Best Neighborhoods for Transit Commute to Bellevue / $700 (Seattle, Federal Way: apartments, rentals)

[Grissnap]

Hey All,

I have a job offer soon and be moving to Seattle from abroad. My job will be located in downtown Bellevue and I am looking for a neighborhood/city to look for rentals while I wait for my wife's visa (which might take anyone from 6 months to a year). These are the things I'm looking for, so if you could point me to areas to look for rentals that would be very appreciated.

-Commutable to Bellevue by bus (max 1 hour, one-way, the shorter, the better)
-Monthly rent of around $700 or less (more is possible, but just to give an idea)
-Doesn't require a car for groceries/basic necessities (I don't really care about night life)
-Relatively safe

Thanks in advance for any advice/suggestions.

[Hemlock140]

For $700/month you can get a small apartment within an hour bus ride, in parts of South Seattle, Renton, Tukwila or Federal Way. They will all be safe, though not among the most desirable areas but this is an expensive area. I would only suggest avoiding Skyway, which is just west of the Boeing plant between Renton and Seattle.

[Grissnap]

Hemlock, thanks a bunch I've looked around and it seems if you go much further from Renton to the west that buses would take a more than an hour as you'd need to bus to Seattle, then transfer. So it looks like Renton might be my best bet, although the apodments or whatever they are called in the Redmond area might be an option too (though slightly more expensive).

[amaiunmei]

Have you looked at Kent? There is a direct bus between Bellevue and Kent:

567 | Kent - Overlake - SoundTransit

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

For $700/month you can get a small apartment within an hour bus ride, in parts of South Seattle, Renton, Tukwila or Federal Way. They will all be safe, though not among the most desirable areas but this is an expensive area. I would only suggest avoiding Skyway, which is just west of the Boeing plant between Renton and Seattle.

And even then, there's really only a couple of blocks in Skyway to avoid. That's the thing with Seattle area "slums". It's usually just a few blocks of run down, slightly scary, but a couple of blocks away from that it's usually safe but boring. Downtown Renton has great bus service to downtown Bellevue. Metro's 106 goes from skyway to DT Renton, it's a short ride. What I would avoid are the apartments along and nearby Martin Luther King between South Seattle and Renton. But if you can find something in downtown Renton, the commute by bus will be easy.