of trails right out my back door and would love to find a similar setup.

I really can work anywhere I have internet connection.
Just thought it would be fun to try a coworking setup downtown. but the commute each day may wipe out the benefits.

[cocaseco]

Originally Posted by seattlenextyear

Issaquah's restaurant scene is dismal

OMG you are kidding right?

[baba_yaga]

I would only consider Bainbridge if you can work from home frequently or you absolutely must have the view and can tolerate the commute issues noted above.

[toomuchsun]

with so many options in the area we'll prolly just rent for a while and get the lay of the land first... or buy an investment property that we can rent out once we have a better idea.

Originally Posted by baba_yaga

I would only consider Bainbridge if you can work from home frequently or you absolutely must have the view and can tolerate the commute issues noted above.