Queen Anne to ...Bellevue

[yaya97]

Only problem I see with Capitol Hill is that depending on where you are the schools are OK or not. What about Westlake? great schools! Crazy idea?

[homesinseattle]

Westlake doesn't get you much closer at all. The schools in the Montlake area are good.

[Neerwhal]

Originally Posted by yaya97

Hello- Sorry to bring up another "commute thread" but hopefully I will get some insight for friend and his family. They have been living in Oceanside Ca and are moving for a job to Seattle. The actual job is in Bellevue. They visited the area and are dead fixed on Queen Anne. They are urbanites and wish to avoid the burbs so no Bellevue or Mercer Island.

My friend knows what traffic is as he commutes from Oceanside to DT San Diego every day and that`s about 1H-1.20H one way. Would a Queen Anne -Bellevue commute be similar? Worse? Better? I appreciate the kind answers!

https://www.wsdot.com/traffic/Seattl...5reliable.aspx

Also, using Google Maps planning the arrive by times will give you the same confidence intervals.

It will be less than 1.2 hours one way most days, though if they are thinking long term, look where the train is going. If they are going to T-Mobile near Factoria, Rainier and the CD might be less expensive choices. Less posh than Queen Anne but hey if you want that urban feel, it's worth checking out.

[Neerwhal]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

Westlake doesn't get you much closer at all. The schools in the Montlake area are good.

I wouldn't choose based on existing school scores. They can change dramatically in just a few years especially now that Washington has redone its school funding model with less local control over finances, more state funding.

If you want good schools, U District gets you more bang for your buck. Plus they have good train stations nearby, great busses to the Eastside to serve commuter students.

You have to go down below #50 in terms of school rankings to get to anything outside of Bellevue/Issaquah, Lake Washington, Northshore or Shoreline (i.e. suburban) schools, but when you do get Seattle schools, they are heavily in that U District area, Sand Point, Thornton Creek, etc.

I am the first to say that rankings are just numbers, i.e. the top three schools are all neighborhood schools in the Seattle area are those in which gifted programs happen to be placed or are in distant suburbs (like Issaquah) and those gifted test scores make it look like a miracle it's not. However if you're looking at rankings, then just north of U District is your area. Maple Leaf, Wedgewood, Ravenna, Sand Point. Plus they have MacDonald, the Chinese immersion school.

[yaya97]

Neerwhal you mentioned train which got me thinking. How is pubic transport ( if any ) from Seattle to Bellevue ?

[Kayela]

Neerwhal you mentioned train which got me thinking. How is pubic transport ( if any ) from Seattle to Bellevue ?

That depends greatly on where you live. However, I will note from Queen Anne - there was no direct transit to the Eastside. You had to take a bus downtown, and then at that point you could take another bus to Bellevue, and that was so long that sitting in traffic was pretty much always the better option. However, I live near the Capitol hill light rail station which I can take to UW or Westlake station (literally just a few minutes) and then hop on one of the frequent busses to the Eastside. Light rail to Bellevue is being constructed, but it will be at least a couple years before there is Seattle-Bellevue rail. Busses do really fill up at key commute hours, and sometimes you can't get on them. I really, really wish key routes like the 545 or the 550 had more frequent service because there is often standing room only. I prefer to get on the 271 at UW because it's less crowded than the 550 from Westlake station.

ETA: living near light rail, even in its limited form, is absolutely awesome! We travel frequently so it's the best way to get to the airport, it's great for a night out, and it makes for a much better transit leg than two somewhat-unpredictable busses (which are at the mercy of the same traffic the rest of us are).

[Neerwhal]

Originally Posted by yaya97

Neerwhal you mentioned train which got me thinking. How is pubic transport ( if any ) from Seattle to Bellevue ?

Depends. In about 10 years we'll have a train. You have to play the long game with transport in Seattle. We voted it in when I was a teenager. Now we have one line.

If you go U District to north Bellevue, you can take an express from the University. It's about 40 minutes including wait times, assuming you'll want a cushion before the bus is scheduled to leave.

U District to T-Mobile, about an hour.

Google Maps from University of Washington to T-Mobile

Cap Hill to Infosys

Seattle Central College to Infosys

Laurelhurst (great neighborhood primary school) to Expedia

My partner bus and bike commutes to Seattle daily. It takes an extra 20 minutes some days, but some days it's faster. Your employer may also provide an Orca pass with employment--MS does this. If that's the case, you could save hundreds on gas + car payment.

Edit: I would also note that most families we know living in Seattle proper and on the Eastside manage something like, one person busses in 3 days a week, work from home a couple days a week, other person has the opposite schedule. Only families with one worker with a very high engineering salary (like $250k+) and a stay at home parent who literally does 100% of the work at home, from school ready to bedtime, do the commute option. I don't know how that works for the commuters in those families because I literally never see those guys, whereas I see a lot of WFH tech moms and dads at the bus stop daily. I imagine it's very similar in Seattle at the bus stop, alternate parent daily while the other commutes in on transport.

[GraceKrispy]

Originally Posted by yaya97

Neerwhal you mentioned train which got me thinking. How is pubic transport ( if any ) from Seattle to Bellevue ?

I currently do the opposite commute. I use public transportation (bus). It takes a while, but is much cheaper. Heading *to* Bellevue from the Queen Anne area during regular commute times is worse. I have to take 3 buses to get from where I live to lower Queen Anne. Assuming your friend is working in the downtown Bellevue area, two buses minimum will be needed. If buses come pretty frequently, it won't be a difficult commute. But it still takes time. My 3 buses are at least 70 minutes, and that's when they line up beautifully. If you're heading to Microsoft area, I'd go a different approach that may or may not have you go through downtown Seattle (the 32 goes from Queen Anne to University, and then you can take 541 or 542 to Microsoft-- I do the opposite if I have to go to the U first before heading to QA).

(btw, just noticed the -bolded by me- typo on your original post. made me giggle! at least I'm going to assume it's a typo!)

[yaya97]

Originally Posted by GraceKrispy

I currently do the opposite commute. I use public transportation (bus). It takes a while, but is much cheaper. Heading *to* Bellevue from the Queen Anne area during regular commute times is worse. I have to take 3 buses to get from where I live to lower Queen Anne. Assuming your friend is working in the downtown Bellevue area, two buses minimum will be needed. If buses come pretty frequently, it won't be a difficult commute. But it still takes time. My 3 buses are at least 70 minutes, and that's when they line up beautifully. If you're heading to Microsoft area, I'd go a different approach that may or may not have you go through downtown Seattle (the 32 goes from Queen Anne to University, and then you can take 541 or 542 to Microsoft-- I do the opposite if I have to go to the U first before heading to QA).

(btw, just noticed the -bolded by me- typo on your original post. made me giggle! at least I'm going to assume it's a typo!)

Thank you yes a BIG typo! PUBLIC!