A few specific questions...

[OnMyWay]

Originally Posted by Ira500

On my way....That townhouse ( I know the one you're talking about) was built this year, and the tax year for it's 1700 dollar tax was 2007, so the low taxes were due to the fact that it was land they were taxing and not a finished building. It won't stay 1700 dollars, it may triple within a couple of years. Whatever it sells for now will get reflected in future tax bills.

Ah I see! Just like around here they advertise last year's taxes on listings and don't mention the new tax evaluations based on whatever the new purchase price is. There are townhouses just down the street from me advertised at $7,500/year for property tax, which will skyrocket to $14,000 as soon as they sell. (yes, yet another reason to leave!!)

Isn't that sort of thing illegal? At best, it's highly misleading and dishonest... For new construction at least, they should simply put the tax rate based on purchase price in the listing and let the buyer/agents do the math...

Ira, thanks for your advice. It's VERY much appreciated :-)

[Ira500]

Isn't that sort of thing illegal? At best, it's highly misleading and dishonest... For new construction at least, they should simply put the tax rate based on purchase price in the listing and let the buyer/agents do the math...
It's not illegal...they're merely stating what last years taxes were. Misleading? Sure!
And they really can't guess at what the taxes will be, since they don't what it'll sell for. That townhouse has already dropped something like 60,000 dollars in price, so who knows?
Townhouses aren't selling very quickly these days because they built a whole lot of them.
But it would have been nice to make some kind of note in the listing to indicate that the taxes were based on before the building was built.

[allforcats]

Originally Posted by SeattlitefromNC

I cannot in good conscience allow a comparison between Seattle crime and crime anywhere on the East Coast ... certainly NOT Philly!

Seattle is the safest city I've lived in, by a longshot! Even with the occasional problems here and there, this place is certainly not comparable to the East Coast and some of their crime ills. Not even close ...

I agree, I agree, I agree.

[LucaBella]

Originally Posted by Ira500

The area near 85th and Aurora is notorious for prostitution and drug issues.

There is clearly gentrification going on in the area (I saw quite a few townhouses being built in the area), and the area is probably being advertised as being "Greenlake".

That's so common, and annoys me to no end. What's wrong with being honest? They don't have to advertise the area as " Hooker Central" or " Heroin Row" or " Like Crack?", but they don't have to call it Greenlake when it's not, and it's not. Grrrrr....

That's what they did to me, I live right near 85th, and it was advertised as greenlake.. and while the neighborhood seems safe, this may be why I'm having trouble getting roommates....

[eskercurve]

Any thoughts on what daily traffic is like throughout the north side areas, NOT on the highways?

On the north side, if you go downtown you can take Aurora ave, the Fremont bridge, or the Ballard bridge, whichever is closest to you, which is honestly a better option half the time from I-5, which is like a parking lot during BOTH rushes, morning and afternoon. Ballard bridge can get a lot of traffic but I'd take that over I-5 since if you live in Ballard or Phinney the trek to I-5 is a ways.

If you will work on MLK way, though, you may be relegated to taking I-5, since I'm having trouble thinking of a local route that will serve you well. The north side to MLK way is quite a ways. I'd consider living in North Beacon Hill, just east of Georgetown, which is a cool hip place which is transforming. Do not go much west from Georgetown though, as that's light industrial. Avoid South Park. Also avoid the Rainier valley, very close to MLK way. However, if you can afford a place near Seward park, that'd be cool.

In the northside neighborhoods there's little traffic except around 45th st. getting close to Greenlake, and 85th St. can have pretty bad traffic at times. During UW football games the area is gridlocked as people from as far away as Olympia and from east of the Cascades come in their huge trucks and RV's and the locals swarm to see the game. Other than that it's tolerable during the rushes. Outside these times, there's little to no traffic.

I think we will try renting a townhouse or single-family home for a year to get a feel for things and then take it from there, watching the house prices and pouncing if anything great comes up.

I've found a place on N 88 St near Aurora Ave. Anyone live around there? Thoughts?

I highly recommend scouting and having a local realtor show you some homes around there. 350k looks mighty appealing, but when you show up, yeesh!

My BJJ instructor taught very close to there! LOL. Aurora is shifty, but inland from there it is more acceptable. Just don't own a fancy car in broad daylight, or you will get car prowled (speaking from experience).

[tobester]

I'd second taking a look at Seward Park - I've lived there for over 20 years - the prettiest spot in town IMHO. Just 15-20 minutes of lakeside driving to your work.