Do any of the Washington cities have a true "suburb"? (Seattle: apartments, rentals)

[revelated]

And by suburb, I mean of course that it's not downtown.

There is a possibility of a job offer sometime in the near future in Seattle. I'm in San Diego. I have a singular advantage in that they are looking for extensive skills in one program that very few people in the US have, and I happen to have nearly 10 years of hands-on exposure. They're flying me up week after next to meet with the team and do more formal interviewing. In the meanwhile I've been doing my research on Washington state in general.

From what I have seen, the cost of homes is roughly the same, while the price of rentals is a little lower. But what has me troubled is that I don't see the same types of development out there that we have out here in our suburban areas. Planned communities and apartments that have been renovated, in other words. BRE Properties has a couple, but they're getting negative reviews across the board for various things. I toyed with the notion of just buying a house or a condo and skipping renting entirely, but knowing that closing will take forever, I need to be prepared to hunker down in an apartment for at least a brief period.

Thus my question: Does Washington, any city, preferably close to Seattle, have any sort of newer developments that are reasonably priced? Something similar (visually) to this:

File:South San Jose (crop).jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not that I want that exactly. They're too close together. Rather that they're somewhat newer homes.


I am having a hard time finding an apartment that meets what I kind of expected. The closest I found was Citywalk, a BRE property, and the #1 result I find is a bunch of people commenting about a nearby shooting and its rather odd proximity to a cemetery. I also seem unable to find any apartments that have direct access garages, something readily found out this way.

Some recommended Newcastle. I consider that area to be about the same price as where I am right now, and totally out of my price range. Visually it seems to met out though.

Any others?

[Hemlock140]

Being here 18 years now I have not seen anything like in your photo, and am glad for that. The "sea of roofs" look is one reason we left the Bay Area. The newer developments that are closest to what you are looking for are not in Seattle, the new homes there are spotty, individual buildings where something else was bulldozed. You would have to go north, south, or east to find newer developments. One of my co-workers is in Newcastle and is planning a move to Bellevue, because of the long drive to get to any shopping, and the commute has gotten so bad on 405 to get anywhere.

If Newcastle is above your means, then so are the nicest suburbs of Sammamish, Issaquah, and Redmond. You'd need to go farther out to Maple Valley/Auburn/Renton, or north to Lynnwood/Mill Creek/Bothell. I'd suggest making the move soon as home prices seem to be starting to go back up here
in the last month or so. with the recent influx of new residents hired by Microsoft, Boeing and Amazon (1,900 just at Amazon).

[skinem]

Any of the cities here of suburbs...who doesn't?

You won't find huge neighborhoods in that style of housing as in the photo you posted...but yes, you do have neighborhoods with cookie cutter houses that are similar in appearance and are too close together.

But you also have many other different kinds of neighborhoods. Thank God.

[revelated]

Originally Posted by skinem

Any of the cities here of suburbs...who doesn't?

You won't find huge neighborhoods in that style of housing as in the photo you posted...but yes, you do have neighborhoods with cookie cutter houses that are similar in appearance and are too close together.

But you also have many other different kinds of neighborhoods. Thank God.

Let's try this again.

I AM NOT LOOKING FOR THAT SPECIFIC NEIGHBORHOOD STYLE.

I am looking for areas where there are newer house developments where they have adopted a more modern look. In other words, I don't want a wood house, I want one that is stucco. I don't want metal roof singles, I want standard, curved, etc. I don't want one of those swamp cooler type units, I want a standard heater/air conditioner. I want something constructed in the Y2K sometime. It doesn't have to be tricked out or anything, but I need to feel like it's up to date. Clean, nice lawn, neutral color, uniform size, shape and height. I'll even take faux rock or tiles.

I am willing to do without, but obviously this would be the first choice.

[skinem]

Originally Posted by revelated

Let's try this again.

I AM NOT LOOKING FOR THAT SPECIFIC NEIGHBORHOOD STYLE.

I am looking for areas where there are newer house developments where they have adopted a more modern look. In other words, I don't want a wood house, I want one that is stucco. I don't want metal roof singles, I want standard, curved, etc. I don't want one of those swamp cooler type units, I want a standard heater/air conditioner. I want something constructed in the Y2K sometime. It doesn't have to be tricked out or anything, but I need to feel like it's up to date. Clean, nice lawn, neutral color, uniform size, shape and height. I'll even take faux rock or tiles.

I am willing to do without, but obviously this would be the first choice.

Don't yell...we got it the first time.

Again, every city in WA has suburbs. Again, every city in WA has "areas where there are newer house developments where they have adopted a more modern look."

You won't find swamp coolers in this region and certainly not in the Seattle area, because it won't work. You will find some places w/o AC because some people feel you don't need it enough to justify the cost. Other areas of the state won't have a house without it. The area you're looking in may not have AC, but obviously, any house can have it.

