Buy a house: Eastside vs West Seattle (Bellevue: apartment, neighborhoods)

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

She said they're planning to start a family soon. They're looking for a family home, and a family neighborhood, she made that clear. Why have them buy in the north end, only to have them sell and move in a couple of years, when a baby arrives?

Shoreline sounds like a good idea, though, too.

If given the choice between West Seattle and Shoreline, I'd pick West Seattle (or most parts of it) any day of the week. It has good schools, a nice, fun, small town feel, and great views. Shoreline's fine, but a little more boring, a little less pretty, a little more of a place you'd buy in because other places were too expensive.

[homesinseattle]

Completely agree, Ira. In a "character and charming neighborhoods" footrace, West Seattle wins hands down. That being said, Shoreline has truly gotten better and is a viable option for Seattle commuters who need to live on the north side of town and/or want a little more square footage or lot size for their money.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

She said they're planning to start a family soon. They're looking for a family home, and a family neighborhood, she made that clear. Why have them buy in the north end, only to have them sell and move in a couple of years, when a baby arrives?

Shoreline sounds like a good idea, though, too.

Why do they need to buy a big 4-bedroom house, when they don't even have kids yet? Even with one child, a 3-bedroom house is plenty big. Two small children can bunk up in the same room, so they might not need to upgrade, if ever, for a good deal more than just a couple of years. There are larger houses there, and lots of families.

[homesinseattle]

Completely true, Crazy. I just backpacked solo for a few weeks in Nepal, saw families of 10 living happily in 2 bedroom homes. I think as Americans our sense of the amount of space we need is distorted. Buy a modest home, make it cozy. You won't pay as much for utilities, you'll probably spend more time outside and you'll have more money for travel. I met with a married couple the other day (to help them sell their home), no kids, living in a 4 bedroom, 4 bath, 4000 SF home. To me, That is just loony.

[acousticset]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

Shoreline has good schools and would be in your budget. Worth a look, perhaps.

Thank you homesinseattle. My concern is about the traffic on I-5 into the city if we settled in Shoreline. It was definitely a contender, but the option of a water taxi sounds more appealing. I'll have to research a little more for the transit options from North Seattle into the city.

[acousticset]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

Why not look at North Seattle?

13015 14th Pl NE, Seattle, WA 98125 | MLS #1041672 | Zillow

9231 11th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98117 | MLS #1051512 | Zillow

103 NW 140th St, Seattle, WA 98177 | MLS #1054089 | Zillow

14046 3rd Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98177 | MLS #1027731 | Zillow

12525 1st Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98125 | MLS #1051905 | Zillow

12021 3rd Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98177 | MLS #1044176 | Zillow

Thanks CrazyDonkey for the MLS listings. I didn't think to check out Broadview, it's pretty close to Blue Ridge. Beautiful area.

[homesinseattle]

Yup acousticset, I'd choose West Seattle too.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by acousticset

Thank you homesinseattle. My concern is about the traffic on I-5 into the city if we settled in Shoreline. It was definitely a contender, but the option of a water taxi sounds more appealing. I'll have to research a little more for the transit options from North Seattle into the city.

Whether living in the Eastside, West Seattle, North Seattle, or Shoreline, you'll want to look at the transit options for commuting to Downtown. North Seattle: D Line (Holman Rd/Crown Hill), E Line (Aurora Village), 5 (Shoreline/Bitter Lake/Greenwood), 26 Express (Northgate), 28 Express (Broadview), 40 (Northgate), 41 (Lake City/Northgate), 65 (Lake City/Wedgwood to UW Station), 71 (Wedgwood to UW Station), 73 (Jackson Park/Maple Leaf to UW Station), 76 (Wedgwood), 77 (North City/Jackson Park/Maple Leaf).

Schedules & Maps - King County

Note: Light rail is scheduled to start operating from Northgate in 2021, and from Lynnwood/Mountlake Terrace/Shoreline/Jackson Park in 2023, with feeder routes from many parts of North Seattle, Shoreline, and further north.

Commuting by car from North Seattle is not more difficult, and in many cases might be easier, than from West Seattle or the Eastside, because of I-5's reversible lanes south of 105th.

I'm not pushing the Northend over the other options, but just saying there is no reason to exclude it from your search.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

Completely true, Crazy. I just backpacked solo for a few weeks in Nepal, saw families of 10 living happily in 2 bedroom homes. I think as Americans our sense of the amount of space we need is distorted. Buy a modest home, make it cozy. You won't pay as much for utilities, you'll probably spend more time outside and you'll have more money for travel. I met with a married couple the other day (to help them sell their home), no kids, living in a 4 bedroom, 4 bath, 4000 SF home. To me, That is just loony.

It's a matter of taste, I guess. We had 3 kids in a 3BR 1 BA 1,400 sf house, and it was really tight. When we moved here in 1993 it was 5 BR 2.5 BA and 3,000 sf. Even now that they are grown and moved out we love all the extra space, and have room for overnight visitors, like at the holidays. Yes, the winter heating bill is more, but that's about it, and with our income increases over the years with the same low mortgage payment we still come out ahead. Downsizing in this area now would result in a bigger house payment despite the $300k equity.

[cmswazey]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

Yup acousticset, I'd choose West Seattle too.

W Seattle has become a great area. Lots of bus service, shopping, restaurants and very close to the airport. But