Austin to Seattle advice. OK, actually Round Rock to Redmond (Bellevue: car insurance, condos)

[agjm2003]

(first, I swear i've searched read the many threads that do provide specific information about going from Texas to Seattle in general, and even from Austin to Seattle specifically. I'm wondering how precise folks are able to get).

I'm investigating a potential move from Round Rock to Redmond, nothing at all firm at this point but it's interesting to speculate.

For folks that know alot about the Austin area, and Round Rock in particular, and that also know alot about the Redmond area:

I Currently live in Avery Ranch, drive to work about 25 minutes right next to Dell's campus on the south side of Parmer, east of 35 (so you have an idea of the neighborhood I live in and the commute i'm used to (the shorter the better)). -->> If I were to move to work at Microsoft, what are the top ~5 neighborhoods I should investigate that I would find comparable house/community/schools/commute? A city name is good, neighborhood's are better.. if you've got street names to plug in to investigate right around there I'll take that too.

I'm thinking RR Neighborhood comps here are Avery Ranch, Forest Creek, some of Cedar Park (if it wasn't so far away).

details of me if it matters : late 30's, 2 kids under 10, don't really care about how close I am to downtown Seattle (meaning I'm fine living 95% of my life in the suburbs and can drive an extra 20 minutes downtown whenever it comes up). Also, i'm definitely aware houses cost much more up there.

Thank you in advance!

[flyingsaucermom]

What's the comparable income and what's the maximum you want to spend on a home?

Especially here, it always starts with "how much money you've got?"

Redmond is on the Eastside and that's where you'll be looking to move if you work at Microsoft. Woodinville, Bothell, Kenmore, Mill Creek, Sammamish, Issaquah, Snoqualmie... maybe parts of Bellevue, Newcastle, Factoria, Renton Highlands... there is also Fall City, Duval and Carnation if you want a more "small town" feel.

I lived in Austin for 10 years and used to visit a number of friends and coworkers that lived up in Round Rock or Cedar Park. Definitely check out Klahanie in Sammamish. It reminds me a LOT of Austin area suburbs (built around the same time and similar sq ft.. after the Dell boom in the early-mid 90's). You can find sfh there for $500-$650k, townhomes and condos for less (and many feel like SFH). Schools are top notch.

[carroll4628]

We just moved to the Union Hill area of Redmond a few weeks ago for a job at Redmond Town Center. My parents lived for 10 yrs in Cedar Park. We have 3 under 10yo. We were initially looking at the West Lake Sammamish area of Bellevue/Redmond, but our realtor said we'd be paying a premium for the proximity to Microsoft. It's like a 5 mile radius that a lot of the international employees chose to live within. Education Hill in Redmond was mostly 70s homes, seemed overpriced (considering the general increase of housing cost in general), is rather hilly and we were looking for something moderately flat. We spent a lot of time looking in Sammamish - wonderful area - and we lost the house we bid on there. The traffic coming off the plateau is funny - you'll cruise to work at 7am, but by 8:00am the 202 (Redmond Fall City Road) can be very slow. Woodinville is very spacious, cheaper, and older generally than Sammamish, but you'll pay for the space by sitting in traffic on Avondale or 502 (Red-Wood Road) - and you're in the Northshore School District instead of the Lake Washington School District (although I think they're probably the same.)

To sum up:
Bellevue: Didn't even consider - pricey - small houses/lots - much older 70s/80s.
Redmond: Education Hill - older 70s/80s expensive for what you get. English Hill - nicer 80s/90s a bit more space. Redmond Ridge - master planned dense development. Union/Novelty Hill - pocket developments, larger lots, pricey IMO.
Woodinville: Hollywood Hill - nice 90s homes, further out, "reasonable" prices, Cottage Lake area (and eastward) 70s to 90s homes with more land. Bear Creak - rather expensive.
Sammamish: Medium dense to high dense homes built in the 70s near the golf course to 2000s further south. There is a line between the Lake Washington School District and the Issaquah School District. You can get a newer home in the Issaquah School District, but when you're that far south it's a much longer trek to the main microsoft campus.
Kirkland: Expensive, older and really expensive.
Bothell: Cheaper, but horrible commute.

If the position is at the Millennium Campus (on Union Hill Road) you could live in the Union or Novelty Hill area and you'd have a 5-10 minute commute. It takes me 15 minutes to get to Redmond Town Center.

A little on the COL: Our car insurance went from $160/month in Dallas to $90/month for our two cars. Our home insurance was at 2.25% in Dallas County vs. 1.25% here (although I here it is likely to increase). Basics like frozen yogurt (and DQ) are almost 2x expensive.

[rumbledee]

what other basics are expensive? are you talking about groceries in general?

