Best place to live outside of Seattle for larger newish homes with more land? (Spokane: how much)

[earthlingsoft]

Hi! We live in Spokane right now and will be moving closer to Seattle to live near a city that has more going on and have shorter trips to Portland (and a larger airport).

What locations should I be looking for if we want larger newish homes (2,700 sq feet and up) that aren't so close together. Maybe 1/3 acre lot or more. We would like to stay 30 mins to 45 mins away from Seattle but willing to go a bit farther. Mostly interested in space, nice scenery and hiking, and it would be nice if there were decent grocery stores, shops, restaurants close by.

Our budget is about $500k (might be willing to up to $550k). I started looking for what we want and a lot of the homes we like that are closer to Seattle are way above our budget.

I plan on flying into Seattle to check out some neighborhoods but right now I'm not sure where to focus so any help would be appreciated.

Also, I own my own company and work from my home office, so I won't be driving to work on a daily basis.

[Ira500]

There will be some houses north, around Snohomish and Monroe, that meet your criteria, but more so south, in places like Edgewood, Puyallup, and Bonney Lake. Your selection would be larger, and a little closer to Seattle if you were willing to look at something a little older, or slightly smaller.

[Hemlock140]

In my neighborhood of Sammamish, most homes are on 1/3 acre (12,000 SF lots, and there are many like ours with 3,000 sf. Depending on the condition they run $550k and up, but are not newer, at about 30-35 years old. Unfortunately newer homes on that size lot cost more, and brand new are on small lots for over $700k. You won't find anything that meets all of your requirements within 45 minutes of Seattle, more like 60-90 minutes to the places Ira mentioned.

[shaylahc]

Duvall?

[homesinseattle]

Hi Earthlingsoft! Welcome in advance to Seattle. Snohomish, Mill Creek, Bothell, Lake Forest Park, Shoreline, Everett, Kenmore and North Edmonds might present opportunities, especially if you aren't completely rigid with the age of the home (for example, homes built in the 50s 60s, can have classic lines and be beautifully remodeled and sold that way). South of town, accessible options include Burien, Federal Way and perhaps some areas of the Renton Highlands.

[Seacove]

You might check Woodinville Cottage Lake area, here's one

18920 NE 190th Ct, Woodinville, WA 98077 | MLS# 565869 | Redfin

[earthlingsoft]

Great suggestions everybody; it's a huge help.

Snohomish was looking pretty good but doing some quick searching I see they have flooding problems. Also, Zillow shows many listings but Redfin doesn't show much for it.

Edgewood and Bonney Lake seem to have the most listings with our requirements, so I'll search these forums to see what people are saying about those areas.

Didn't find much (if anything) in these areas: Sammamish, Duvall, Mill Creek, Bothell, Lake Forest Park, Shoreline, Everett, Renton, Burien, Federal Way

Woodinville Cottage Lake area looks nice but homes there are on the small side for our budget.

[homesinseattle]

If you dial back the newness and lot size in a few of those areas I mentioned, there would absolutely be options.

[earthlingsoft]

Right, but then that would be the opposite of what we're looking for. Basically, those things are pretty important to us so there's less flexibility there.

[Inkpoe]

You can also look into Covington, Maple Valley, Black Diamond, Ravensdale. They'll offer the newer houses and lots with some more spaces.

Lake Tapps, Sumner and Buckley is also grouped with Bonney Lake and Edgewood. These towns are more rural in character with some chokepoints traffic, otherwise a quiet and a very pleasant place to live in.

Don't discount Snohomish entirely. To avoid flooding, do not live in the valley (go for higher elevation).