Very, very few houses in the Seattle area have stucco because of the amount of rain. Rain likes to get behind stucco and cause mold and water damage.

Houses tend to be built with the materials that are plentiful in the area, thus the number of wood houses in the Seattle area. You will find plenty of subdivisions where they have "a more modern look", but odds are great it won't be the stucco look so common in Cal and the SW, so good luck with that.

[Hemlock140]

People here build developments with a variety of models that are intentionally not alike, uniformity is seen as boring and cheap.

There are not many uniform shaped lots here either, due to the many hills and creeks, and the mature trees that are left by the builders, often required as part of their permits.

This area was known for the many cedar shake roofs, but as they became less popular metal and the heavier composition shakes became the normal material of use. Stucco is rare, probably due to the 44" of rain and the difficulty cleaning off moss.

You will never see a "swamp" cooler here, and air conditioning is very rare. We get maybe 7 days a year when it's over 85 and even then it cools off at night.

This is a typical new home development here, with homes starting at $550,000.

Conner Homes - Belcara (http://www.connerhomes.com/communities/belcara/gallery.html - broken link)

This area is about 6 years old and is representative of what people here want, starting at about $650,000.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by revelated

Let's try this again.

I AM NOT LOOKING FOR THAT SPECIFIC NEIGHBORHOOD STYLE.

I am looking for areas where there are newer house developments where they have adopted a more modern look. In other words, I don't want a wood house, I want one that is stucco. I don't want metal roof singles, I want standard, curved, etc. I don't want one of those swamp cooler type units, I want a standard heater/air conditioner. I want something constructed in the Y2K sometime. It doesn't have to be tricked out or anything, but I need to feel like it's up to date. Clean, nice lawn, neutral color, uniform size, shape and height. I'll even take faux rock or tiles.

I am willing to do without, but obviously this would be the first choice.

I know you're from SD... but A/C just isn't the norm here. Same for stucco. I don't see metal roof shingles that often. Never once seen a swamp cooler here *ever*. Land here is also limited, so it's not really like people just plop down on an area and start building. There's a handful of post Y2K house developments "NEAR" Seattle. Generally, you find more the further away from Seattle.

I know there are some newer house developments in certain areas, like Renton, Kent where it's "affordable" (relative Seattle term). Newcastle does have some of the developments, but it's not newer and tends to be a bit more pricey than Renton. Auburn got some as well and is even more affordable... but it's also further away. Lynnwood has *some*, as well as Mill Creek. How far are you looking?

OP also neglected to give us his price range which makes it harder to pinpoint.

[revelated]

Originally Posted by skinem

Again, every city in WA has suburbs. Again, every city in WA has "areas where there are newer house developments where they have adopted a more modern look."

I have done numerous searches and don't find this to be the case. So far Newcastle is the only area I find that fits, Lynnwood a close second.

Originally Posted by skinem

You won't find swamp coolers in this region and certainly not in the Seattle area, because it won't work. You will find some places w/o AC because some people feel you don't need it enough to justify the cost. Other areas of the state won't have a house without it. The area you're looking in may not have AC, but obviously, any house can have it.

Trust me. IF 74 is average, I'm going to want 70 (degrees) indoors. That's how I am.

Originally Posted by skinem

Very, very few houses in the Seattle area have stucco because of the amount of rain. Rain likes to get behind stucco and cause mold and water damage.

That's fair. I would think Wood would rot faster than stucco gets mold though.

[skinem]

Originally Posted by revelated

I have done numerous searches and don't find this to be the case. So far Newcastle is the only area I find that fits, Lynnwood a close second.

Sigh. You're right. No cities in Washington have "areas where there are newer house developments where they have adopted a more modern look", particularly the Seattle area. It's an entire state devoid of any suburb with newer housing developments where they have adopted a more modern look. I know I would trust numerous computer searches over anyone actually there.

Originally Posted by revelated

Trust me. IF 74 is average, I'm going to want 70 (degrees) indoors. That's how I am.

I trust you. The point I was making is that swamp coolers won't work there. AC does, and most places don't have it in the Seattle area. Why? Because it rarely is needed. You aren't the only person who likes cooler temps in the house. In fact, it seems most people who live in the Seattle area kind of tend to prefer cooler temps. Just letting you know you'll find more houses without AC than with. You'll also find you'll easily maintain your 70 degrees indoor most times without it.

Originally Posted by revelated

That's fair. I would think Wood would rot faster than stucco gets mold though.

I'm sure you're right. I expect for nearly 200 years inhabitants here have been doing it wrong. I'm sure that's it.

[sll3454]

Originally Posted by revelated

I don't want one of those swamp cooler type units, I want a standard heater/air conditioner.

Could the "swamp cooler" be a heat pump? They are pretty efficient heaters in areas that don't get extremely cold, and they are excellent air conditioners.

Or maybe you meant window units?

How far from Seattle are you willing to look for your suburbs?