Visiting Seattle/Looking to move (Bellevue, Redmond: rental car, rental, condos)

[johnnygraham88]

My wife and I currently live in Minneapolis and have kids. I am from London and moved here nearly 4 years ago and detest it. The weather is unbearable....and we want to live near the ocean and mountains (being from an island surrounded by water to now being so land locked is hard) and we also love to snowboard.

We are visiting this weekend and are gonna make a trip down to Portland too....

What are some things we should do and areas the check out? I want to get an idea what its like to live there...My wife's on a kick saying where ever we move has to have walkability to coffee shops, local stores etc....I would like to live somewhere with access by public transport to downtown also...Is there anywhere that meets this criteria?

Any advise on Portland would be great too....I know this is the Seattle forum though so understand if not much advise can be given. Is portland cheaper than Seattle or around the same when it comes to home ownership?

This forum has been awesome and I check it out all the time and have done for years....Dunno why I just decided to sign up now, should of done it years ago!

[DevanXL]

Are you 2 just visiting for 2 days? If your from London then you should adjust easily to the weather of Seattle. Are you going carless for the weekend using public transportation or are you getting a rental car? If your going carless then the light rail will take you right into downtown! Definitely some sights to see are the like place market, Seattle center, space needle, explore downtown, I personally love underground Seattle but its not everyone's cup of tea. Explore the waterfront and stop by the Seattle art museum to see the plans for the next waterfront. On Saturday during the Seahawks game everyone is going to be glue to the tv so you should have a chance to explore around without too many people out. If you can take an argosy dinner cruise or atleast take the water taxi to west Seattle. There are glass museums, the skulpture park, experience music project if you are a music person. May even wanna check out the museum of flight if their is time. But since you only have a weekend key in on exploring the waterfront, the parks, going on the water, and just exploring to city. If you have time to go up the space needle or visit a museum you should to do it!

[johnnygraham88]

Originally Posted by DevanXL

Are you 2 just visiting for 2 days? If your from London then you should adjust easily to the weather of Seattle. Are you going carless for the weekend using public transportation or are you getting a rental car? If your going carless then the light rail will take you right into downtown! Definitely some sights to see are the like place market, Seattle center, space needle, explore downtown, I personally love underground Seattle but its not everyone's cup of tea. Explore the waterfront and stop by the Seattle art museum to see the plans for the next waterfront. On Saturday during the Seahawks game everyone is going to be glue to the tv so you should have a chance to explore around without too many people out. If you can take an argosy dinner cruise or atleast take the water taxi to west Seattle. There are glass museums, the skulpture park, experience music project if you are a music person. May even wanna check out the museum of flight if their is time. But since you only have a weekend key in on exploring the waterfront, the parks, going on the water, and just exploring to city. If you have time to go up the space needle or visit a museum you should to do it!

Thanks for the input. We are going to be there for 4 days...just wanna take a day trip down to portland too. Is there any areas you could recommend that are residential but have a small downtown or local shops near by? I will have to check out west seattle...We rented a car as it was really cheap.

[Blondebaerde]

Interesting time of year to visit. This place (Seattle metro) is a chilly sort of place in January, though past few days have been clear and cold. Bit of a weather crapshoot here, November - May, though "cold and wet" will give you good odds on a guess.

Being from Michigan, I'd sooner take a guided tour of Hell than live either back there again or anywhere near Minnesota, for reasons not dissimilar to yours.

On cold and clear days around Christmas and New Year's, even after many years in Seattle metro, I always say: "well, it may be a bit icy, and perhaps rainy, but at least there isn't a foot of snow on the ground. And, I'll take 35 degrees (F) daily over 0 degrees (F) any...day...of...the...week."

There is a thread or two on the main City Data site comparing Seattle to London. There are some general similarities in terms of climate, but differences too. Might be a good read for you, via Search.

You haven't talked about your budget, that is a big deal here. Nice areas have commensurately higher prices for many reasons. Most of (us) technies live eastside, though by no means "all."

If I were coming in here cold (bad pun), and asked for counsel on a couple places to visit that are:

- Walkable
- Stuff to-do
- Transport to downtown Seattle

I'd personally focus on eastside. In order:

Bellevue (downtown): sounds like it nails your marks, though I personally find it a bit sterile.
Kirkland : yeah, I live there. Rather quaint couple of main streets, good place to live.
Redmond: ditto, a bit more kicked-back and smaller.
Issaquah: an interesting and popular town a bit further out there on the I-90 corridor.

They all have TC's (transit centers) which will get you downtown, though I've not tried to do so from Issaquah. Depending on "where" downtown I suppose. Downtown center (University or Westlake) is an hour from Kirkland TC on the bus routes, for example, during commute hours. Bellevue, probably a little shorter.

[Molli]

I'm not understanding why your are looking at Portland if you want to live near the ocean?

[DevanXL]

Originally Posted by johnnygraham88

Thanks for the input. We are going to be there for 4 days...just wanna take a day trip down to portland too. Is there any areas you could recommend that are residential but have a small downtown or local shops near by? I will have to check out west seattle...We rented a car as it was really cheap.

Bellevue or Kirkland do if you want a true downtown feel. In almost all the cities there is some sort of suburban malls and strip malls. Bellevue and Kirkland (especially Bellevue) are some of the more pricey residential cities. Bellevue though does have a true downtown area with condos, high rises, and a fair amount of things to do. Do you want to live really close to the wanted? What are you look at around commute time?

Originally Posted by Blondebaerde

Interesting time of year to visit. This place (Seattle metro) is a chilly sort of place in January, though past few days have been clear and cold. Bit of a weather crapshoot here, November - May, though "cold and wet" will give you good odds on a guess.

Well being that its -30 and below over in the midwest im sure 40 degrees and a little rain is bliss for them!

[kaday]

I would look at some city neighborhoods as well. All have transportation downtown. While Kirkland, Bellevue, Issaquah etc are lovely places to live they are very suburban and not walkable. Check out Upper Queen Anne, Wallingford, Green Lake, Ravenna to name a few. Walkable, interesting older homes, leafy, family friendly, very close to city attractions and all have shops and restaurants right in the neighborhood. If you are scoping out Seattle as a potential home and walkable is important I would not miss these neighborhoods.

[tobester]

Originally Posted by kaday

I would look at some city neighborhoods as well. All have transportation downtown. While Kirkland, Bellevue, Issaquah etc are lovely places to live they are very suburban and not walkable. Check out Upper Queen Anne, Wallingford, Green Lake, Ravenna to name a few. Walkable, family friendly, very close to city attractions. If you are scoping out Seattle as a potential home and walkable is important I would not miss these neighborhoods.

I'd add Ballard to the list - so many restaurants, so little time.

[509]

Originally Posted by Molli

I'm not understanding why your are looking at Portland if you want to live near the ocean?

So Seattle is REALLY part of the coast??

Portland.

I would chose somewhere else....but given the choice between Portland and Seattle. Portland.

I stayed in both cities on business. I always looked forward to Portland....visiting Seattle was part of the job. Nothing special.

Portland is on a more human scale. Great public transportation. Better weather. Lots more interesting stuff in a smaller area. Great food. Great shops. It is a a special city.

It is the only part of being retired that I miss.

[Molli]

Originally Posted by 509

So Seattle is REALLY part of the coast??

In the second line of the OP's post he said he wants to live near the ocean.