Burien? Renton? Too far from downtown to be practical? (contractor, military)

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by Patz0709

That Natty Boh fella always makes me want to reach for a can of Pringles. Pray tell what is the name of that delicious pizza that brought you to Renton, Ira?

Smoking Monkey Pizza. It wasn't there when we moved in 16 years ago. There was a different place then, not quite as good.

[lookinforhorseparadise]

Originally Posted by Ira500

I live in Renton, and am fairly regularly in Burien. I'd say absolutely, the commute into downtown is pretty tolerable. If you take the express bus from the Burien transit center into downtown Seattle, it's about 32-35 minutes. if you take the express bus from the S. Renton Park and Ride, it's 35-39 minutes. When I drive into downtown Seattle, it takes me 20 minutes when it's not rush hour. There are good surface street alternatives to the freeway. As far as safety and vibe, both Renton and Burien are large enough that there's more than one vibe, depending on what part of town you're in. Downtown Burien is quaint and charming. It has a brewpub serving organic beer. There's a store that sells premium raw dog food. A couple of bookstores. An independent cinema. The area east of downtown Burien, the other side of 1st Avenue S is much more run down, poverty stricken. But downtown Burien, west of there, and a bit south are perfectly nice, even fun. Burien also has the best Mexican food in the Seattle area.

Renton is also a mixed bag. Where I live is older single family homes on big lots. Downtown Renton has some great places to eat and drink, and the area immediately north of downtown Renton is fairly nice. Renton has a brand new library built over the Cedar River. There are definitely some small pockets in Renton that aren't good which gives Renton a worse reputation than it deserves. The Cedar River Trail is nice, and there's a rowing and boating center at the foot of Lake Washington. I would definitely not rule out either Burien or Renton. Rents are cheaper, and if you're in a nice part of either Renton or Burien, the quality of life is pretty good.

I was at a little art walk in downtown Burien last Thursday and was pleasantly surprised. The large library was clean and hosting a variety of community events. The really cool independent coffee house (Burien Press) even serves nitrogen brewed coffee and locally baked vegan cookies (Skydottir). The used bookstore we browsed (Page 2 Books) yielded some treasures. And the staff at the Discover Burien office were enthusiastic and helpful. Even though it was a Thursday night, the downtown businesses were lively. I have often spent an hour going a short distance across downtown Seattle by bus during rush hour, so if you can live and commute by the light rail you can bypass that agony. Burien has a transit center and you can bus to the light rail. Discover Burien

I have noticed that the WalkScore website is often posting a Crime rating in addition to the walk, bike, and transit scores. That can be really helpful if you find an address for a potential rental and aren't sure about the safety of the area. I hope they transition it into all their listings.

[Patz0709]

Even though it is suburban in name, one of the appealing aspects of Burien is its small town community feel. It presents itself well online. High crime is a relative term. Property crime can be remedied and easily discouraged. Moving from Baltimore, I don't think we'd find Burien scary at all.

[shaxs]

Originally Posted by Patz0709

We are facing a likely move to Seattle from DC/Baltimore in the coming months (no comments please) and are trying to nail down a few places to search for apartments which are convenient to downtown Seattle, more specifically, the waterfront areas immediately west of Safeco Field. There's no substitute for visiting but at this time it's only online research. Since ridiculous traffic is something we are already familiar with we should feel right at home there.

It looks like we might cut our commuting time by living south or west of downtown Seattle.... maybe West Seattle, or perhaps Burien. Des Moines looks too far, but is it really? A 30 minute commute would be desirable, and it seems like Hwy. 509 doesn't clog up as much as other options when checking traffic reports. Any truth to this? Or any input about the relative safety/convenience/vibe of these areas? Hopefully we will get good news soon and get to see for ourselves.

My wife and I live in Renton and we can drive to Safeco field every day. We get there in about 30 minutes in a normal commute. BUT, we get to use carpool lane since we, well, carpool.

