Seattle suburbs - HELP!!! (Shoreline, Burien: best neighborhoods, neighborhoods, living in)

[Ira500]

Homes with a Kirkland address cover a pretty large area. For those homes with a Kirkland address, that are 3+ bedrooms, 2+ baths, 1500+ sq ft, with a 4500 square ft+ lot, there are currently about two dozen homes that are under 550,000...Some of them look really nice from the listings, but when I go into houses, I often find that the actual house doesn't look much like the pictures.

[eponabri]

Lynnwood and Edmonds are both good. You are close to Alderwood Mall, ferries to Whidbey and the Olympic Peninsula, easy access to both I5 and I405, close to water and mountains, bus service is pretty good.

Originally Posted by cabolissa

My husband and I are considering moving to Seattle but we have two small children, and don't want to live in the city. I'm interested in a suburb of 50,000 people or so, but (THIS IS KEY) is not too far to commute to Seattle. I'm a paralegal and will likely be driving downtown for work. I don't want to drive more than 30 mins each way. Is this possible??? Is there mass transit (trains) connecting Seattle with any suburbs?

I don't mind the "cookie cutter" type areas. Love the Target type stores, and don't need to be in the mountains. But we'll likely start out in a 2 bedroom condo or apt and hopefully buy a property a couple years later.

Looking mostly for relatively new, low crime, good school areas.

HELP PLEASE!!!

[Barbara12]

Shoreline is a great place to raise the kids. Just north of Seattle city limits, there are parts of the city that have a good community feel while still being close enough to enjoy and commute to the city.

We live in Richmond Beach. We originally moved out of Seattle for the schools and lived on the east side of Shoreline but moved over here almost 17 years ago. Much of the area is a little spendy because of the water views, but you can find less expensive properties without those. There are lots of families in the area. I have made great friends through the schools, where parent participation is welcome.

Our commutes vary depending a bunch depending on the time of day and season. My husband works downtown and can be home in 15 minutes or an hour. It's all timing.

[jenlion]

Originally Posted by Ira500

Homes with a Kirkland address cover a pretty large area. For those homes with a Kirkland address, that are 3+ bedrooms, 2+ baths, 1500+ sq ft, with a 4500 square ft+ lot, there are currently about two dozen homes that are under 550,000...Some of them look really nice from the listings, but when I go into houses, I often find that the actual house doesn't look much like the pictures.

Second that!!! We had a major reality check when we REALLY started looking! Looking online there were lots of nice suburban homes with lovely tree views and nice interior pictures for seemingly reasonable prices. Then we got there and found things like exposed wiring(!!!), illegally run gas lines, neighbors' disgusting messes beneath the lovely tree views, etc. It may LOOK like you can find a deal for $450k or so in an area where the homes are usually more than $550k. You may even be fooled by the fact that it looks like there are LOTS of homes in that price range, so maybe that's the *real* price range. Unh-uh. Sure you want to find a good deal, but you don't want to be looking for the steal if you're worried about your house burning down the day you move in. There's some scary houses out there in the burbs.

[RelocatingToColville]

You are right on. We are relocating to Colville, WA (above Spokane) and thought there were wonderful homes there for under $550K because they looked so nice online (had acreages, large square footage, etc.). When we went to look, we couldn't believe how they didn't compare to their online information.

As far as finding a good place to live around Seattle, have you considered Camano Island? It is a 50-60 minute drive and many commuters ride the bus and Amtrak to Seattle. It is gorgeous on Camano Island and home prices are very competitive. You could get a quality home on acreage for under $550K. The schools are excellent and there are 2 newer elementary schools on the island. We have lived here for 4 years and love it (we are moving because my husband got a job in Colville). We have 6 kids and can vouch it is a wonderful place to raise kids. We go to the beach almost every night in the summer (doesn't cost a thing). There are 2 state parks on the island. E-mail me if you want to know more. It may be farther than you want to be from Seattle. Camano Island has been a best kept secret for a long time for many commuters who enjoy the beauty, no gangs, no crime, and excellent schools.

[cabolissa]

Wow, that's nearly the same price as Orange County where I live now. I think I'm going to consider Austin instead...

[CMKM-Miller]

I just saw this thread, I was wondering if some of the towns in Kitsap County, i.e. Bremerton, Port Orchard, Silverdale or others are considered great places to live ? If so, I see there is a ferry from Bremerton to Seattle, about how long does this take ?

[Ira500]

Bremerton is generally not thought of as a great place to live, Port Orchard and Silverdale are nicer, and even better is Gig Harbor, which I like a lot. It's a very pretty place, has a great school system, and if mthomson is around, she lives there and can better expound on it's virtues.

[jamesandveybe]

If you want 30 minutes from your door to your desk, you must live in the city. A suburb won't work. The closest suburb with an easy commute is Bainbridge Island, and that is 60 minutes away. Camano Island is 90 minutes out.

If you preference is to drive, get to the office before 6AM and you can make 30 minutes from Shoreline or Burien. After 6AM, forget it. If you prefer mass transit, live next to the train station in Everett and ride the train an hour to downtown, then 30 minutes by bus to get you to work (90 minutes total).

Otherwise, you must live in the city.

[Ira500]

I live outside of Seattle, and it took me 18 minutes to commute to work in downtown, but the only way to do that during the peak hours is to stay off the freeways..Some areas have surface streets that move, and fairly quickly.