Moving to Seattle area need help

[texastrigirl]

If you live in Gig Harbor, you can afford more house than you could in many places in Seattle and that would fit for your commute, which I would place as a high priority. My friend grew up in GH and her sister is raising her kids there now. Her kids go to a private school though but they both speak very highly of life there and the kids who are high school age have enjoyed growing up there as well. I met another high school boy one day randomly and he lives on Vashon Island and also has enjoyed growing up there. GH is a beautiful little town and I would definitely check that out. Sno Ridge has some great qualities but that would be a heck of a commute (I would guess 2 hours once you drive and hit the ferries right) and schools beyond the elementary schools don't rate as high as others in the area. Hope this helps!

[toyao526]

Hello,
My Boyfriend got a job located in Bellevue Wa.. it is very expensive to live..Would it be too much of a difference in cost of living to move towards Tacoma??? Keep in mind he is recieving relocation costs.

[djk29a]

Originally Posted by toyao526

Hello,
My Boyfriend got a job located in Bellevue Wa.. it is very expensive to live..Would it be too much of a difference in cost of living to move towards Tacoma??? Keep in mind he is recieving relocation costs.

Welcome to the Greater Seattle Area! The first thing you'll have to learn is that traffic here is among the worst in the nation! If you are going to commute between cities, expect basically nothing but hell.

Tacoma is certainly a lot cheaper to live in than Bellevue, but you absolutely cannot ignore the absolutely atrocious commute that would be up to Bellevue. You're talking going up I-5 and maybe up the awful I-405. There is a commuter train station from Tacoma up to Seattle, but there is no option for a direct route to Bellevue... yet. Regardless, you're looking at somewhere around an hour-ish commute. It's bad enough going from Renton up to there, trust me - I did the commute for 5 months before I said "screw it," bit the bullet, and moved to Bellevue. I was losing something around two hours / day sitting in my car just because of my location, burning through gas faster, and all of a sudden paying $300 / month more for rent doesn't sound so bad. The other alternative is to wake up around 5 am and get on the roads by 6 am.

I would recommend some place like Snoqualmie or Issaquah if living in Bellevue is out of your budget.

[DRobnett]

Originally Posted by djk29a

Welcome to the Greater Seattle Area! The first thing you'll have to learn is that traffic here is among the worst in the nation! If you are going to commute between cities, expect basically nothing but hell.

Tacoma is certainly a lot cheaper to live in than Bellevue, but you absolutely cannot ignore the absolutely atrocious commute that would be up to Bellevue. You're talking going up I-5 and maybe up the awful I-405. There is a commuter train station from Tacoma up to Seattle, but there is no option for a direct route to Bellevue... yet. Regardless, you're looking at somewhere around an hour-ish commute. It's bad enough going from Renton up to there, trust me - I did the commute for 5 months before I said "screw it," bit the bullet, and moved to Bellevue. I was losing something around two hours / day sitting in my car just because of my location, burning through gas faster, and all of a sudden paying $300 / month more for rent doesn't sound so bad. The other alternative is to wake up around 5 am and get on the roads by 6 am.

I would recommend some place like Snoqualmie or Issaquah if living in Bellevue is out of your budget.

I have to agree with djk. I live up north (Mill Creek area) and the traffic to Bellevue from here is a nightmare. At least an hour commute (one-way). You're better off to stay close, if you can.