Mercer Island Park and Ride (home, motorcycle, year)

[eskercurve]

10 min in the spitty mist people call "rain" here is nothing. Buy a nice jacket that is waterproof with a hood. I bought mine from Eddie Bauer 6 years ago and it's bulletproof and keeps me warm and dry even after being in the "rain" for an hour. Seriously, you won't need to drive. Relax

I'd be more worried about not being able to drive down and up the hill when it snows and the road ices over than the rain.

[GraceKrispy]

Whoops, meant 2 miles, not 2 hours...

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by eskercurve

10 min in the spitty mist people call "rain" here is nothing. Buy a nice jacket that is waterproof with a hood. I bought mine from Eddie Bauer 6 years ago and it's bulletproof and keeps me warm and dry even after being in the "rain" for an hour. Seriously, you won't need to drive. Relax

I'd be more worried about not being able to drive down and up the hill when it snows and the road ices over than the rain.

The other day when it was raining and windy as I walked up through the market to the bus I noticed that no one had an umbrella. Almost everyone was wearing a water-repellant jacket with hood (including me). I still do the walk in snow, just wear boots and carry work shoes in my backpack to change when I get there.

[cezar9]

Originally Posted by eskercurve

I'd be more worried about not being able to drive down and up the hill when it snows and the road ices over than the rain.

That's a good point. I didn't think about that. I might have picked the more expensive place that is near the central area if I read your post earlier.

[cezar9]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

The other day when it was raining and windy as I walked up through the market to the bus I noticed that no one had an umbrella. Almost everyone was wearing a water-repellant jacket with hood (including me). I still do the walk in snow, just wear boots and carry work shoes in my backpack to change when I get there.

This may sound stupid but aren't you worried that your pants will get wet in the rain?

[eskercurve]

Originally Posted by cezar9

That's a good point. I didn't think about that. I might have picked the more expensive place that is near the central area if I read your post earlier.

If it's the places I'm thinking you're talking about ... yeah, my wife and I toured those apartments and weren't thrilled that we'd essentially be living in an apartment that is the equivalent of a upscale motel with motel-quality on-site amenities. It was clearly one of those "minimum required low-income" deals. We considered applying on the sole grounds that it would be ridiculously cheap and allow me to save up to buy a house much quicker. In the end we went into the central business area apartments just because the unit was 1000% nicer, the amenities not run down, and I didn't have to rely on the cleaners for everything.

The only downside to renting in the central business area is the noise. No matter where you rent, you will have ambulances carting dead old people away from the old peoples' home, noisy people going to restaurants below you, or fire alarms because of how close you are to the fire house. That and you're surrounded by renters who typically don't give two dumps about public property or shared property and mess it up first chance they get.

In the end the suit made the man, so to speak, and we eventually bought a house and moved out satisfied customers.

The ice and snow is rare luckily, so it won't be too often you'll have to work from home/call in "sick."

[cezar9]

Originally Posted by eskercurve

If it's the places I'm thinking you're talking about ... yeah, my wife and I toured those apartments and weren't thrilled that we'd essentially be living in an apartment that is the equivalent of a upscale motel with motel-quality on-site amenities. It was clearly one of those "minimum required low-income" deals. We considered applying on the sole grounds that it would be ridiculously cheap and allow me to save up to buy a house much quicker. In the end we went into the central business area apartments just because the unit was 1000% nicer, the amenities not run down, and I didn't have to rely on the cleaners for everything.

The only downside to renting in the central business area is the noise. No matter where you rent, you will have ambulances carting dead old people away from the old peoples' home, noisy people going to restaurants below you, or fire alarms because of how close you are to the fire house. That and you're surrounded by renters who typically don't give two dumps about public property or shared property and mess it up first chance they get.

In the end the suit made the man, so to speak, and we eventually bought a house and moved out satisfied customers.

The ice and snow is rare luckily, so it won't be too often you'll have to work from home/call in "sick."

We ended up renting a condo from a private owner, not too far from the sunrise senior living facility on 76th ave. All the apartment management companies seem to have a terrible reputation, so we thought that we would get a little more flexibility from a private owner. Also, we thought that living in a privately owned building will be better than living in an apartment building with hundreds of tenants. The only downside is the hill on 29th street but it is probably worth it for $300/m difference in rent.

[rtoews]

Originally Posted by cezar9

Hi,

I really liked the MI area and decided to look at rentals in the area. However, I am a little concerned about the commute to downtown Seattle. How bad is the MI park and ride in the morning? Will I be able to find a spot effortlessly around 7:20 am during the week?

Thanks for all the responses.

I've been using the MI Park and Ride for a little over a year. Ordinarily, I try to get there by 7:40-7:45, and I usually get a parking space--though lately, it seems as though it's filling up a bit sooner. This morning, for instance, it was unusually crowded when I got there around 7:46, and I ended up driving home and walking the mile back to catch the bus.

If I arrived at the Park and Ride by 7:20 in the morning, I'd expect to have no trouble finding a parking space.

[seattlenextyear]

I think they're planning on beefing up that park and ride before the light rail gets there. I don't know how soon that will be though.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by cezar9

This may sound stupid but aren't you worried that your pants will get wet in the rain?

They do, but not too wet and dry off pretty quickly. Usually just from the knee down on the front.