Moving to Bainbridge Island (Seattle, Bremerton: sales, real estate, condo)

[cyberphobia]

Morning I am going to leave the "RAT RACE "of SW Florida and move to Washington State and was trying to find out about Bainbridge Island.
It is a 35min boat ride from Seattle and yet the island looks comparatively empty.
Seeing as it is so close to a major city I was wondering why more folks do not live there.
Maybe I have been living in this Hellhole too long and think it's normal for people to live in each others backyards.
Many thanks.
Graham S

[cyberphobia]

Does nobody live on or near BAinbridge Isand in this Forum??

[Ryan]

There's quite a few people on Bainbridge Island. It's the new "it" place for the well financed to live. It's very pretty and serene, but also very landlocked. Keeps most of the bad element out, but also keeps you in. Not much for shopping there either. Great retirement area.

Almost forgot, if you like Bainbridge Is. take a look at Silverdale, Poulsbo, and Port Orchard. Bremerton is nice also, but a little less "small town".

[laflood]

Bainbridge Island is very populated and becoming more so every day. As someone stated, it is the "it" place, especially for Seattle commuters. It is beautiful however housing is very expensive. I would think employment is limited unless you go into the Poulsbo/Silverdale/Bremerton/Port Orchard areas. Those areas provide a better accessability to water useage also, if you are into that sort of thing. We live in Bremerton and Bremerton is experiencing a growth spurt also but housing is much more affordable and opportunities (housing and employment) seem to be more plentiful.

[Carole]

Bainbridge Island is a great place, you have quick access to downtown Seattle by boat, but ithat 35 minute boat ride keeps the congestion and big city problems on the east side of the Sound. I currently live in the rat race of Central Florida but am originally from the Pacific NW. I return frequently to visit family and friends and always try to find time to visit Bainbridge. It is not a large place so there is not a lot of variety but the restaurants are good, there is an emphasis on art and artists, small boutique shops, good grocery store with gourmet section, farmers market with local produce on Saturday mornings, very community oriented. If you want nice laid back quiet surroundings with the usually big city amenities a relaxing boat ride away, you will enjoy Bainbridge. If you haven't lived in the Pacific NW before be forwarned about the long gray winter. The sun may not shine for days, it doesn't get light until after 8 a.m. and is getting dark by 4:30 p.m. It usually doesn't rain hard but there is a misting rain much of the time. On clear sunny days it is the most beautiful place in the U.S.

[Lynore]

My husband and I have lived on the Island for years and we love it! Hubby commutes by ferry then he has a 2-minute bike ride to work. I stay home so I have time to get about and see a lot of stuff. We live in the downtown Winslow Marina which makes everything so convenient and in walking distance (market, bank, post office). I have lived all over the country and I have never lived in such a beautiful place where people are genuinely polite, courteous and honest (I dropped an endorsed check and a teenager looked me up in the phone book and returned it). We rarely lock the yacht. Islanders smile and speak to you on the street. The locals know you by name. As for the weather, be prepared for cold, wet winters so dress properly. Invest in a winter wardrobe -- leather & sheepskin coats and hats work for me. I even have several pair of wool pantyhose and cutesy rain boots. Bainbridge Island ranked #2 for the Best Place to Live in the US. I'm not surprised.

[Rastaman74]

Bainbridge Island was named in the top 5 of Money Magazine's feature on the best places to live in the country. In fact, I think it was listed as number one. Go to Google and type in these key words: "Bainbridge best places to live."

BI has stellar schools but the real estate values are insane. For that reason alone, I had to mark it off the list of places where my wife and I plan on moving to. According to my research on Realtor.com, you're looking at about $300K on up for a decent 1500-2000 square foot home. The other drawbacks are that people there can sometimes feel isolated, especially teens who may get bored. Also, employment there must be sparce. If we could afford to move there and I could land a job, I would move there in a heartbeat, but it seems to be cost prohibited.

[califgal]

I too am looking to move-from CA. Fortunately the housing prices on Bainbridge aren't so bad compared to CA.

My biggest question-I've lived all over CA, now live in a small (13K full time residents) mountain resort town. The physical area and weather are unsurpassed but I hate it. Mainly because no matter where I have lived before in CA, everyone was open and friendly and I had many friends and great neighbor relationships. Here, most everyone is a recluse, few with college degrees, perhaps a large adult drug culture also but mostly extremely unfriendly and of the dozen or so invitations to our home or to a paid-for dinner out, only one in 2.5 years has been reciprocated. Neighbors never invite each other for coffee, co-workers don't go out for a drink/whatever after work. Neighbors don't help each other. It's the rudest town I've ever experienced.

So, Bainbridge seems relatively small also, but with 1/2 the population commuting to Seattle (good jobs, well educated, etc) I was hoping that the population was much different.

When you say friendly, honest, polite-does it go beyond that-truly friendly? Or is it superficial with no real interaction or some exclusionary practices towards new-comers? Personally, I always baked a pie/bread for my new neighbors to welcome them for example, always invited them to any parties we had; the neighborhood had 'block' bar-b-q's in the summer and block garage sales as well as block christmas parties, etc- What has been your experience (and others) of Bainbridge in that regard. Do they really want to 'connect' and make new friends to socialize with or is some or much of the Bainbridge population reclusive nature/cliquish nature ?

Thanks!

[goupilandcie]

We are looking to buy a condo or a small house in Bainbridge Island. How's traffic over there?

We currently live in Issaquah and getting tired of heavy traffic here.

[leafybarb]

It takes no more than 15 minutes max to get to the grocery stores or anywhere else, more likely 8 minutes. Traffic is only congested right around HighSchool Rd and 305 when the ferry comes in at rush hour, and it might delay you for maybe 4 minutes extra. Traffic is no problem on the island. I LOVE IT HERE. 6 YEARS SO FAR. No one wants the island to get more crowded, and the city has a restriction on development anywhere except downtown Winslow, Lynwood Center, and a couple of other very tiny spots. We all like our space and the city has bought quite a bit of neat land to save for parks so it is not all snatched up by rich private owners. It is not more crowded because the land values are relatively high for Washington, but well worth it!