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I've just toured a few places in the Issaquah Highlands. The homes themselves were OK, but I'm a bit freaked out by the newness and rawness of this area. Everything looks as if it were dropped onto the hilltop from space very recently. It had a very synthetic feel, without the mature trees and organic Main Street that has grown up over time (i.e., like Kirkland, Redmond, downtown Issaquah).
Please, anyone who knows about living in this neighborhood, tell me what the good points are. One bad point I noticed was that people were driving WAY too fast for the streets in the shopping area. One good point is that I couldn't hear much traffic outside, despite the obvious presence of speeding cars in the area.
The oldest homes in the Highlands are 20 years old and there are 2,500 more residences yet to be developed (pending approval). There is simply no way of mitigating the fact that it's a new community and honestly it's misguided to expect that it wouldn't be. But if newness or "rawness" is "freaking" you out then I would question why you are looking around here in the first place as there are plenty of great communities across the Eastside that are aren't "synthetic".
Traffic is a HUGE problem for residents and an increasing one too boot. Numerous pedestrians and cyclists have been hit on Park (especially corner of Park and 15th). Since the building of Grand Ridge Plaza many wayward teens and young adults have taken to loitering around the Safeway, some with drug addictions, and we've seen an uptick in garbage all over the place, illegal camp fires on some of the community trails, general mischief (like last month a few teens let a working herd of goats loose.. enabling them to eat and get poisoned by the ornamental rhododendrons) and more serious activities like stolen packages from doorsteps, abrasive and bigoted verbal assaults (just yesterday one of the teens at Safeway yelled "ISIS" to a Muslim woman wearing a headdress doing her grocery shopping.. and had the gall to ask "and what are you going to do about it?" .. so rude!!!) and we even had one break-in of an occupied home. Physical fight ensued between male owner and the young intruder.. he got away and as far as I know nobody knows who it was...
And then of course we're expecting another 2500 apartment and single family homes. Residents are fighting it as we speak...
Good points?
-Very multicultural
-Very strong community program thanks to Highlands Council. Highlands Council is separate from the IHCA and is funded by home sales and Grand Ridge Plaza tenants. People don't realize when they buy a home here that when they are ready to sell their home that they have to pay the community enhancement fee. Just keep that in mind! People complain about it all the time, but I have worked with the director on many programs and projects and I think those people with complaints are underestimating how much this individual is single-handedly responsible for maintaining our vibrant and interesting community offerings and reputation. Seeing a post on city-data about the Highlands isn't uncommon at all... and it's in part because of Highlands Council.
-Good schools
-Fun little neighborhoods makes socializing easy
-Parks and nature trails every couple of streets
-excellent landscaping maintenance provided by IHCA landscapers (at least a couple workers have been with the community from the beginning).
-if you really live by the values of the community you can save money and have a lighter footstep on the environment.
-really cool people live here (We have well-known bloggers, authors and even Mark Mullet calls IH home)
-Most residents are awesome and are known to enthusiastically contribute, participate and look out for one another. The Highland's facebook page is always full of people checking in about lost property, suspicious people, concerns about other residents or their homes (someone was on vacation when their water heater broke and many asked if they could help).
-stunning sunsets
-lots of housing options
I've lived here for 5 years and I've gotten a lot out of it and my kids have gotten even more. We came here because we needed a community for the kids and because I'm passionate about sustainable living and didn't want to be dependent on my car anymore. We saved a ton of money not driving to work and being able to give our kids that wonderful sense of community while living cheaply in a condo (frequently you don't get both at the same time).
I think this is a great place, but it's definitely NOT for everyone. For many people the density is too much... people like having a larger yard and wider streets... they want more privacy and self-determination. That's fine, but if that's the case then the Highlands won't work.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,563 posts, read 81,131,933 times
Reputation: 57767
One problem is that people living in Klahanie or in Sammamish, like us go through the Highlands to get home sometimes and also shop/go to restaurants there since we have none to speak of. That makes the traffic even worse. We like Zeke's Pizza, for example, but now go to Redmond because it's easier to park and not as busy. We do always go to the theater there, it's much closer and nicer than any others, and also use the Sewdish medical facilities.
The oldest homes in the Highlands are 20 years old and there are 2,500 more residences yet to be developed (pending approval). There is simply no way of mitigating the fact that it's a new community and honestly it's misguided to expect that it wouldn't be. But if newness or "rawness" is "freaking" you out then I would question why you are looking around here in the first place as there are plenty of great communities across the Eastside that are aren't "synthetic".
I didn't have any preconceived ideas about what it would be like! I've visited downtown Issaquah many times on business and was charmed by it, and the other day my real estate agent said "let's go look at these condos in the Issaquah Highlands," so we did. I never even suspected there was anything up there, so it was all new to me. I thought it would be gentle foothills above the downtown core with an easy walk into the village. But no.
