Mountlake Terrace?

[wythors]

Short answer: No. Unless you're living in one of the ultra-rich areas, the city is very dense.

[Deep_Vee]

Originally Posted by wythors

I ride the bus from Edmonds four days a week to Belltown. I have a very consistent commute as long as it doesn't snow.

I agree that it really is pretty consistent...but how long does it take you...from the time you leave your house to the time you get to work? I rode from the Edmonds P&R to Downtown for a couple years (and still do occasionally) and I have always found it to take longer than driving...

[scirocco22]

Originally Posted by Deep_Vee

I agree that it really is pretty consistent...but how long does it take you...from the time you leave your house to the time you get to work? I rode from the Edmonds P&R to Downtown for a couple years (and still do occasionally) and I have always found it to take longer than driving...

True, we obviously have to consider it on a personal level pertaining to time consumption. But reasons for taking the bus should also be:

One less car to add to the congestion on the streets and freeways.

One less car to add to polluting the air (interject the ozone depletion, the concern for the environment and the global warming argument here if you're into being "green" and all that.).

One less car to consume foreign oil.

And you're saving money to boot!

Eh, hope I'm not being too preachy here but I admire the folks who make an effort to take public transportation for those reasons even though it may take a little longer and may be a bit less convenient.

--'rocco

[wythors]

I only take the bus because I HATE driving with the imbeciles that pass for drivers in the Seattle area. If I drive I'm so wound up by the time I get there that I can hardly concentrate.

I walk out my front door at 6:15 am and catch my bus at 6:31. It drops me off at 5th & Olive at about 7:15. I walk the three blocks to work and arrive between 7:20 and 7:25. Coming home I catch my bus at 7th & Stewart at 4:05 and it drops me off a block from home at about 4:50.

Don't think about taking the bus to save time, because you won't. It should be purely a convenience thing. No hassles with other drivers. No parking problems. No wear and tear on your car. You can read a book or listen to your iPod. In short, it is MUCH more relaxing than driving.

[Deep_Vee]

Originally Posted by scirocco22

True, we obviously have to consider it on a personal level pertaining to time consumption. But reasons for taking the bus should also be:

One less car to add to the congestion on the streets and freeways.

One less car to add to polluting the air (interject the ozone depletion, the concern for the environment and the global warming argument here if you're into being "green" and all that.).

One less car to consume foreign oil.

And you're saving money to boot!

Eh, hope I'm not being too preachy here but I admire the folks who make an effort to take public transportation for those reasons even though it may take a little longer and may be a bit less convenient.

--'rocco

Well...I do carpool

[redrum]

I don't think you can really separate Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace, and Lynnwood as none of them are particularly large cities (land-wise) and they all border each other. Well, Edmonds is a bit separate since it extends to the water while the others are land locked, but I'll put it this way -- if you're on 212th St SW, you could literally be in any of those 3 cities depending on the intersection.

I lived in MLT for 3 years and have lived in Edmonds for 2 years now. South MLT is comprised of a lot of non-descript, older one-story houses, while north MLT is basically Lynnwood. I agree that Edmonds is generally nicer than MLT or Lynnwood (Alderwood Mall and all the surrounding businesses have taken away much of the residential feel of those areas), but I don't think it's necessarily a fair comparison. The scenic parts of Edmonds down by the water that are always being shown when discussing Edmonds (such as shown on the Edmonds page on this site) are very expensive and not representative of most of the neighborhoods. But Edmonds definitely benefits from being tucked away against the water -- about the only reason to go to Edmonds is if you live there or if you're using the ferry -- so it's got a very quiet, neighborhood feel to it.

[beachy keen]

Originally Posted by ShadowXOR

How is it actually living IN Seattle? Is there a place that isn't terribly crowded/covered in traffic?

Sure, there are nice areas, but living anywhere in the city is more expensive than living outside of the city.

For example, a friend of mine lives in a newer apartment building in the Greenwood neighborhood (approx 85th St & Greenwood Ave N). It's a small one-bedroom apartment and the rent is $875! This does include a W/D and garage parking. I lived in a larger one-bedroom apartment in a similar building (same management company, too) in Edmonds and my rent was $740. Neither of these included utilities.

For the Edmonds area, though, I do recommend that apartment that I lived in. It was the Park Edmonds apartments, run by Epic Properties. Just be sure to be in the new building. It's quiet, and you get a parking spot in the garage. My apartment had a W/D too. It's also literally right across the street from a Safeway grocery store. It was also a block away from Hwy 99 and minutes from I-5. I never felt unsafe there. The only reason I'm not still living there is because I went back to school, across the state!

But there are some good deals in Seattle if you look around. The best way to find good deals is to walk/drive around neighborhoods and look for smaller apartment complexes advertising their vacancies the old-fashioned way: For Rent signs in the window. I lived in a large studio apartment in an old building in the Wallingford neighborhood and my rent was $625. The main drawback was parking on the street (my car was even broken into once). But the Wallingford neighborhood is fun to walk around; there are lots of small shops, restaurants, coffee shops, etc. along 45th St.

Hope that helps! Good luck!

Originally Posted by beachy keen

Sure, there are nice areas, but living anywhere in the city is more expensive than living outside of the city.

For example, a friend of mine lives in a newer apartment building in the Greenwood neighborhood (approx 85th St & Greenwood Ave N). It's a small one-bedroom apartment and the rent is $875! This does include a W/D and garage parking. I lived in a larger one-bedroom apartment in a similar building (same management company, too) in Edmonds and my rent was $740. Neither of these included utilities.

For the Edmonds area, though, I do recommend that apartment that I lived in. It was the Park Edmonds apartments, run by Epic Properties. Just be sure to be in the new building. It's quiet, and you get a parking spot in the garage. My apartment had a W/D too. It's also literally right across the street from a Safeway grocery store. It was also a block away from Hwy 99 and minutes from I-5. I never felt unsafe there. The only reason I'm not still living there is because I went back to school, across the state!

But there are some good deals in Seattle if you look around. The best way to find good deals is to walk/drive around neighborhoods and look for smaller apartment complexes advertising their vacancies the old-fashioned way: For Rent signs in the window. I lived in a large studio apartment in an old building in the Wallingford neighborhood and my rent was $625. The main drawback was parking on the street (my car was even broken into once). But the Wallingford neighborhood is fun to walk around; there are lots of small shops, restaurants, coffee shops, etc. along 45th St.

Hope that helps! Good luck!

Thank you for your help. I know you may find this shocking but $875 sounds like a STEAL for my own place compared to where I am in Southern California. You think Seattle is bad, the city next to me the median home price is LITERALLY one million dollars.