Seeking progressive, (quasi) country living near the Sound, with a commute to Bothell (Seattle: for sale, houses)

[glomer]

We recently relocated to Seattle from a semi-rural part of the SF Bay Area, and are having a hard time feeling at home in the city (we are currently in the NE). The parts of the Puget Sound region that would be the best fit for us--Olympia, Port Townsend, Bellingham, etc.--are obviously too far from my work in Bothell to consider, so we are trying to find similar communities closer in. Colleagues have recommended South Whidbey and I am drawn to parts of West Seattle, but the commutes would be really challenging (I generally don't have to drive at normal commute times, however); a compromise would be to look for something in NW Seattle near the Sound/Carkeek Park. Any thoughts? While convenient and semi-rural, we are not drawn to the Eastside or Mukilteo, etc. Thanks!

[Seacove]

The funny thing is, if Port Townsend had an easy commute to Bothell it would be called...Kirkland. Yes, Kirkland is much bigger but that's what would happen to any quaint village type town on the water that had a short commute to corporate employment centers - it would grow exponentially. Same with Bellingham - what keeps those water based towns charming is their distance from the metro.

It seems like what you are saying is you want to be on the (salt) water with an easy commute to Bothell but not Mukilteo? What about Edmonds? Whidbey will require a ferry and while that's great and all, it will add a good 30 minutes to the commute plus the expense.

[glomer]

Thanks, Seacove, for your reply. Yeah, I know it's the distance from the metro that preserves the loveliness of those towns. I have not really explored Edmonds yet, but the parts I've driven through looked a lot like Lynwood to me, so I wasn't encouraged. I'll have to go back and give it a closer look. Thanks again.

[Seacove]

You don't the Harbor Point part of Mukilteo? Edmonds does have a nice downtown, it's not Lynnwood.

[glomer]

I had heard that Harbor Point was in the Mukilteo SD and that Edmonds schools were better, with interesting choice options. I haven't researched the schools there carefully though. Also, a colleague had said that that area is not terribly progressive, but I have no direct knowledge of this myself.

[Seacove]

The metro as pretty liberal/progressive but I don't know the specifics of Harbor Point. Honestly, in spite of a lot of rhetoric all over the place, the differences are going to be negligible. It's not like Edmonds is going to be progressive and Mukilteo is going to be conservative. It's not going to be like that at all.

[glomer]

Thanks--I hear you. In truth, this whole area is more conservative that what we're used to, so, ideally, we're looking for a very left-y enclave.

[glomer]

Also, I wanted to add that I work from home 2+ days a week, in case that makes a difference.

[perigee]

If you don't mind the ferry, Vashon Island sounds like a good fit. Liberal, rural'ish, surrounded by the Sound and from my understanding has a very strong sense of community.

[mkarch]

There are some large lot homes in Broadview that aren't ridiculously expensive, and some of them feel very rural because they're set into the greenbelt along the water far from any major roads. The large (half acre plus) lots tend to be up a little further than Carkeek closer to 145th. Where I'm at (North Beach) is more dense and the lots are smaller, but it still has the 'living in a forest' feel in some parts. The house at the end of my block isn't even on a large lot but since it backs to a ravine you can barely see any neighbors at all from the front yard. There's another dozen houses nearby that I didn't even realize existed until I got a peek at them through the ravines.

I really like Broadview and the main reason we didn't consider it was because it's just a little more detached and suburban than my wife preferred. But it does have a lot of very nice 50's and 60's era upscale houses. Other thing - the elementary schools serving Broadview aren't as good as the ones just south (North Beach, Loyal Heights, Whittier) though I get the impression that will change soon given all of the young people paying good money to live there.

Your biggest challenge is probably going to be finding the right house at a time when there is little inventory available. It could take a while if you're wanting something exceptionally private/secluded/forest-like. There are a lot of homes like that, but only a few for sale at any given time.