Quiet, safe, family-friendly places that are commutable to UW? (Seattle: apartments, rentals)

[WildandFreeAK]

Hello!

I'm going to be relocating from small-town Alaska to the Seattle area this September with my wife in order to attend professional school at UW-Seattle, and I haven't got a clue what I'm doing in terms of housing. So I was hoping someone here might be able to offer a little much-appreciated advice.

To tell you the truth, I'm terrified of living in a city. I know that's a really absurd way to look at things, but I've got zero experience living in an urban environment, and the few times I've visited a big city (NYC or DC) my heart rate stayed jacked up 24/7. I can deal with going to school in an urban environment, but if it's realistic, I'd like to avoid living in one.

So I'm looking for advice on slower-paced neighborhoods/areas that are within reasonable commuting distance (what is a reasonable commuting distance in Seattle anyway?) I've read good things on this board about places like Maple Valley and Issaquah, but Google Maps is telling me that's anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and fifteen minutes each way, depending on traffic. I've never dealt with rush hour before...how brutal is it really? I'll be getting a bus/Sounder pass because I'll be a UW student; is the bus/train system safe and/or convenient? Alternatively, are there any places near the UW part of Seattle that don't feel like a big city? Honestly, for my wife and I, live music/restaurants/nightlife/city "buzz" are much less important than finding a safe, quiet area where people talk to each other and we can walk at night without worrying for our safety. Are there places like that within a realistic commuting distance to UW?

Thanks so much in advance for any advice you folks would be willing to offer. I feel kind of like a rube admitting my concerns and utter ignorance, but hey, you gotta start somewhere!

Thanks again!

[Ira500]

Hi Wildand FreeAK,
Much of Seattle doesn't have that scary urban feeling that bigger cities have. And the bus system is safe and convenient....and most areas are safe to walk at night in.
Shoreline might be your cup of tea: Lots of tees, quiet, and not real far from the UW, but even closer neighborhoods like Wedgewood and Ravenna and Maple Leaf are nice and safe, but not especially inexpensive.

[allforcats]

WildandFree, one of my favorite 2 or 3 places on earth is the northeast corner of Fairbanks... And I understand how you feel about urban living. The areas mentioned in the previous post by Ira500 are convenient, safe, quiet, lots of trees, families, dogs, birds.... very comfortable and not part of any "scene". But because of our excellent Metro public bus system, they're all within 10 to 20 minutes of all the "scene" you might want to sample in downtown Seattle and in other neighborhoods radiating from downtown.

Here are two links that might help you.
The first is to one of the best maps I've seen to understand where neighborhoods are, the City Clerk's map. Click on any location to enlarge it.
Seattle City Clerk's Neighborhood Map Atlas
This is NWSource for rentals, the combined classifieds of the two leading newspapers in a wide area around Seattle -- with a map showing all around the area. Click on an area on the map, and that area with its individual sections will come up. Shoreline, mentioned in the previous post, is in "N. King County". All the other areas mentioned are in "Seattle". Click on either of those to get an idea of locations, and rentals.
NWapartments: Seattle apartment rentals, house rental listings, rental classifieds and other property rentals in Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue and other Washington areas, cities and neighborhoods

[WildandFreeAK]

Thanks so much, Ira and Allforcats -- PS, I know exactly where you're talking about Allforcats; I used to live near Fox for quite a while (Two Rivers now).

It's reassuring to hear these things about Seattle -- I know it's incredibly unfair and entirely unrealistic, but I can't help but envision any urban center as being something either like Times Square circa 1981 or Compton. I'm planning a trip down to visit in early August, and I'm sure I'll get a better feel for the area then.

That being said, if I was looking to extend my search beyond Seattle proper, how far out could one reasonably go before a daily commute would become a wretched nightmare? Would the area between Bellevue and Bothell be pushing it?

I'll look more into Shoreline as well.

Again, thanks -- you have no idea how much I appreciate your advice!