West Seattle would be an easy commute most of the time. Well under 30 minutes.

[shaxs]

Originally Posted by Ira500

That's good, because the Highline School District(Burien) is mostly not good, and Renton's is "Meh" but seems to be improving. Downtown Renton also has one of the Seattle area's best pizza places. Most people don't choose a neighborhood based on proximity to good pizza, but it's important to me.

Well Renton has SOME areas that are good! Like East Renton Highlands which is in the Issaquah school district.

[Patz0709]

It's tough to judge how the highways play out in real life vs.just looking at the bright colors on a Google traffic map. Parts of West Seattle do look like a relatively easy jaunt to downtown, and Alki Beach and the California Avenue district (is that what it's called?) Both look delightful. It seems like the heaviest traffic around the city during the afternoon rush flows backwards; here most PM commuters want to escape DC and head home to the suburbs. It looks like the worst of the traffic is trying to head into the Central part of Seattle in the evening. Again, according to Google. Truth?

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by shaxs

Well Renton has SOME areas that are good! Like East Renton Highlands which is in the Issaquah school district.

Even within the Renton school district, there are a few much beloved, very good schools. Renton has lots of areas that are good. But you don't accidentally end up in those areas.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by Patz0709

It's tough to judge how the highways play out in real life vs.just looking at the bright colors on a Google traffic map. Parts of West Seattle do look like a relatively easy jaunt to downtown, and Alki Beach and the California Avenue district (is that what it's called?) Both look delightful. It seems like the heaviest traffic around the city during the afternoon rush flows backwards; here most PM commuters want to escape DC and head home to the suburbs. It looks like the worst of the traffic is trying to head into the Central part of Seattle in the evening. Again, according to Google. Truth?

That's because there are reversible lanes on I-5 North and I-90 that go into the City in the morning rush and out in the afternoon rush. That doesn't mean that there isn't a significant reverse commute, to major employers such as Microsoft or Boeing, for instance. I do think that Bellevue's traffic is worse than Seattle's, but that is primarily due to having a less-dense street grid, giving drivers fewer choices.

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by Patz0709

It's tough to judge how the highways play out in real life vs.just looking at the bright colors on a Google traffic map. Parts of West Seattle do look like a relatively easy jaunt to downtown, and Alki Beach and the California Avenue district (is that what it's called?) Both look delightful. It seems like the heaviest traffic around the city during the afternoon rush flows backwards; here most PM commuters want to escape DC and head home to the suburbs. It looks like the worst of the traffic is trying to head into the Central part of Seattle in the evening. Again, according to Google. Truth?

The "California Avenue District" you're talking about is probably the Alaska Junction area. In my opinion, it is delightful. West Seattle just has a nice feel. If you lived there, taking the bus is a big advantage, because buses have an exclusive lane on the bridge. Buses do sit in traffic(when they no longer have an exclusive lane), but it's much easier than driving, unless you go into work at 5 AM.
People head into Seattle in the PM because things go on there, like football, concerts, live theatre, etc. It's not so much reverse commuting, but that has increased a lot. There are a ton of tech employers on the eastside, including Microsoft, so people do drive from Seattle to the eastside to work. But traffic sucks, going into downtown, or going any direction from downtown in the afternoon. Near Alki is the water taxi. That's only a ten minute boat ride to downtown Seattle. Not that many people live right near the dock on the West Seattle side, but even if you took a ten minute bus ride to get there? Traffic is rough to West Seattle. But the way people describe it, it takes hours. Sure, if you try to drive home to West Seattle 5PM on a weekday, it'll be absolutely hellish, but it's really not that far. It won't take quite forever.

[Legacy Bear]

Mind if I ask what online resources for starters? Particularly, where are the jobs at? I gathered a lot of where I will move to depends on where I can land a job. Factor in the whole being new to the area, state is going to be a challenge. I was thinking about an employment agency for starters. thanks