Moving to Seattle- Coming up to look at apartments next week

[Dobogin]

That's good to hear re:Card Kingdom in Bellevue.

I just recently started looking at Kirkland and I'll think I'll make it a part of the Eastside tour on one of my days. From what I gather, it's a nicer place to live than Bellevue and the commute into Bellevue wouldn't be a problem at all. My only concerns are that it puts me even further from downtown Seattle and SeaTac than Bellevue did. (Moreso the former than the latter- the SeaTac commute would only necessary twice a week when flying after all)

[modc]

I think the commute to Seattle across 520 from Houghton or Bridal Trails neighborhoods in Kirkland isn't so bad. Might be a bit longer if you were situated closer to downtown Kirkland. Anybody commute from downtown Kirkland to Seattle? How long does it take?

[BellevueNative]

I will echo Kirkland (Houghton/Moss Bay/downtown area). It is very pedestrian friendly, lots of restaurants, bars and boutiques. Plus the water is right there. The commute to Bellevue would be a breeze, and the drive to Sea-Tac is easy. 15 minutes without traffic. Drive into Seattle via 520 is faster than the drive across I-90 due to the toll.

[Dobogin]

Cross posting from another forum I frequent.

Back from the scouting trip.

Fremont was hands down my favorite area, although for one reason or another, the apartments in that area aren't working out, which is a shame. I may just be blind renting whatever I can find online now. I walked all over, went to Paseo's again, tried the Brewing company, and went on in to Wallingford to check out Gasworks. It's a good thing it's super walkable too, as when we came back to eat later at night, I couldn't find parking anywhere near where I actually wanted to be.

Wallingford itself was alright, but didn't really have the same walkable destinations that Fremont or even Ballard had. Wasn't a big fan of the eastern part of the area near U-District and I-5, as it felt really congested the entire time I was around and there wasn't anything in the area that really drew my interest in the same way Fremont did.

Speaking of the driving situation, the residential areas were a bit of a shock. 2 lane roads are effectively 1 lane everywhere, since both sides of the road are occupied by parked cars. Had to do a full reverse down a lane because a car wouldn't let me out and there was no way for us to pass. Combine that with crazy hills, 4 way intersections with no traffic lights or even stop signs, and no visibility thanks to said park cars, and I hated driving around some parts of Wallingford more than the crowded interstates. The west side next to Fremont is pretty nice, though.

Went around a bunch of other neighborhoods as well, but they were bit too claustrophobic feeling for me, as I suspected. Eastlake, Downtown, Capitol Hill- I guess I'm just not that much of a city person. Ravenna seemed nice from the brief time I was there and the park was very nice for an inner city park, but it was all homes as far as I could tell, and I wasn't the biggest fan of the neighboring U-District. Did not get a chance to see Madison Park in person.

The Eastside was a, largely pleasant, surprise. Sure, downtown Bellevue was every bit as characterless and sterile as I had envisioned and glimpsed on previous trips, but west Bellevue is actually pretty nice. Tons of nice homes around Clyde Hill and Enatai, some great parks, and beautiful views of the city. The dining in Bellevue seems pretty diverse and high quality as well. (Ate at the old Kukai, not the new one you guys were just talking about, and both my brother and I came away impressed.) Not really walkable, unless you are in the more outdoor mall feeling city center and not the areas I actually liked, but at least there's stuff around and parking isn't a gigantic pain as it was in Seattle. Also, the only unit I saw the entire time that had AC (!!!) was in Bellevue, so it's got that going for it at least.

Downtown Kirkland felt pretty similar to a beach town, although it's not quite the same being on a lake with a city ending your ocean horizon. Both it and Bellevue definitely felt richer than the areas I'm accustomed to living. Did not get to eat there and I don't really know what the dining, night life, and activity scenes are like, if there's even much in the way of those things, but it had a pleasant vibe at least.

Not sure where I'll land at the moment, but it looks like it'll be between a spot in Fremont/west Wallingford, Kirkland, or Bellevue. My hands down favorite apartment of the ones I toured was in Ballard and won't open until mid September, so I'm afraid it's out, despite being the clear choice otherwise from a personal standpoint.

[kaonevar]

Something to keep in mind is that most of the year, it's so nice outside, you don't need an AC, or it's cold and you need the heater. That's why so few places have AC's.

[Dobogin]

Of course! But, for reference, my internal thermostat is such that I used to run my AC in 65 - 80 degree weather, not just above that, as 60 is my preferred spot, and anything over 75 is miserable/impossible to sleep in. I wear shorts nearly year round, even in snow so long as its not under 30 degrees effective temperature, and didn't run heat when in Atlanta, which gets equally if not more cold than Seattle in the winter. Basically, I'm extremely hot natured and only really comfortable in cold.

All that said, I've already come to terms with the fact that I'm probably not getting AC, as it's just not a standard feature in the city. In-unit washer/driers are, but AC isn't. What a crazy, new place this is.

[CrazyDonkey]

I second the comments on commuting from Ballard to Bellevue - generally, trying to go cross-town (east-west) in Seattle is far far from ideal. Better to be closer to the Montlake entrances/exits of SR-520. With 520 now tolled, getting across it isn't the problem it once was, but getting to (or from) it still can be.

Lower Queen Anne (Uptown) is a good alternative - close to lots of restaurants, bars, theatres, clubs. (LOTS of apartments.) It used to take me 30 to 40 minutes to commute from Mercer & Queen Anne (via Mercer, I-5, and 520) to Overlake (east of Bellevue). The bonus of being centrally located is that you've got a reverse-commute, whether going east, north, or south. You're a short bus ride from Downtown or Ballard. For open space, there's the Seattle Center and Myrtle Edwards Park (running along Elliott Bay).

AC in Seattle? Maybe in a fancy store or expensive restaurant...