Confused about neighborhoods please help (Seattle, Tacoma: apartments, rentals, condos)

[deboart93]

My husband and I are hopefully moving to seattle in January and i've been researching neighborhoods for a while. We are not going to be making a lot of money, my husband is a musician and i am a student who will be starting grad school in January, we would like to rent a home because we have 2 dogs that need a backyard. I heard that the green lake and greenwood areas are good but seem to be really expensive and I mostly see apartments for rent. I heard that South and West Seattle are not good places and neither is Everett. All i want is an affordable home in a safe area, it doesn't have to be anything close to fancy or upper middle class, just safe. Oh and we don't mind moving a little farther away from the downtown area as long as we can take some form of public transportation. Can anyone offer any advice? It would be greatly appreciated. Thank You.

[pwright1]

Keep in mind Seattle is more expensive to live than Orlando. How much did you have in mind for rent? South and West Seattle actually do have great neighborhoods within walking distance of excellent public transportation.

[Ira500]

A lot of West Seattle is great and beautiful. Some of South Seattle is also great and beautiful, but there are also parts somewhat sketchier. Renton is another place with great quick public transit to downtown.

[allforcats]

Hi Deboart. Welcome to the idea of moving to the Seattle area!
Here are some useful resources to search for a place.

This is NWSource, the combined Classifieds of the two major local newspapers. Tons of useful information. The map can help you learn where cities and neighborhoods are.
NWapartments: Seattle apartment rentals, house rental listings, rental classifieds and other property rentals in Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue and other Washington areas, cities and neighborhoods | - Search by area

On the map, if you click on "West" you can access the advertised rentals for West Seattle. Alki, Admiral, West Seattle and Delridge would probably be the better locations (safer).

Back on the first page, if you click on "South", you can find rentals for Beacon Hill, Georgetown, Mount Baker, Columbia City.

Back on the first page, click the box for "South King County" and the map that will open shows Renton, which has a box you can click for the rentals.

Other resources are:
craigslist
rent.com
forrent.com
apartments.com

Have fun planning!

[CityGirl72]

We need to know what your want to spend in rent to figure out what you think expensive is.

And which school will you go to Grad School - and do you want to be close to that school or do you care if you have a commute. The farther out you go from the City the cheaper things will be.

[EoJenn]

Don't forget about looking North. Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, and Edmonds all have some affordable rentals. If you're doing your grad work at UW, you might find the bus ride a little shorter from those cities then the south end (Like Renton, Kent, or Auburn).

There are some affordable areas of West Seattle. Check out Ballard, Wallingford and the Northgate areas as well.

[Topaz]

One thing to know is that you might have to be persistent to find a rental home that will allow 2 dogs. When I moved to Seattle (Ballard), it took 73 tries before we found an owner who was OK with our two medium-sized dogs.

[wumingzi]

With regard to South and West Seattle the "undesirable" is a little unfair and it's all relative. Rainier Valley (South) , South Park (West) and White Center (West) are poorer neighborhoods. None of them are particularly unsafe, but you might be frustrated by the lack of amenities.

On the South end, Columbia City is hip and has a lot of restaurants, cafes and what have you. Seward Park/Leschi both have houses facing Lake Washington and are very desirable neighborhoods. Beacon Hill (my neighborhood) is almost a block-by-block patchwork. There are low-cost apartments and nice blocks full of 85 year-old Craftsman houses and young couples.

Most of West Seattle is quite nice. Alki has the beach and condos with views facing Seattle. The Junction (intersection of Alaska and California) has shops, theaters, restaurants, and other good things.

The main drawback of West Seattle is it's a ways out and commuting from there can be a pain depending on when you go and where. Access to downtown is not bad. Much past that and you're going to be spending a lot of time in your car.

[deboart93]

Thank you all for your help. Right now I pay $900 a month for a small 3 bedroom house with a small yard. I can afford a bit more than that maybe like $1,500 maximum, but that would be high. My two dogs are small, both weigh less than 20 pounds. I am going to school online so i don't have to commute but i do need to get a job and my husband as well, that is why we want an area where we can access public transportation.