Looking for apartments in Seattle area (Highland, George: apartment complexes, rentals, condos)

[BigRay5264]

Job I may be taking has their office south of Downtown Seattle, specifically 98108 area.

Looks to be between Highland Park and South Park. Imagining this to be an industrial area, given my line of work.

Would I be correct in thinking commuting from somewhere south of this area is my bet commute wise?

I'm thinking not having to go to Downtown Seattle is a good thing.

Seems to be plenty of apartment complexes all over the area. I guess finding the right area is the trick.

[mrman78]

Best ways to find an apartment in Seattle are Seattle Apartments at Seattle Rentals .com - condos, houses and apartment listings and online rental classifieds, craigslist or just plain driving around the area you want to live and look for 'For Rent' signs!

[Kayela]

What is your price range, and what kind of neighborhood do you like? There are lots of options that would put you within a decent commute to your work. It also helps to know what you like for amenities and our advice will be quite different if you have kids.

Parts of DT are just fine to live in (generally towards the north), but they can get pretty spendy, and although there's lots of shopping - it tends to be more retail shopping and there's not as much day-to-day shopping. For example I was staying in a hotel DT and realized I needed contact solution at 10 pm. Turns out there was nothing nearby that was open. We had to drive to another neighborhood to get it. Stuff like that...

The first thing that comes to mind is West Seattle. Parts of it near the water are pretty spendy, but the parts just a bit inland are reasonably priced, there is a decent amount of stuff to do there. Alki is a terrific place to be in the summer, and there's a farmer's market and enough restaurants to keep you from getting bored with the selection. It's also close to DT and a very decent commute to the area you'll be working in.

Columbia City and Georgetown are also nearby. Columbia CIty is getting a reputation as the diverse place to be and Georgetown is a formerly (and parts still are) industrial area that is being re-made into a quirky, artsy place. They are both formerly 'iffy' neighborhoods that have gotten a lot nicer since people are rapidly being priced out of Seattle's core neighborhoods. Although certainly not gentrified - they both feel safe to me, but then I've never hung out in either at night. Georgetown would be almost straight south of where you'll be working, but Columbia City probably has more shopping and restaurants. They'll both be pretty reasonable for cost.

I've had a lot of luck with Craigslist for finding apartments. I've also had lots more luck renting from individual owners, but that's just my personal preference. However even the large places usually put an ad on CL. Generally people put the neighborhood in the listing so you can search on areas that interest you.

[BigRay5264]

@ Kayela

I am working class ... thinking like $1200/mo would be my ceiling

Single with no kids

Nice sized 1 bdrm in a semi safe area will do me fine...been trying to research the neighborhoods but I'm sure I will need to see things firsthand

Probably going to live in temporary housing at first, so I guess I can have a look around