Relocating to work in Issaquah (Bellevue, Renton: for sale, apartment complexes, rental)

[cringer]

I currently work for Costco in Phoenix, AZ and I'll be starting a new position at the corporate headquarters in Issaquah the first week of January. My wife and I are looking to rent a 2 bedroom apartment but from what I've seen so far online, Issaquah is very pricey. We can't really afford more than 900-950 a month.

I've started looking in surrounding areas like Bellevue(also expensive), Redmond and Renton, for more affordable places. Renton seems the most affordable but I see many comments about it being a ghetto. I'm also worried about the traffic and the daily commute. Are there any other areas near Issaquah with more affordable, non-ghetto housing?

[Pittgal]

We lived in Issaquah at Park Hill Apartments for the first year we were out here before we got a house. You can even walk to Costco CH from there. We walked over there to the Farmers Market every Sat!


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[cringer]

Thanks Pittgal. Park Hill is way out of our price range though. They don't have anything available under $1300.

[scirocco22]

Have you tried the Eastgate/Factoria area? It would be a nice close reverse commute.

[scirocco22]

Actually, doing a quick search, I found quite a few apartments in Bellevue for below $1,000/mo. Also look in Lake Hills and parts of south Bellevue.

[weeping_willow]

You really want to go East or North of Issaquah to stay in nice areas. Redmond has good apartments for $900ish [don't look at Overlake area - that's really bellevue]. I am not sure what Snoqualmie or North Bend has for rental rates, but they are a short highway commute to Issaquah. They are not as trendy as Redmond, but are safe, nice areas, so may be a little less pricey.
You need to be careful with Bellevue selections as there are some really horrid apartment complexes there that I would not consider safe.
Use rent.com for the best representation of apartments available. They don't list all the complexes, but certainly more than some of the other search sites on apartments.

[jwb123]

Look on craigslist!

[cringer]

Thanks for all of your replies. I am finding some places in Redmond and Bellevue. A few of the places I called in Bellevue had income restrictions. I'm guessing those were some of the horrid ones. I've got the next couple days off so I'll be making a lot of phone calls. Hopefully I can find a few places and get everyone's opinion on the areas.
It's funny, most of the people I work with have houses, in nice neighborhoods, and their mortgage payments are less than I'm expecting to pay in rent.

[MaikeerinWA]

We bought a new home in Renton and don't consider the city "ghetto." Certainly there are some undesirable places, as in most cities. In terms of apartments, have you looked at some of the places near Lake Washington, like the Bristol? Not sure what the price range is for these, but it would be fun to live there, especially for someone from the desert, and the access to Issaquah isn't bad from there, on WA-900. Also consider Newcastle, a slightly snootier version of Renton. There are some not-too-expensive condos for sale there also.

[jwb123]

WA-900??

... and Newcastle is snooty now?