[allforcats]

Ahhhh Fox...... yummmm
I spent the first 30 years of my life in NYC -- IN the big city, in Manhattan. But I also grew up in primordial rural Connecticut. (Huh? Weekdays in the city, weekends and holidays on the farm.) I also worked in Tokyo for 11 years. So I really understand cities and out-in-nowhere.

Here's the deal: For someone from Fox, downtown Seattle WILL seem like Times Square, circa anytime! So will the entire University District which is where UW is. But that's a kick in many ways, especially restaurants, concerts, the zoo, the aquarium, the farmer's market, all sorts of shops, theaters, movies, etc.

But the areas Ira recommended are quiet, calm. Not like Fox. They certainly have population, and you can visibly see probably all your neighbors from your windows. Here, a place like Fox would be considered next to nowhere. We have some towns like that in WA, but not many that are completely off the grid and they're all very far -- hours -- from anything you want, like UW.

Bothell to Bellevue? Not impossible, depending on how long you want to drive twice a day. Lots of people move here, then complain endlessly about the cloudy weather and drizzle, but they stay and drive in single-occupancy vehicles on highways and arterials that were built for far fewer autos. Driving to UW, or taking busses to UW, from the land areas you describe which are east of Lake Washington, might cause unhappiness, unless you would enjoy 45 to 75 minutes' commute each way each day. But that also depends on where you choose to rent. But when you look at maps and at rental prices and distances, we can get more nitty gritty about east of the lake, called "the east side".

If you live in a place with dense population, you'll find that you can hop in your car and within a half hour find yourself reasonably isolated in forests, mountains, agricultural areas, rain forests, the ocean. And you can go there every day if you want to. (Much more daylight here in winter than up there; well from 8AM to 4PM in Dec.-Jan.)

The more you try, at first, to find a location on the west side of the lake, the more bus routes you'll have available to take you everywhere you want to go... That's a consideration.

I have to eat dinner. See you later!

[Ira500]

I think the area between Bellevue and Bothell might be pushing it, but Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, Bothell, and Shoreline wouldn't be...Traffic can be brutal, and 405 ( the main route between Bothell and Bellevue) can be a parking lot, as can 522, the road between Bothell and Seattle, but the buses on 522 have an exclusive lane of travel, so if you're on the bus you can fly by the people sitting in traffic in their cars and wave.
There are almost no places in Seattle like Times Square or Compton, but if you're looking for a crowded, scary neighborhood, I'm sure we can come up with one or two.

[Prple]

Everyone has given good suggestions.
I was going to suggest Lake Forest Park. Wedgewood, Bryant, View Ridge and Laurelhurst would be worth looking at within Seattle city limits.
I wouldn't rule out UW family housing either (Radford Court, Laurel Village or Blakely Village).
Good luck!

[allforcats]

Yes! Prple has some great ideas there!

[AzDreamer]

My son lives in Montlake south of the UW and it's pretty nice and quiet there. Buses to downtown and the UW are easy to catch. His 2 bedroom house has a decent sized lot and rents for around $1700 a month.

[springshades]

People don't talk to each other too much in the puget sound area... that's not to say they aren't generally nice or friendly, but saying hi to strangers just isn't a big part of the culture.

The key to getting to UW is mass transit... trust me, you don't want to deal with the parking or the traffic. Start with finding a direct bus with a good park and ride and you'll be set. There are LOTS of options for direct buses to UW. Driving from Maple Valley at rush hour without a carpool buddy will realistically take almost 2 hours each way no matter what google maps says.

Community Transit, Sound Transit, and Metro Transit ALL operate some direct routes to the UW. Marysville, Mountlake Terrace, Edmonds, Mukilteo, Lynnwood, Kent, Renton, Federal Way, Bellevue, and Tacoma all have direct bus routes for sure and there are most likely other towns as well. I'm not sure whether they all have park and rides though which is important. Also important to make sure those bus routes have a flexible schedule.