Is Monroe a good place to live in? (Seattle, Bellevue: crime, how much)

[armiva]

We have "bought" a home (new construction) in Bothell, but having second thoughts about whether to go through with the purchase, given the over-inflated prices of homes (we thought there may be repercussions in the economy with Trump winning the election as well). We are okay with losing the earnest money (the builder only required $5K, fortunately).

Now we have found a home that we like more, it's bigger and better than the one who have "bought" and is around $150K cheaper in Monroe. However, we don't know much about the area. Would it be a reasonable commute to Microsoft? Our current commute is almost an hour in peak traffic. Is the area generally nice? If anyone has any input to offer, it'd be great. Is it worth paying 150K more (or in terms of monthly payment, it works out to $600 more per month), to stay in Bothell, literally next to a top-rated elementary and high school? Or have a better home, in a less desirable area, but for much cheaper, with a potentially slightly worse commute.

[Hemlock140]

My sister lives in Monroe and is constantly complaining about the drugs and property crime, trespassing, homeless people and other issues. They do have the biggest and newest Walmart. As for the commute, about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes longer than Bothell on a very congested 405/522.

[misscross]

Monroe doesn't exactly have a reputation for good schools and most people know it for a prison or some other corrections center there.
Top rates schools nearby would be a big plus, wherever you are looking.

The new construction house might not be the best choice if commute is still bad, and yeah it's a risk to buy in a sea of new construction with land down the street that can be built on later. I think your choice isn't between that and the Monroe house but between the new construction and something else also near good schools but closer in

[Thom52]

are they still talking about turning 522 into a toll road? That could add to commute costs.

And yes, add 45 minutes to an hour extra MicroSoft commute time during Rush Hour, depending on where in Bothell or Munroe you are located. You might be better taking the back roads for the commute, instead of 522 and 405.

You are located near a major prison in Monroe, which probably isn't as big of a deal as it sounds.

You are that much closer to hiking etc in the mountains up Highway 2, except that road has become one big bottleneck and can have huge backups on a nice day in the mountains.

Check into schools. Hopefully those have improved with the large influx of people there.

[Transmition]

Highway 2 is horrific whenever there is an event at the fairgrounds, which is a lot. The noise from the speedway was so loud when I was looking for houses there that I decided that it wasn't the town for me.

[CrazyDonkey]

I don't think there is anything particularly wrong about the Monroe area, and much might be right about it - it is semi-rural to rural. It is not unique in having problems with drugs, property crime, vagrancy, homelessness, etc.

On the other hand, a larger house is $150k cheaper for a reason. That is because commuting to job centers (Everett, Seattle, and Bellevue/Redmond) is very tough, with bottlenecks on Highway 2, 522, 405, and I-5.

[Kayela]

It's not a 'slightly worse' commute - it's considerably worse. For a rural town of its size, Monroe gets an aweful lot of big city traffic. The schools in Bothell are definitely better, and you're closer to a lot more amenities. If the commute was only 'slightly worse', and the schools were as good as Bothell's - the price difference wouldn't be $150K.

[perigee]

Full disclosure, I am looking at properties in Monroe so there might be some unintentional bias, but I like the area.

If you can, do a dry run on the commute, since that is something I don't worry about I can't comment on how bad the choke points get and if there are alternative routes to take. That being said, I know that depending on the time of day the traffic can get bad, though the state that 405 has gotten into, I can't really comment on which is worse, a 405 commute from Bothell to Redmond can't be nice, even if you're paying for the express tollways, which is something to factor in on the $150k bigger mortgage.

I like the slightly more rural widespread aspect of Monroe vs Bothell and that comes into play when discussing the prison or the fair grounds. Monroe is pretty spread out and talking to locals you can easily know if you're going to be negatively impacted by either depending on your location. Oh, something to consider is flooding, make sure you're out of the flood plain and your egress points won't be flooded.

There are pluses and minuses to both cities, personally I prefer Monroe, I like that I find people more laid back and friendly. I think with more and more families being pushed out of higher priced areas the schools are going to continue to improve.

I can't speak to how true this is, but when we get our windstorms it seems it's more likely that I hear that a tree strike happened up in Bothell. The take away is that no matter which area you pick make sure the house will be safe from trees.

Surprised by the number of people who don't like the area, but I think it's an up and coming town and that rapid gentrification will push out the negatives, but will also increase traffic issues. Test drive both commutes and figure out how much the $150k will mean to your bottom line, remember that property taxes can also very greatly.

Best of luck with your decision.

[armiva]

Thanks everyone for the input and informative replies.

We currently live right next to the new high school, North Creek High, Bothell. From here, it is a 19-21 mile commute (depending on which route one takes). The return commute is always approximately an hour. From the new home site in Roosevelt Rd in Monroe, it is 26-27 - an extra 5 or 6 miles which I thought I could suck up for a cheaper home. After an hour trapped in traffic, I thought what's another 10 to 15 mins more But if the area itself is not good (didn't know about the prison thing, homelessness etc), then maybe it is not worth it.

Another consideration is which I guess matters to us, being from India, is having a sense of community which is there in North Bothell (plus access to temples, Indian grocery stores etc), and I am not sure if Monroe has that either.

[vnodak]

I lived for 10 years off of 522 and 6 miles from Monroe. We moved a little over a year ago. The commute would be horrible. Monroe is a small town with not much to offer and especially if you are from India. I personally would never live there. It is a hick town---not so good schools and crime and drugs. Stick to your original plan and you will not be sorry. Their is a reason housing is cheaper there. Best of luck to you. The community you are in---Bothell is way better!!!