Advice for neighborhood (Seattle, Bellevue, Shoreline: homes, buyers, school district)

[MayouInSeattle]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

First, what you're asking for: $1.1M, 3bd/2ba, mid-century modern house (1950?), 5,000sf, backyard. For Seattle, Zillow reports "No Results" for all of Seattle. For virtually the whole Puget Sound area, there are exactly two results: One in Snohomish, WA, the other in Olympia. Needless to say, there goes your commute...

This almost makes me think that you're intentionally posing your requirements in order to send everyone off on a wild goose chase.

I don't know why you are grossly exaggerating the inventory and why there is so much hostility.

https://www.redfin.com/city/16163/WA...o+construction

There seems to be plenty of homes that fit that criteria. 1.1 million is a reasonably healthy budget for a home. To say that I need to drive to Snohomish for that is pretty ridiculous.

And like I mentioned, I already posted several neighborhoods that hit a lot of points. I was soliciting advice for other neighborhoods I may have missed.

[MayouInSeattle]

Originally Posted by Kayela

Seattle pretty much doesn't have wide streets. It doesn't, and cannot sprawl - there's just no room. Plus, walkability is a big thing here, and wide streets make a neighborhood less walkable. Even when we lived on the Eastside, I wouldn't call the streets wide - not like they are in CA or TX. Curious - why is this such a big criteria? It's really going to up your commute time if you cross off most close-in neighborhoods because of the streets.

If you want midcentury ramblers - Bellevue is probably the biggest collection of them. MI likely has quite a few left as well. However driving in and out of SLU in a car isn't something I would wish on my worst enemy, nor would I urge anyone to commute across our notoriously congested floating bridges. Go to SLU at 5:00-5:30 pm and just watch the cars trying to get out of the parking garages and into the stand-still traffic. You can use up a big chunk of your 30 minute commute just doing that. From the areas you've noted, Magnolia is probably going to be your better commute, and I use that term loosely. At least it will probably be fairly consistent (unless it's raining or windy).

Totally agree about the SLU thing. During that unexpected snowstorm a month or so ago the streets were jam packed. U had several coworkers that waited for hours to get on a bus to the Eastside. Not to mention parking and tolls adds a non trivial cost.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by MayouInSeattle

I don't know why you are grossly exaggerating the inventory and why there is so much hostility.

https://www.redfin.com/city/16163/WA...o+construction

There seems to be plenty of homes that fit that criteria. 1.1 million is a reasonably healthy budget for a home. To say that I need to drive to Snohomish for that is pretty ridiculous.

And like I mentioned, I already posted several neighborhoods that hit a lot of points. I was soliciting advice for other neighborhoods I may have missed.

Sorry, I mistakenly input 5,000sf for the house, not the lot.

I still think your criteria needs at least to be prioritized, from "must haves" to "would likes", etc.

You can have all that you want, but not the commute. Or you can have the commute, but only some of what you want.

Schools are a wildcard. Take GreatSchools' "ratings" with a substantial grain of salt - they are based entirely on test scores, which are heavily correlated with family incomes.

[jakebarnes]

Originally Posted by MayouInSeattle

I don't know why you are grossly exaggerating the inventory and why there is so much hostility.

https://www.redfin.com/city/16163/WA...o+construction

There seems to be plenty of homes that fit that criteria. 1.1 million is a reasonably healthy budget for a home. To say that I need to drive to Snohomish for that is pretty ridiculous.

And like I mentioned, I already posted several neighborhoods that hit a lot of points. I was soliciting advice for other neighborhoods I may have missed.

I think he misunderstood what you said and put in 5000sf house, when I think you were referring to lot size.

[jrpaulson]

As CrazyDonkey points out, schools are a wildcard. I had one couple tell me they didn't want a certain location because the elementary school had a "bad rep", then the next couple said that same location was preferred because of what they'd heard about the school.
When it comes to narrow streets, there are homes in each community that are on wider streets, or are just a half block off of one. It is a case by case basis, and in this market you don't want to exclude a community because it tends to have narrow streets or you might miss that one perfect home that sits on a wide street.
Do consider south Shoreline, up around Lake Forest Park and some of Kenmore. My commute from Kenmore to Pioneer Square was usually around 35-45 minutes. There are those days, though, when it took an hour or more. (I just checked on Google maps and peak commute times from much of Kenmore to SLU are still under 45 minutes. And that is over the top of the lake on 522. The time was a bit shorter over the 520 bridge, but the toll!)

[homesinseattle]

Wedgwood in NE Seattle might be a good fit.

[Gardyloo]

Look at this for example - 7539 24th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115 | MLS# 1101849 | TheMLSonline.com . 3 BR on main level, walkable to Eckstein MS, one of the best in town. Bus on 25th NE straight to the UW and one change to SLU, lots of shopping in the Ravenna and University Village area.

[MayouInSeattle]

Originally Posted by Gardyloo

Look at this for example - 7539 24th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115 | MLS# 1101849 | TheMLSonline.com . 3 BR on main level, walkable to Eckstein MS, one of the best in town. Bus on 25th NE straight to the UW and one change to SLU, lots of shopping in the Ravenna and University Village area.

Looks like a nice place! Will definitely check out NE Seattle a bit more. Some streets are a little narrow, but like jrpaulson mentioned, it varies from street to street.

[tobester]

Originally Posted by MayouInSeattle

Looks like a nice place! Will definitely check out NE Seattle a bit more. Some streets are a little narrow, but like jrpaulson mentioned, it varies from street to street.

I'd certainly take 'no narrow streets' off your requirements list. If you found a great house, with great schools and perfect location, would you immediately decline because of narrow streets? Narrow streets are a fact of life in this area - you will encounter them daily and need to learn to navigate them. Sometimes, they are even amusing and entertaining as opposing drivers "out polite" each other waiting for the other car to go first.

[Ruth4Truth]

You could find what you're looking for almost anywhere, as there's new construction scattered throughout many neighborhoods. Maple Leaf and Ravenna have a few, and Victory Heights, east of Northgate, has quite a few new ramblers or 2-story homes, as a local RE agent has bought up old starter-home properties, torn them down, and replaced them with larger homes. There's a transit center at Northgate with buses that take commuters to various parts of town, and there's a bus that goes straight down 15th NE from Victory Heights to the UW and downtown. The HS for northend neighborhoods is Roosevelt, and is top-rated, and there are good elementary schools in those neighborhoods.