Best Seattle/Eastside area for nature-loving introvert? (Federal Way, Auburn: house, neighborhoods)

[homesinseattle]

Look in the Broadview area of NW Seattle, close to Carkeek Park. It is somewhat of a secret, really not that far to commute in to town. If you decide to buy, you will get more for your money there, very treed and Puget Sound nearby. There is also a mellow social element (if you want it) of fellow hikers/woods lovers in Carkeek Park. Thoreau would have loved it there. "
"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment". Henry David Thoreau

[fnh]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

Look in the Broadview area of NW Seattle, close to Carkeek Park. You will get more for your money, very treed and water nearby. Thoreau would have loved it there. "
"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment".
Henry David Thoreau

Here is the thing though, on Thursday I took the kids to the beach at Golden Gardens and it took 1 hr 27 mins to drive the 10 miles back to our home in the Central District at 4pm. I tried to beat rush hour but failed. The same evening it took my friend 45 minutes to travel the 4.5 miles from lower Queen Anne to Cactus at Madison Park for dinner - on a scooter. Traffic is a beast here. Personally I advise anyone to live and work on the same side of I-5 at least, never mind trying to avoid crossing a bridge.

[RotseCherut]

Originally Posted by pnwthoreau

In any event, if you were somewhat like Thoreau, where would you live?

Not in Seattle, that's for sure.

I lived on the Oregon Coast for 4 years in Cape Perpetua by myself. Now, that is Thoreau living for you. Thoreau (the Poet) would go stir-crazy in the overcrowded cement jungle of Seattle.

Originally Posted by pnwthoreau

Right now I'm thinking either northern West Seattle or eastern Columbia City or possibly Ballard or Magnolia (but I understand it's a pain getting anywhere from those areas),

Mr. Thoreau (OP), you should probably consider living in a place in the Snoqualmie Valley if you want true tranquility, but still be able to commute to your corporate, big-city job. Also, you better have serious cash to blow if you want to live in a Seattle neighborhood these days.

Being a Thoreau kind of guy, myself, I just couldn't live in those neighborhoods, unless, I had a lot of cash that would allow me to get a big house away from all the chaos.

Issaquah is nice, but has become a tacky, yuppie/soccer-mom suburbia.

Originally Posted by Henry David Thoreau

Hope and the future for me are not in lawns and cultivated fields, not in towns and cities, but in the impervious and quaking swamps.

Originally Posted by 505HPC6Z05

To meet someone, you'll want to spend time walking around Green Lake meeting people. I lived a 1/2 block away from the lake. Its the only singles place I know in WA that isn't a bar.

Good luck meeting people just walking around Green Lake. This is Seattle and most people I would smile and say hello to (men/women) , would usually return the gesture with a blank stare and turning away their face. Seattle is not the kind of place where you can attempt to just meet people in public. The only real "SINGLES SCENE" in Seattle would be Downtown/Belltown/Capitol Hill/Lower Queen Anne. THe rest of the city is pretty typical for Washington and very cliquey, closed and insular. As well, the numerous amounts of college students, somewhat turns other neighborhoods into a college town atmosphere. Except most of these are UW students and they are not fun or cool to hang out with at all. They tend to also be pretty insular and stick to their own kind.

I do like the Greenwood neighborhood, but it has a somewhat suburban feel to it. People seem a bit friendlier and more old-fashioned (in Seattle sense). Not quite as uppity as some other neighborhoods. I would not say it's a spectacular place for singles, but where is around here? Men tend to outnumber women anywhere you go here.

Belltown/Downtown/Capitol Hill and parts of Queen Anne are Seattle's only real cosmopolitan neighborhoods and has a migratory population. A lot of people live in these neighborhoods come from other places for Seattle's job market and actually want to meet new people. Although the people in these neighborhoods tend to be a bit more transient and usually do not become long term residents.

[CrazyDonkey]

Renting and buying are two different realities. You might be able to afford to rent in Seattle's core urban neighborhoods, if willing to be flexible, but might not be able to afford to buy. Sometimes, renting makes more economic sense, especially if single.

If working near Volunteer Park, you should realize that commuting from Broadview, Ballard, Magnolia, and West Seattle will be a bear, due to distance and bad cross-town traffic.

If you live on Capitol Hill, you should be able to walk or bike to work. Ditching your car will save you upwards of $500-700/mo (in loan payments, insurance, fuel/oil, maintenance, repairs, and parking, which alone can cost you $100-200/mo). When I lived on Capitol Hill, I seldom had to leave, because everything was there.

