Places to live in South Seattle Area?? (Tacoma, Auburn: to rent, house)

[GJGV]

Hi, we are moving to Seatte early next year from Va. I was wondering if someone can brief a little about south Seattle neighborhoods. I will be working in Tacoma and my wife will be commuting to downtown Seattle.
We are looking for a quiet family neighborhood with easy access to both Seattle and Tacoma. We also like to go out to coffee shops and restaurants. Any information is much appreciated.

[bigtrees]

Originally Posted by GJGV

We are looking for a quiet family neighborhood with easy access to both Seattle and Tacoma.

Easy access to Seattle and Tacoma is next to impossible to find. The I-5 corridor is a mess. I carpool from Auburn to South Seattle and it takes 35 minutes in the carpool lane, 1 hour in the regular lanes. Auburn to Tacoma won't be much better.

[pwright1]

Live in any of the quiet central Seattle neighborhoods.(Madrona, Leschi, Madison Valley) Your wife would be close to work and you can catch the Sound Transit commuter train to Tacoma from dt Seattle. Plus you would be near tons of coffee shops, great restaurants, shopping and public transportation.

[CityGirl72]

What kind of community do you want (suburb or urban) and do you have kids? And what is your budget - rent or buy?

[bigtrees]

Originally Posted by pwright1

Live in any of the quiet central Seattle neighborhoods.(Madrona, Leschi, Madison Valley) Your wife would be close to work and you can catch the Sound Transit commuter train to Tacoma from dt Seattle. Plus you would be near tons of coffee shops, great restaurants, shopping and public transportation.

The train is actually a good idea that I didn't think of.

Be warned, though, that it is 1 hour on the train, plus time to get to the train from you house and time to get to your work. So you'd be looking at 2.5 - 3 hours commuting each day.

[pwright1]

If you live in the Mount Baker neighborhood or even parts of Leschi the #14 bus can drop you off 1 block from the dt Seattle train station and your wife can ride the same bus because the 14 goes throughout the dt financial district, the retail district and on to Capitol Hill.

[GJGV]

Originally Posted by CityGirl72

What kind of community do you want (suburb or urban) and do you have kids? And what is your budget - rent or buy?

thank you for your reply. We are looking for a suburban community. I think we are going to rent for couple of years before commiting ourselves to buy. We will have a 7 month old by the time we move to Seattle. I was wondering what times are bad for commuting on the I-5 corridor (ofcourse, 8-10 and 4-6 are going to be bad in any town). Or is it always congested??

[GJGV]

Originally Posted by bigtrees

The train is actually a good idea that I didn't think of.

Be warned, though, that it is 1 hour on the train, plus time to get to the train from you house and time to get to your work. So you'd be looking at 2.5 - 3 hours commuting each day.

You are right my friend. I don't think I want to commit 3 hours a day for commuting. I will be working for a hospital in Tacoma and I think my work starts at 7 am. I think commuting back can be a pain in the neck. ??

[GJGV]

Originally Posted by pwright1

If you live in the Mount Baker neighborhood or even parts of Leschi the #14 bus can drop you off 1 block from the dt Seattle train station and your wife can ride the same bus because the 14 goes throughout the dt financial district, the retail district and on to Capitol Hill.

That is a great idea. Thank you for your reply. I will need a car though for traveling. I will have to commute to different clinics and hospitals in Tacoma. I really want to live close to Seattle but I am afraid of the commute.

[allforcats]

Originally Posted by GJGV

8-10 and 4-6

Most folks in the western states start work at 8:00, not 9:00. The highways are congested from 7 to 8:30 AM and 3:00 to 6:30 PM, give or take a half-hour in any specific location.