Relocating to work in Issaquah

[scirocco22]

Originally Posted by Jenbar

WA-900??

... and Newcastle is snooty now?

WA-900 = SR-900, that's the roadway that goes past the Issaquah Park and Ride (17th AV NW) and later turns into Renton-Issaquah RD as winds through the east side of Cougar Mountain which later becomes Sunset Way through the Renton Highlands where it ends up at I-405 at the NE Park interchange near the Fry's store.

[MichaelinWA]

Yep, we live in the East Renton Highlands and we take a backroad (missing the Sunset traffic) to catch SR-900 in order to the Costco store (right next to the HQ) quite there. It turns onto Lake Sammamish Parkway and then you're basically there. Not such a great route if you're starting down by the Frys store, I guess.

Speaking of 900, it runs past a huge development in Issaquah, Talus, which includes single-family houses, townhomes, and apartments. Not sure how much the apartments run, but the single-family stuff seems kinda high-end. Cool location, though, up on the foothills of Cougar Mountain.

Originally Posted by scirocco22

WA-900 = SR-900

[spirit523]

I live in issaquah, and went to school at liberty high school in renton, and i agree that its ghetto. the renton highlands part isnt so bad, but the renton valley is really bad. i think that north bend or snoqualmie would be good, its not that expensive over there, and it cant be more than a 20 minute drive into issaquah. places like sammamish, mercer island, redmond, and parts of bellevue are expensive. going back to the renton highlands part, it would be good, its not so expensive, and it doesnt have the bad reputation lower renton has. if you cut through the backroads, you can make it to costco in about 20 minutes.

[NWChris]

Originally Posted by spirit523

I live in issaquah, and went to school at liberty high school in renton, and i agree that its ghetto. the renton highlands part isnt so bad, but the renton valley is really bad.

Sorry to jump in here but I was searching the forums and found this thread...Spirit523... We are looking at a house in the Newcastle area - it would be Maywood Middle and Liberty High... can you tell me about these schools? When did you graduate from Liberty? Do you think the Newcastle area is "ghetto"? What was the atmostphere like at Liberty?

Thanks...

[spirit523]

yes i went to both maywood and liberty high, graduated from liberty actually only a year ago. i hear newcastle is a nice place to live, and know many people that lived in newcastle and went to liberty/maywood. the newcastle area isnt bad at all, and in fact its a short drive from there to bellevue, renton, issaquah, ext. the atmosphere at liberty is very a very good one. we didnt have as much of a drug problem as some other schools, and they go by a block schedule, which is 8 classes total, each 90 minutes long (1-4 period on A days, 5-8 period on B days) and they say its better for us to learn in, since there are 8 classes, it requires more credits to graduate, so we were better prepaired for college, it offers a lot of honors classes, and the sports programs are pretty good for the most part. (football team could be better, but they are improving every year.) if you go to issaquah.wednet.edu, click on schools, click on liberty, you can learn more about the school. overall, i would reccomend liberty to anyone. let me know if you have any more questions.

[dharmabummer]

Originally Posted by MichaelinWA

Yep, we live in the East Renton Highlands and we take a backroad (missing the Sunset traffic) to catch SR-900 in order to the Costco store (right next to the HQ) quite there. It turns onto Lake Sammamish Parkway and then you're basically there. Not such a great route if you're starting down by the Frys store, I guess.

Speaking of 900, it runs past a huge development in Issaquah, Talus, which includes single-family houses, townhomes, and apartments. Not sure how much the apartments run, but the single-family stuff seems kinda high-end. Cool location, though, up on the foothills of Cougar Mountain.

You won't be able to find anything in Talus for under $600K unless you are interested in a 600 sq ft studio.

[LoveWA]

Maple Valley would be a good commute to Issaquah. Apartment and rentals in the area run in your price range for really nice places.

[SeattleExpert]

cringer, i just checked seattle.craigslist.org and saw a 2br in issaquah for $925. i would list the posting but i don't want to get in trouble for soliciting!

i guess out of all the places suggested, i personally would vote for issaquah. i grew up there and my parents refuse to leave that place because you have every amenity at your fingertip without having to leave the city...yet it's only 15-45 minute drive to seattle (depending on the day/hour you drive) when you want to "get out". i feel like a broken record talking about issaquah in this forum but i live on capitol hill in seattle and every time i take a trip out to my parents house i appreciate their wide roads, and safe/homey feeling. i would feel safe walking around at 3:30 in the morning in issaquah.

eastgate/bellevue are ok but i always get the feeling of being overcrowded when i drive through those areas.

honestly if you have to commute to issaquah every day from any of the places you've mentioned that you want to live, you might as well pay the extra 100-200 a month you'll save on gas on an apartment living in issaquah (that is, if you can't find the one that is on craigslist that i saw in your price range).

good luck to you!

[Prple]

What about Snoqualmie or North Bend? It would be an easy commute.

[spirit523]

yes i agree with you all, about snoqualmie and maple valley, those are also short commutes. i agree with seattle expert about feeling safe in issaquah...you could go walking around at any time of the night and not be worried of getting mugged or something along those lines. crime in issaquah is very low, at least the major ones, like murder, bank robberies, ext. every few years or so you will hear of a bank getting robbed, or a body found on the outskirts of issaquah, (about two years ago, it was a drug overdose) but i feel totally safe here.