Capitol Hill is a "hill" and a relatively steep one, so bike-commuting from surrounding areas could be tough, at least one way.

[pnwthoreau]

Well, it seems like traffic is even worse than I realized. I understood it was bad, but if sticking to the east side of I-5 and not crossing bridges is best, that does limit the options. I guess it's probably best to live somewhere near Capitol Hill at least to start. I'll probably keep my car because it's older and paid for, and I do like the ability to get out of town easily.

And while I agree with the idea that HD Thoreau would steer far clear of Seattle and other sizable city (he realized he was born "in the nick of time" and thought Concord the best place in the world), that just isn't an option yet. Hopefully in the future.

[fnh]

I wonder if you could drop a tiny house onto something like this, a la Thoreau's cabin at Walden?

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/20.../home/77493033

Leschi is often overlooked, surprisingly secluded and quiet for being so central. It borders Leschi and Frink, two old-growth forested Olmsted parks no one has ever heard of.

[homesinseattle]

Broadview/Carkeek Park is Walden Pond, Greenwood and Phinney Ridge Concord, okay that's stretching it but it could work . I concur that the solitude and open spaces near North Bend would have made Henry David happy, but they are so far removed from the things that are special about the city, or in this case, the "village" of Seattle.

[CrazyDonkey]

Actually, his cabin at Walden Pond was not much more than a mile outside of Concord. While living the "simple life", he didn't do his own laundry, but took it home to be done or to pick it up almost on a daily basis. He had frequent visitors. Isolated or a hermit, he wasn't.

So, being close to one of Seattle's "woodsy" parks, not too far from Volunteer Park, could be an equivalent: Interlaken Park (19th Ave E), the Aboretum (Madison Valley), and Seward Park (Leschi), the latter two on Lake Washington. Magnuson Park (Sand Point) is not particularly woodsy, but is adjacent to the Burke-Gilman Bike Trail and on the Lake.

If Seattle is Concord, then you might want to live somewhat near the Issaquah Alps (Cougar, Tiger, and Squak Mountains) for easy access to "wildlands": Factoria, Newcastle, Eastgate, or Issaquah (from nearest to farthest from Seattle). It'll probably be a car commute, since there is no direct bus ride to Capitol Hill. The commute won't be easy (especially from Issaquah, although you'll be that closer to nature), but perhaps not all that much more tiresome than Thoreau's daily laundry run.

Other parks on the Eastside that can give a respite from urban life: Mercer Slough, Bridal Trails, and Marymount.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by pnwthoreau

Well, it seems like traffic is even worse than I realized. I understood it was bad, but if sticking to the east side of I-5 and not crossing bridges is best, that does limit the options. I guess it's probably best to live somewhere near Capitol Hill at least to start. I'll probably keep my car because it's older and paid for, and I do like the ability to get out of town easily.

And while I agree with the idea that HD Thoreau would steer far clear of Seattle and other sizable city (he realized he was born "in the nick of time" and thought Concord the best place in the world), that just isn't an option yet. Hopefully in the future.

Commute times can vary significantly with the time of day. If your work schedule is flexible, then living further away is an option. I'd still nix Broadview, Magnolia, and West Seattle, but Ballard, Phinney Ridge, Green Lake, Fremont, Wallingford, and maybe south Greenwood could be doable. Some areas of south Seattle also: Atlantic, north Beacon Hill, Columbia City, Leschi, Georgetown, etc. As I mentioned previously, northeast Seattle (near the Burke-Gilman Bike Trail) could possibly allow a bike or bike-bus commute.

Since most buses run downtown, from where you'd then need to transfer to get up on the Hill, these would mostly be car commutes. Some of it will simply come down to learning Seattle's "secret routes".

For instance, it can take me more than an hour to get from west Ballard to Capitol Hill on the bus (on two or three buses, depending on the route), and not just at peak times. Off-peak by car, maybe 30 to 40 minutes.

For a transit commute, look to live on a direct bus route to near your workplace:

Route List by Neighborhood - Schedules & Maps - King County Metro Transit

[homesinseattle]

Donkey, I was meshing the OP's 500-600k price point, desire to bike and Walden like desires. My plan, though far from perfect, does fit those criteria. Living near the Arboretum was mentioned, not going to happen in that price range. Though biking to work would be tough (though I know others who do from that area), I suspect the OP is referring to the ability to bike/walk at other times. I live in Phinney Ridge, take my daughter to school on North Capitol Hill every day at 7:40am in 23 minutes. Broadview and Carkeek are about 7 easy minutes north of my home on 3rd ave NW (we call it I-3), one of the great ways to get across this often busy town.