Perception of townhomes on the eastside... (Bellevue, Issaquah: apartments, rental, condos)

[just*us]

We are relocating and my husband will start at Microsoft in a week. We have 2 kids, age 2 and 6. I have been looking at the MLS for about 2 months, and I have found some very nice 3 and 4 bedroom townhomes, some with semi private backyards, for decent prices in Issaquah. They have more space than many of the houses in our price range. My question is, as funny as this may sound, what is the perception? My husband is afraid other families won't live in these areas? I grew up in a luxury condo south of Boston so I never felt this way, but what is it like on the eastside? I already read threads about "snobbery"...is it going to be bad if we live in a townhome???

[allforcats]

I've always felt that if I live my life according to what I think other people might or might not think, or might think this week and not next year, or who knows how anyone will think at any moment -- I would indeed surrender all the power of my life and happiness to others, which means I would only exist and have no way to be happy...

Townhouses are normal here. So are condos. Most of the people who own townhouses and condos are families, and the rest are single professionals. I can't imagine who else might be able to afford to either buy or rent them.

You can never ever control others' perceptions of anything. But you can control your own happiness by choosing to fill your life with what you enjoy. I wish you joy and multi bedrooms and nice back yards!

[Ira500]

The "eastside" is not one specific place, and places in the eastside vary a lot in the types of people who live there.
Yes, there is a perception that the eastside is only full of rich snobs driving Beemers...It's not quite like that.
Oh, there are small parts of the eastside where snobbery rules, but the eastside also has plenty of "regular " folks who work as janitors and teachers and cooks, and Issaquah is not one of the especially snobby places.

[VeronikaW]

I live in a block of rental townhomes in Issaquah Highlands, and I'd say that 90% of them are filled with families. There are a couple that seem to have 3-4 roommates sharing the place.

V. =)

[just*us]

Thanks everyone. I think our biggest concern is that where we live includes a lot of families, and that it is not a particularly transient area. We will be checking out some of the townhomes I have seen on-line due to price and space.

[jenlion]

I don't think there is a ton of that kind of snobbery around here either, outside of parts of Bellevue maybe. Maybe because there are so many people moving here from all over the world, that kind of thinking gets pretty diluted.

We looked at the townhomes in Issaquah Heights last year and happened not to like them for ourselves, but that doesn't mean that we think that people that do live there are stupid/less/whatever. I would personally rather have a bigger backyard and a tiny shower than a big bathroom and a tiny yard. For people with a different lifestyle, though, that wouldn't be happiness at all.

Veronika can confirm or deny, but I recall seeing a LOT of nice, new cars up there in that development. Seemed to me that a lot of people in those townhomes were the ones driving the beemers, mercedes, whatever. I did notice that most of the cars were "nicer" than my dinged up eight-year-old Accord. So, I didn't have the impression that it was for transients or people who were just getting by or that this was the "best they could do". Seemed more that it was for people who liked the community feel of Issaquah Heights, the new construction everywhere, the nearby shopping, etc. The only thing my first realtor warned me about was an apartment block nearby to one of the townhomes we looked at. She wasn't specific, just made a few comments about it. I don't know if it was really apartments, though, or condos.

If you can get your kids to a nearby playground to burn off their energy, then by all means get the best indoor space you can. You'll be glad to have it during the darker, chillier months like december, january, and february. No good being crammed into a tiny, dark little box during those months just for the sake of appearances to other people who don't matter, anyway.

Good luck with your move. We made ours in January after some scouting trips the previous year and a lot of research and a lot of questions on this forum. Once we were up here in the temporary house, we looked at a ton of homes in different price ranges and, since I wasn't back to work yet, it was my full-time job to research everything -- commutes, grocery stores, talk to potential neighbors, roads, etc. That paid off and we moved into the house we wound up buying the week our temp housing ran out. It's definitely an intense couple of months -- and with husband trying to hit the ground running in a new job in a funky economy, wifey can get stuck doing a lot of this herself during the week. But we've been really happy here so far, after nine months. (You guys are lucky you got this set up before the hiring freeze!!!). Hope you guys find the right place to live and love it up here too.

[doulamama]

I live in South King County and I rent a 2 bedroom 2 1/2 bathroom townhome for $1,000/month. HUGE fenced back yard wsg paid.. 2 car garage... I also have 2 children, ages 3 and 4. Have you thought about renting or do you just want to own one? In my opinion I think owning a house would be a better choice... But renting townhouse is great for me.

[just*us]

We plan to buy but may rent for 6 months to a year first to make sure we know exactly where we want to be. Having said that, we don't want dd6 to move schools twice if we can avoid it, so if we rent, we want to rent where we are 90% sure we'll end up buying...

[Ira500]

That seems like a really good strategy, just*us.
Home prices are dropping now and renting for six months to a year will not only allow you to get familiar with the neighborhood and schools, etc, but it's likely that you'll be able to buy at a lower price and maybe even save some money in that time.

[Pittgal]

Everyone keeps saying on here about the snobby parts of the eastside. Where are these parts? I have yet to come across any snobby areas.