Safe cities within the Greater Seattle Area? (Bellevue, Redmond: condos, low crime)

[mike752]

I've been wanting to try living in the greater Seattle area for a long time now and have decided to go for it. All the places that have looked good so far (Kirland, Snohomish, Port Orchard) all seem to have much higher crime rates than US median according to Neighborhood Scout. Is this the norm in the Greater Seattle area?

Does anyone have any recommendations on where to live in the area if I value safety a lot? I work from home so I am not tied to any particular location in terms of commuting.

Thanks!

[Hemlock140]

Look at Sammamish, Issaquah, Redmond, Bellevue, Mercer Island. Look also at other ratings besides that one, such as City Data (not the forum). It shows Kirkland, for example, with thefts and car thefts having some years higher than average but all other crimes lower. I consider Kirkland to have a few less desirable areas but mostly just great. Keep in mind that you get what you pay for in this highly desirable area, low crime and good schools mean higher costs. Here in Sammamish, the little crime we have is mail theft and porch pirates.

https://www.city-data.com/city/Kirkland-Washington.html

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by mike752

I've been wanting to try living in the greater Seattle area for a long time now and have decided to go for it. All the places that have looked good so far (Kirland, Snohomish, Port Orchard) all seem to have much higher crime rates than US median according to Neighborhood Scout. Is this the norm in the Greater Seattle area?

Does anyone have any recommendations on where to live in the area if I value safety a lot? I work from home so I am not tied to any particular location in terms of commuting.

Thanks!

Like most places, it depends where you are in the city. There tend to be more issues near busier streets, commercial districts. If you are in a quiet neighborhood, it's generally pretty safe. We don't have as much violent crime in this region as many places in the US.

[mike752]

Thanks a bunch for chiming in, Hemlock140 and homesinseattle! I'll do some more digging and look at other websites too.

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by mike752

Thanks a bunch for chiming in, Hemlock140 and homesinseattle! I'll do some more digging and look at other websites too.

Besides safety, what are some characteristics you think you would like in a neighborhood/town? Knowing that might help us offer some suggestions.

[mike752]

I generally like living in suburban areas with a preference for townhouses. Ideally, I'd like to be relatively close to major retailers like Costco/Walmart/Target and some casual food places.

It looks like humidity is generally about 80% or so year round in the Seattle area. Is it an issue to not have air conditioning with such high humidity (most listings I see don't have AC)? The area I live in is about 70% humidity, but we all run AC much of the year.

Thanks!

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by mike752

I generally like living in suburban areas with a preference for townhouses. Ideally, I'd like to be relatively close to major retailers like Costco/Walmart/Target and some casual food places.

It looks like humidity is generally about 80% or so year round in the Seattle area. Is it an issue to not have air conditioning with such high humidity (most listings I see don't have AC)? The area I live in is about 70% humidity, but we all run AC much of the year.

Thanks!

Humidity is lower in the summer so that is not an issue.

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by mike752

I generally like living in suburban areas with a preference for townhouses. Ideally, I'd like to be relatively close to major retailers like Costco/Walmart/Target and some casual food places.

It looks like humidity is generally about 80% or so year round in the Seattle area. Is it an issue to not have air conditioning with such high humidity (most listings I see don't have AC)? The area I live in is about 70% humidity, but we all run AC much of the year.

Thanks!

Take a look at Issaquah, might be a good fit. We don’t need AC for a lot of the year in Seattle, maybe two months in the summer here and there. Sometimes we get a really hot spell (like last summer) that lasts awhile where we use AC daily. Nights generally cool off, even in summer. There are days, even weeks sometimes, that you will be hurting if you don’t have some AC capability. Many people in condos/townhomes get by fine with portable AC units, most new places are being built with AC.

[grega94]

Originally Posted by mike752

I generally like living in suburban areas with a preference for townhouses. Ideally, I'd like to be relatively close to major retailers like Costco/Walmart/Target and some casual food places.

It looks like humidity is generally about 80% or so year round in the Seattle area. Is it an issue to not have air conditioning with such high humidity (most listings I see don't have AC)? The area I live in is about 70% humidity, but we all run AC much of the year.

Thanks!

Hmm, the Seattle area isn’t particularly known for town houses, but Issaquah highlands jumps to mind. It’s built with the “New Urbanism” design, so it’s pretty dense neighborhood, you’ll probably find some townhouse/duplex’s there.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by mike752

I've been wanting to try living in the greater Seattle area for a long time now and have decided to go for it. All the places that have looked good so far (Kirland, Snohomish, Port Orchard) all seem to have much higher crime rates than US median according to Neighborhood Scout. Is this the norm in the Greater Seattle area?

Does anyone have any recommendations on where to live in the area if I value safety a lot? I work from home so I am not tied to any particular location in terms of commuting.

Thanks!

First, you need to figure out the boundaries of "the greater Seattle area". You're way off. It doesn't include Port Orchard.

Take a look at Edmonds. And I can't imagine Kirkland has a high crime rate. Some people like Issaquah, which is farther from Seattle than the other two. It depends on what you're looking for, in moving to "the greater Seattle area". If you want easy access to Seattle, Issaquah wouldn't be a good choice.