Best Suburbs of Seattle? (Tacoma, Bellevue: houses, safe neighborhood, to buy)

[BoulderGrad]

Originally Posted by Botev1912

Why does everyone say that? What's wrong with 99?

I like to play a game while driving down 99 (esp in north Seattle) called "count the miscreants" 2 points for a drug dealer hanging around a bus stop, 3 points for a hooker, 5 points if she tries to offer you services, and 15 points if I accept them....

Haha, just kidding, really its 30 points...

[katacapo]

If you want good schools, Redmond and Sammamish\Issaquah are the best, 15 to 30 minutes slightly NE of Seattle. Redmond\Bellevue\Kirkland are neighbors and are all quite nice, Bellevue having a nice mall area (Bellevue Square with a great walking park), and Kirkland being close to the lake (Lake WAshington) a nice walk as well with a few good restaurants blending in nicely with upscale homes. Redmond is full of traffic (as are the other cities too due to Microsoft), there are many small businesses, and everywhere it is very close to the Microsoft campus, but the homes are expensive older ramblers, or ultra expensive little mansions in older neighborhoods. Sammamish and Issaquah is up in the mountains, 30 min's east of Seattle, west of Redmond, but they are ideal for having your kids grow up in the many many new neighborhoods recently built, practically in the mountains. Duvall, Monroe, 30 min's north of Redmond (a suburb of Seattle), is even more woodsy but I'd say the best deals are being built right now at 450k for a brand new 4 bd, 3 bath home with a yard, next to new schools. You only get a 850 sq foot 1 bd 1 bath condo in Seattle for that, without a view :P good luck!


Btw, the local magazine Seattle Metropolitan, did an indepth survey on the schools in various Seattle metropolitain and nearby cities.. here is the link:
Dec 2007 edition, Seattle Metropolitan Magazine » Back Issues

[zulan78]

I highly suggest the eastside. Anywhere that has easy access to i-90 is going to be your best bet for schools/neighborhood. I'd say my choice in order would be Bellevue, Mercer Island, Issaquah, Sammamish, Kirkland, and Redmond. That would be my choice in order of eastside cities. I've lived in Seattle, Bellevue, Sammamish and currently live in Issaquah.

If you want to live in a very nice community in Bellevue then Medina/Hunts Point/Meydenbauer/Clyde Hill are the exceptional top million dollar homes (no cheaper). Otherwise another great neighborhood in Bellevue is the Lakemont area which has newer homes (exit 13 off i-90 and up the hill). I'd say the homes there are roughly about $800k to a few million. Mercer Island has a closer commute to Seattle but there's only one way to get on and off and start at $600k for a very small old house. When Seafair comes along, you will hate it when they close off i-90 for a couple of hours.

[TaJasMi]

I like Lynnwood..but the commute I can do without! Other than that Northgate is nice...BUT If I could live ANYWHERE it would be West Seattle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh yeah...Bellevue is ok too.

[Beenaroundabit]

Another vote for Issaquah. Clean, nice, good shopping and access to just about anything you'll need, close to I90. Right next door to the Sammamish, which was just voted as one of the top ten communities in the country in which to live (saw it on Yahoo, I think). But without the Sammamish housing prices - still expensive, but not THAT expensive.

[Condorll]

Originally Posted by TaJasMi

I like Lynnwood..but the commute I can do without! Other than that Northgate is nice...BUT If I could live ANYWHERE it would be West Seattle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh yeah...Bellevue is ok too.

I have lived in West Seattle for 12 years. It is a great place to live with a small town atmosphere.! Not too crowded, not too much traffic, plenty of free parking, great Grocery stores, restaurants and services (Doctors, Dentists), and only 10 minutes to Downtown Seattle.

You couldn't ask for more!

[Trinidadio]

I am in a similar quest. My wife and I will be moving to the Seattle area at the end of this year. We are approaching retirement, so schools are not an issue for us. However, we are interested in finding a house or older condo in some area where we can use public transportation to get downtown. The biggest limiting factor for us is cost. We can only afford to spend between $200,000 and $250,000 on a home. It was helpful to read about the "best suburbs," but there was little info about the relative cost of living in these recommended areas.

Given the long list of possibilities -- Issaquah, Sammamish, Maple Valley, Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Woodinville, Mercer Island, Bainbridge Island, Edmonds, etc. Which of these areas might be a possibility for people who are looking for a modest home and will be living on social secutrity + part time jobs?

[Ira500]

If schools don't matter but price does, you don't need to live in places that are valued for their good school districts, and which you'll pay for. You might find a smaller older condo or even a small house, in Shoreline for that price range, but those other places will be more expensive.
I'm going to recommend Renton. Quick bus ride to downtown Seattle and downtown Bellevue. It has some scuzzy parts, but most of the city is actually pretty nice, with a walkable downtown that has nice restaurants and coffee shops and a new movie theatre. Mercer Island is lovely but insanely expensive, but if you live in Renton, to paraphrase Sarah Palin "you can see Mercer Island from your house."

[eskercurve]

I'm surprised Ira hasn't added her comment yet.

I would say that Greenwood is an upcoming area, and so is Northgate. There's lots of diversity in both those places. Go West of Greenwood and it's nice, as it's the north Ballard / Golden Gardens area.

People who say don't go south of I-90 are really missing out on some nice areas. One area that is still on my watch area is the Beacon Hill area. Yes there's a couple areas near Ranier Valley I wouldn't live but most of it is nice. Renton and Kent are nice but of course you need to explore first.

Bellevue, Issaquah, Redmond are nice. All the Microsofties being laid off will do wonders for the home values too =P

West Seattle is also a nice area ... if you were hoping to use I-5 as a commuter pathway then I'd consider West Seattle an alternative since you really don't need to go on I-5 to commute downtown from there. Of course, if they get a snowstorm, you're SOL.

[Ira500]

I'm surprised Ira hasn't added her comment yet.


Her comment? Dude, I would make one exceptionally ugly woman.