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by carroll4628

We just moved to the Union Hill area of Redmond a few weeks ago for a job at Redmond Town Center. My parents lived for 10 yrs in Cedar Park. We have 3 under 10yo. We were initially looking at the West Lake Sammamish area of Bellevue/Redmond, but our realtor said we'd be paying a premium for the proximity to Microsoft. It's like a 5 mile radius that a lot of the international employees chose to live within. Education Hill in Redmond was mostly 70s homes, seemed overpriced (considering the general increase of housing cost in general), is rather hilly and we were looking for something moderately flat. We spent a lot of time looking in Sammamish - wonderful area - and we lost the house we bid on there. The traffic coming off the plateau is funny - you'll cruise to work at 7am, but by 8:00am the 202 (Redmond Fall City Road) can be very slow. Woodinville is very spacious, cheaper, and older generally than Sammamish, but you'll pay for the space by sitting in traffic on Avondale or 502 (Red-Wood Road) - and you're in the Northshore School District instead of the Lake Washington School District (although I think they're probably the same.)

To sum up:
Bellevue: Didn't even consider - pricey - small houses/lots - much older 70s/80s.
Redmond: Education Hill - older 70s/80s expensive for what you get. English Hill - nicer 80s/90s a bit more space. Redmond Ridge - master planned dense development. Union/Novelty Hill - pocket developments, larger lots, pricey IMO.
Woodinville: Hollywood Hill - nice 90s homes, further out, "reasonable" prices, Cottage Lake area (and eastward) 70s to 90s homes with more land. Bear Creak - rather expensive.
Sammamish: Medium dense to high dense homes built in the 70s near the golf course to 2000s further south. There is a line between the Lake Washington School District and the Issaquah School District. You can get a newer home in the Issaquah School District, but when you're that far south it's a much longer trek to the main microsoft campus.
Kirkland: Expensive, older and really expensive.
Bothell: Cheaper, but horrible commute.

If the position is at the Millennium Campus (on Union Hill Road) you could live in the Union or Novelty Hill area and you'd have a 5-10 minute commute. It takes me 15 minutes to get to Redmond Town Center.

A little on the COL: Our car insurance went from $160/month in Dallas to $90/month for our two cars. Our home insurance was at 2.25% in Dallas County vs. 1.25% here (although I here it is likely to increase). Basics like frozen yogurt (and DQ) are almost 2x expensive.

I love that these are considered basics.

We have friends from Texas here (Sammamish) and they too are happy with the lower cost of many things except for homes which are much more expensive, and gas.

[tom331]

We are living at NW Austin BullCreek area. We purchased a Sound view property almost on the water in Mukilteo. We like the Summer weather in PNW. Everything in Seattle area are more expensive than Austin. We could not even find someone , at the front of HomeDepot, who willing to take $15/H for yard work. They demanded $20/h. The charge for the plumbing job is much higher also. PNW is nice, but you should expect the COL will be much higher.

[agjm2003]

Thank you very much for the guidance offered thus far, it is helping me narrow down where to look.

Does anyone know ALOT about Round Rock area neighborhood's enough to direct compare? I realize some details and differences can never be known until you're living somewhere for a bit. For example, here Teravista & Falcon Pointe (in Pflugerville) are VERY similar (same community company, many of the exact same floor plans), but it's pretty well accepted that Teravista is nicer community than Falcon Pointe. Even given that, folks may choose Falcon Pointe because it's closer to things they like, and Teravista may not be 'nicer' enough to overcome that particular convenience.

This is definitely helpful so far, from what I'm reading I'd target Sammamish, Woodinville/Hollywood Hill, Redmond Ridge.

I'm just curious if someone could say "If you like Avery Ranch/Forest Creek, which give you 25 minute commutes to work", these are 5 very similar neighborhoods with a similar MSFT commute in the greater Redmond area: specific communities, specific streets"

I realize this is pretty specific, and no one on here may have that kind of in-depth knowledge of both areas, i'm just curious how close I can get.

[flyingsaucermom]

Originally Posted by agjm2003

Thank you very much for the guidance offered thus far, it is helping me narrow down where to look.

Does anyone know ALOT about Round Rock area neighborhood's enough to direct compare? I realize some details and differences can never be known until you're living somewhere for a bit. For example, here Teravista & Falcon Pointe (in Pflugerville) are VERY similar (same community company, many of the exact same floor plans), but it's pretty well accepted that Teravista is nicer community than Falcon Pointe. Even given that, folks may choose Falcon Pointe because it's closer to things they like, and Teravista may not be 'nicer' enough to overcome that particular convenience.

This is definitely helpful so far, from what I'm reading I'd target Sammamish, Woodinville/Hollywood Hill, Redmond Ridge.

I'm just curious if someone could say "If you like Avery Ranch/Forest Creek, which give you 25 minute commutes to work", these are 5 very similar neighborhoods with a similar MSFT commute in the greater Redmond area: specific communities, specific streets"

I realize this is pretty specific, and no one on here may have that kind of in-depth knowledge of both areas, i'm just curious how close I can get.

You will need to come visit yourself. We don't know your income and what you can afford. Neighborhoods, floor plans and the general feel of community is not really comparable since Seattle is in a completely different climate and has a completely different topography than Round Rock.

[Seacove]

If the OP is trying to find a duplicate of Texas, why not stay in Texas?

[Prince Mongo]

The only thing I miss about Austin is the barbecue.