Best bang-for-the-buck suburb? (Seattle, Bellevue, Shoreline: credit score, homes, buying)

[CT_trackstar]

Thanks everyone! So far we are looking at Maple Valley and Northshore districts. I am very concerned about the Maple Valley commute though. Woodinville seems a little too pricey and I don't know much about Bothell or Kenmore so I'll have to start researching. Maybe I'll add Shoreline to the mix.

[RotseCherut]

There is nothing cheap about Issaquah, Edmonds, Woodinville.. Maple Valley would be the only other option than like Puyallup for houses that are cheaper, yet still commutable to Seattle.. You get what you pay for around here, as I previously said.. Seattle is not a place to live to economize.. There is a reason why places like Puyallup are growing so fast, because it is one of the few decent areas with affordable housing left..

If you really want to save money you can move to Federal Way or Shoreline, but the cheaper areas are cheap for a reason. They are not bad by most people's standards, but not upscale areas.

[west seattle gal]

Shoreline has great schools and looks like an extension of Seattle, so unsure why it's considered less desirable? It's a great deal for families.

I agree that Woodinville isn't cheap, but occassionally a more affordable house is posted for sale.

[Seacove]

Northshore school district also include Redmond north of 128th. Bothell really is a good "bang for your buck" suburb, it's going through a lot of growth right now. Older Bothell homes seem well-priced and new development homes are all over Bothell especially around 228th. Duvall is another one you might check out, has a "country" vibe and very nice if you don't mind a little longer commute.

[beenhereandthere]

Snohomish and Monroe, while you'd be looking at a 40 minute commute or more to and from in bad traffic, are somewhat affordable and an option to/from Bellevue work.

[beautifulseattlehomes]

Mill Creek, Burien/Normandy Park, Shoreline, Snohomish, Woodinville...and of all of these I would say that Shoreline and Woodinville Schools are considered the best of the bunch though the others are all quite good too.

[BellevueNative]

Originally Posted by Seatown1

If you want to be relatively near to Bellevue, Seattle, and other central locations in the metro, I highly recommend looking at Bothell or Mill Creek. The area is a bit cheaper and still has pretty decent schools. A lot of white-collar folks working for Microsoft and Amazon are moving there since Redmond, Bellevue are becoming so expensive and saturated. I attend the UW and know several very intelligent individuals who graduated from high schools there.

And all those thousands of pesky Boeing engineers ;-) They almost all live in Mukilteo or Mill Creek.

[chlee007]

Depends on your standard of good is. That question is something that only you can answer.

But for economic-wise, I suggest south King County, particularly Kent and Tukwila where you can enjoy the Sounder train and/or light rail to get to Seattle, thus avoid any traffic.

[limeyx]

Originally Posted by west seattle gal

Supposedly Woodinville has excellent schools, and it's beautiful over there. Cute downtown, lots of farms and wineries, amazing YMCA with ropes course, somewhat posh, close to Redmond and Seattle...

Nope nope nope, nothing over here in Woodinville heh heh heh.

[Hemlock140]

I never thought of Woodinville as even somewhat posh!