Working in Issaquah: What are the pros/cons of living in Seattle vs Bellevue? (Sammamish: crimes)

[FCNinsider]

Hey all,

I'm taking a job in Issaquah and trying to decide where to live. I've heard that Issaquah isn't exactly the most interesting place to live so I am deciding between Bellevue or Seattle. I'm a bit concerned about the commute between Seattle and Issaquah but from I've read in other posts, if you commute at the right time, it's not that big of a deal.

Can anyone weigh in on the differences between Seattle and Bellevue? Also, if you recommend Seattle, any specific neighborhoods?

[Blondebaerde]

For how much money? If sky's the limit, move to somewhere in Seattle (city-of) most aligned to whatever it is you're into. That was not specified.

"Interesting" in Issaquah is more about families, couples, that sort of thing: good schools, "safe", reasonably close to Eastside tech centers, etc. Amenities that people not interested in dealing with bums, vagrants/addicts, property crimes against vehicles, other problems typically found more often in dense urban areas like Seattle are trying to avoid. (Does not suggest those problems are non-existent Eastside, however.) Then again, I suppose if the previous are of little consequence, Belltown or Capitol Hill could be where's it at, so to speak. If you don't mind that they are being increasingly gentrified, per the Stranger.

Couple regulars here take mass transit from Highlands and/or Issaquah TC to downtown. I wouldn't drive within miles of Seattle in a SOV during commute hours, so that's how I'd handle it going the other way as-well. My boss just moved to Capitol Hill and commutes to our south Bellevue office, which is tougher than I would have suspected per her comments. Who knew. Just illustrates yet again what a train wreck traffic can be, for any or no reason. Thanks God for remote work, if that's an option, in our increasingly-connected employment world.

[FCNinsider]

I'm trying to stay under $2,000. Only need a 1br. I don't have a family so I'm more interested in the single life, living somewhere I can make friends with people in the vicinity of my age (20s-30s).

My company allows me to work from home so my plan if I lived in Seattle would be to mitigate waiting in traffic by leaving for Issaquah after rush hour (around 9-10a) and return to Seattle after rush hour (around 6-7p).

[Hemlock140]

Good post by Blondebaerde. I am one that commutes from Issaquah to Seattle by bus (drive from Sammamish to Issaquah) and while there is no real "reverse commute" any more, there does seem to be less traffic from Seattle to Bellevue/Issaquah in the morning. In the afternoon, however, I would not like to be in the traffic to Seattle from the east, it often backs up to Eastgate as early as 3:00 pm. I suspect that in addition to the people working in Bellevue/Issaquah going home, a lot of people go to Seattle for events and night activities, making it worse. My suggestion is to spend a few evenings in the downtown Bellevue area and see if it seems interesting enough to you. Bellevue's nightlife is pretty much limited to downtown, and the rest of the city is much more suburban. Should you decide on living in Seattle, the 554 Sound Transit bus runs all day and would be the quickest way to commute to Issaquah.

[CrazyDonkey]

Yeah, when I used to commute from Seattle (West Queen Anne) to Overlake, the afternoon/evening commute back was the wild card, taking anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes. The biggest variable is just getting to or from I-90. The more flexible your work schedule, the better.

[homesinseattle]

Seattle and the Eastside are really two pretty different vibes. Come spend time in each and you'll see what I mean. On the Seattle side, if commuting to Issaquah, Mount Baker, Madrona, Leschi, Central District, Beacon Hill and Colombia City would serve your needs best.