Quote:
Traffic is a HUGE problem for residents and an increasing one too boot. Numerous pedestrians and cyclists have been hit on Park (especially corner of Park and 15th). Since the building of Grand Ridge Plaza many wayward teens and young adults have taken to loitering around the Safeway, some with drug addictions, and we've seen an uptick in garbage all over the place, illegal camp fires on some of the community trails, general mischief (like last month a few teens let a working herd of goats loose.. enabling them to eat and get poisoned by the ornamental rhododendrons) and more serious activities like stolen packages from doorsteps, abrasive and bigoted verbal assaults (just yesterday one of the teens at Safeway yelled "ISIS" to a Muslim woman wearing a headdress doing her grocery shopping.. and had the gall to ask "and what are you going to do about it?" .. so rude!!!) and we even had one break-in of an occupied home. Physical fight ensued between male owner and the young intruder.. he got away and as far as I know nobody knows who it was...
And then of course we're expecting another 2500 apartment and single family homes. Residents are fighting it as we speak...
Thank you. This is exactly the kind of information I was hoping to get. I walked all around the area encompassing the multiplex movie theater, Park and Ride, Starbucks, restaurants, and so on. I wanted to get a feel for the place because the condos I looked at were nearby. I was startled by the first sports car that zoomed past me at speeds in excess of 50 mph in that area, and then noticed that quite a few others did the same. This did not strike me as appropriate traffic behavior in such a dense area with such relatively narrow streets. No wonder pedestrians and bicyclists have been hit.
Quote:
Good points?
-Very multicultural
-Very strong community program thanks to Highlands Council. Highlands Council is separate from the IHCA and is funded by home sales and Grand Ridge Plaza tenants. People don't realize when they buy a home here that when they are ready to sell their home that they have to pay the community enhancement fee. Just keep that in mind! People complain about it all the time, but I have worked with the director on many programs and projects and I think those people with complaints are underestimating how much this individual is single-handedly responsible for maintaining our vibrant and interesting community offerings and reputation. Seeing a post on city-data about the Highlands isn't uncommon at all... and it's in part because of Highlands Council.
-Good schools
-Fun little neighborhoods makes socializing easy
-Parks and nature trails every couple of streets
-excellent landscaping maintenance provided by IHCA landscapers (at least a couple workers have been with the community from the beginning).
-if you really live by the values of the community you can save money and have a lighter footstep on the environment.
-really cool people live here (We have well-known bloggers, authors and even Mark Mullet calls IH home)
-Most residents are awesome and are known to enthusiastically contribute, participate and look out for one another. The Highland's facebook page is always full of people checking in about lost property, suspicious people, concerns about other residents or their homes (someone was on vacation when their water heater broke and many asked if they could help).
-stunning sunsets
-lots of housing options
I've lived here for 5 years and I've gotten a lot out of it and my kids have gotten even more. We came here because we needed a community for the kids and because I'm passionate about sustainable living and didn't want to be dependent on my car anymore. We saved a ton of money not driving to work and being able to give our kids that wonderful sense of community while living cheaply in a condo (frequently you don't get both at the same time).
Thanks, more invaluable information. I'm totally on board with living in a less expensive condo and not driving to work or to do errands. That's totally what I'm looking for because I'm downsizing from a large family home that backs onto the Redmond Watershed. I want out of my car in a bad way. But the shock of the new, synthetic feel of the Issaquah Highlands is a drawback (for me).
Quote:
I think this is a great place, but it's definitely NOT for everyone. For many people the density is too much... people like having a larger yard and wider streets... they want more privacy and self-determination. That's fine, but if that's the case then the Highlands won't work.
I appreciate your honest, highly informative response. I'm casting a wide net in my quest to downsize. So far the places I like best are Edmonds, Upper Queen Anne, and Ballard. I will keep looking.
One problem is that people living in Klahanie or in Sammamish, like us go through the Highlands to get home sometimes and also shop/go to restaurants there since we have none to speak of. That makes the traffic even worse. We like Zeke's Pizza, for example, but now go to Redmond because it's easier to park and not as busy. We do always go to the theater there, it's much closer and nicer than any others, and also use the Sewdish medical facilities.
I like downtown Redmond a lot, too, and make very frequent use of the Express buses. The trouble is that I have to drive my car to get to the Redmond Transit Center, which is no fun. I'd like to live right downtown.
I notice your User Name tag indicates that you're formerly from the SF Bay Area, just like me. When I headed to the Issaquah Highlands for the first time the other day, I thought maybe it would be like Los Altos Hills, rising gently above the town of Los Altos with walkable paths to reach the village. So you can imagine the shock when I saw what I saw up there.
The oldest homes in the Highlands are 20 years old and there are 2,500 more residences yet to be developed (pending approval). There is simply no way of mitigating the fact that it's a new community and honestly it's misguided to expect that it wouldn't be. But if newness or "rawness" is "freaking" you out then I would question why you are looking around here in the first place as there are plenty of great communities across the Eastside that are aren't "synthetic".
