Snohomish to Seattle commute? (Bellevue, Everett: house, neighborhood, living)

[DCMann2]

I've been looking for info on commuting from Snohomish to Seattle and coming up short. In doing research on a potential move in the next 2-3 years I've been drawn more towards the more northern area of the Sound because it's more rural and that's what I want.

Ideally of course work would be in Everett, but for the right job I could see commuting to Seattle and I'm curious to know if anyone here has done it or has any insight.

Driving would be the least favorable option and I was looking more towards driving to the Sounder station in Everett or Mukilteo and then just taking the train into the city.

Thoughts?

[homesinseattle]

Hi DC, Look in the Fobes Hill area, just a couple miles east of Downtown Everett. It's fairly rural and not far at all from charming Historic Snohomish. To car commute to Seattle from here would be tough unless you left early. Without traffic, it can be done in 35 minutes, with traffic it will easily be an hour or more. The commuter rail (Sounder) from Everett Station to Downtown Seattle King St Station is a very nice, relaxed option.

[homesinseattle]

Some parts of Snohomish, near Maltby and just north of Woodinville, would put you much closer to the Eastside (Bellevue, Kirkland) but still considerably east of Seattle proper. This part of Snohomish, as it is closer to more people with more money, would get you much less house/land for your money than the Fobes Hill area I mentioned earlier.

[DCMann2]

Thanks for the info! Our budget for a house would probably be around $300k to maybe $350k on the high end, and from what I've seen in order to get that and a little bit of land (I want at least 1/4 acre and would prefer 1/3 to a full acre) then we'll need to be a little more rural

[homesinseattle]

Yeah, $350k with land too is tough, maybe Granite Falls or rural Arlington.

[Scotty Dosent Know]

My wife and I live in the historic district in down town Snohomish and I have to commute to Seattle occasionally. I work from a home office and travel all over the state but at least once a week Im driving down there for a job. I usually leave 1 to 1.5hrs to get down town depending on traffic and im usually leaving the house around 8:00 which is probably not peak hours.

For a while after we moved here my wife still worked in Maple Leaf neighborhood in Seattle. Just south of Northgate, 80th and 15th area. She would allow about 1 hr in the mornings and leaving at 5-5:30 in the evening it could take up to 2hrs to get home. After about 6 months she took a job in Everett for slightly less pay and more sanity.


I would budget 2.5 to 3hrs a day commute time if your driving to and from Seattle in peak traveling hours. Budget more if you are living outside of town which it seems like you will be. Our house is 1400sf 3 bed 1 bath on .25 acre lot. Similar homes in town are in the low to mid $400K range right now. To get something decent in that price range you are looking at out hwy 2 in Sultan or up by Granite Falls......but then you just tacked another 30+ minutes on to your commute.