Traffic is a HUGE problem for residents and an increasing one too boot. Numerous pedestrians and cyclists have been hit on Park (especially corner of Park and 15th). Since the building of Grand Ridge Plaza many wayward teens and young adults have taken to loitering around the Safeway, some with drug addictions, and we've seen an uptick in garbage all over the place, illegal camp fires on some of the community trails, general mischief (like last month a few teens let a working herd of goats loose.. enabling them to eat and get poisoned by the ornamental rhododendrons) and more serious activities like stolen packages from doorsteps, abrasive and bigoted verbal assaults (just yesterday one of the teens at Safeway yelled "ISIS" to a Muslim woman wearing a headdress doing her grocery shopping.. and had the gall to ask "and what are you going to do about it?" .. so rude!!!) and we even had one break-in of an occupied home. Physical fight ensued between male owner and the young intruder.. he got away and as far as I know nobody knows who it was...
And then of course we're expecting another 2500 apartment and single family homes. Residents are fighting it as we speak...
Good points?
-Very multicultural
-Very strong community program thanks to Highlands Council. Highlands Council is separate from the IHCA and is funded by home sales and Grand Ridge Plaza tenants. People don't realize when they buy a home here that when they are ready to sell their home that they have to pay the community enhancement fee. Just keep that in mind! People complain about it all the time, but I have worked with the director on many programs and projects and I think those people with complaints are underestimating how much this individual is single-handedly responsible for maintaining our vibrant and interesting community offerings and reputation. Seeing a post on city-data about the Highlands isn't uncommon at all... and it's in part because of Highlands Council.
-Good schools
-Fun little neighborhoods makes socializing easy
-Parks and nature trails every couple of streets
-excellent landscaping maintenance provided by IHCA landscapers (at least a couple workers have been with the community from the beginning).
-if you really live by the values of the community you can save money and have a lighter footstep on the environment.
-really cool people live here (We have well-known bloggers, authors and even Mark Mullet calls IH home)
-Most residents are awesome and are known to enthusiastically contribute, participate and look out for one another. The Highland's facebook page is always full of people checking in about lost property, suspicious people, concerns about other residents or their homes (someone was on vacation when their water heater broke and many asked if they could help).
-stunning sunsets
-lots of housing options
I've lived here for 5 years and I've gotten a lot out of it and my kids have gotten even more. We came here because we needed a community for the kids and because I'm passionate about sustainable living and didn't want to be dependent on my car anymore. We saved a ton of money not driving to work and being able to give our kids that wonderful sense of community while living cheaply in a condo (frequently you don't get both at the same time).
I think this is a great place, but it's definitely NOT for everyone. For many people the density is too much... people like having a larger yard and wider streets... they want more privacy and self-determination. That's fine, but if that's the case then the Highlands won't work.
Now that I'm a highlands resident I just have to ask how do people get hit by cars? There is literally a million and one crosswalks with the buttons. I would understand if there was no crosswalks or sidewalks or it was not pedestrian friendly but it is. The crosswalks even have loud voices telling you when to go or "WAIT" so even our blind friends are safe. As far as the cars going fast, too fast, I agree but I've never seen anyone roar through a stoplight... maybe I've been at the wrong place at the wrong time. I guess I'm just shocked how so many people have been hit by cars with all the pedestrian friendly amenities.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,563 posts, read 81,131,933 times
Reputation: 57767
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minntoaz
Now that I'm a highlands resident I just have to ask how do people get hit by cars? There is literally a million and one crosswalks with the buttons. I would understand if there was no crosswalks or sidewalks or it was not pedestrian friendly but it is. The crosswalks even have loud voices telling you when to go or "WAIT" so even our blind friends are safe. As far as the cars going fast, too fast, I agree but I've never seen anyone roar through a stoplight... maybe I've been at the wrong place at the wrong time. I guess I'm just shocked how so many people have been hit by cars with all the pedestrian friendly amenities.
My wife and I ate at the Ram the other day about 5:30, and had to park a couple of blocks away. We almost got run over twice on the walk there, I think people are in a hurry to get home and have no patience left after fighting the traffic on the freeways. I might add that the design/layout of those parking lots is nuts!
Now that I'm a highlands resident I just have to ask how do people get hit by cars? There is literally a million and one crosswalks with the buttons. I would understand if there was no crosswalks or sidewalks or it was not pedestrian friendly but it is. The crosswalks even have loud voices telling you when to go or "WAIT" so even our blind friends are safe. As far as the cars going fast, too fast, I agree but I've never seen anyone roar through a stoplight... maybe I've been at the wrong place at the wrong time. I guess I'm just shocked how so many people have been hit by cars with all the pedestrian friendly amenities.
There are a lot of crosswalk signs at Grand Ridge Plaza.
The stoplight on Park and 15th was put in after a resident cyclist was hit (he's fine.. just moved away a few weeks ago). I think it was my first year here.
The pedestrian issues are on Park: corner of 15th, Grand Ridge, corner of 24th and 25th. Sometimes Central Park. You see the discussion come up in waves on the Highlands facebook group. It's been several months since the issue was raised.. which is a good thing! I wonder if it could be a seasonal thing too...
And I think drivers and pedestrians are probably equally distracted... often by their phones!
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