Moving to Seattle...Where to Live and Other Misc.

**dtown** · 12-23-2010, 12:08 AM

The family and I are moving from Denver to Seattle for a relocation with my company in the coming month or 2. Any help on which part of town to live in Seattle would be great. Looking to buy a place in Seattle that is comparable to the Highlands or Wash Park in Denver if you're familiar w/ those areas. Also, good bars, restaraunts, shops etc. would be greatly appreciated. Its my wife, I and our 9 month old boy so we're looking for an area that has a bit more of a family feel but still in/ near the city.

Also, any places near Seattle to ski (crystal vs hood vs touring, which I prefer) or do a little fishing would be an added bonus but intitally we're looking for a place to live and I'll adapt from there.

**PNWbrit** · 12-23-2010, 11:05 AM

Do a quick search, it's been covered extensively severval times.

JONG.

**The AD** · 12-23-2010, 11:13 AM

Here's the quick rundown on places to ski inbounds:
- Snoqualmie Pass: four separate base areas on I-90 within an hour's drive from Seattle. Alpental is the most well known. Pretty good night skiing.
- Stevens Pass: On US-2 about 1.5-2 hours from Seattle.
- Crystal: biggest area in Washington. About the same distance as Stevens or a little longer depending on where you're coming from. Near Mt Rainier National Park.
- Baker: east of Bellingham. A longer drive than the others. If you haven't heard about Baker you haven't been paying attention.
- White Pass: not as popular with skiers from Seattle. A little too remote when there are so many other closer choices.

Whistler is a 4-5 hour drive from Seattle, by the way. Make sure you've got your passport.

**skinnyskier** · 12-23-2010, 12:11 PM

Seattle is a city of neighborhoods and micro-neighborhoods, more so than many cities because of the water and hills. I would just pick one positioned to let you commute quickly on surface streets and skip the interstate. Plenty of nice neighborhoods to choose from...

**belgian** · 12-23-2010, 12:20 PM

Originally Posted by The AD

Whistler is a 4-5 hour drive from Seattle, by the way. Make sure you've got your passport.

4 hours?! Jesus christ man.

**The AD** · 12-23-2010, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by belgian

4 hours?! Jesus christ man.

How long do you think it takes? Last time I went up it took me just over four hours and I was stuck in traffic around Vancouver for a while. If there's wait at the border it's going to take longer too.

There were lots of cars with BC plates passing me on the Sea to Sky.

**PNWbrit** · 12-23-2010, 12:52 PM

With a reasonably clear run 4 hours is easily doable. Was even before the sea to sky got widened.

**ColinB** · 12-23-2010, 01:32 PM

Do you know where in the city your office is going to be located? Due to the geography and transit infrastructure, where you are going to be working may dictate what neighborhoods you would want to live in.

**QuikR12** · 12-23-2010, 04:08 PM

^^^ Seattle traffic blows. Seriously.

**Art Shirk** · 12-23-2010, 04:17 PM

Originally Posted by QuikR12

^^^ Seattle traffic blows. Seriously.

Like brit said, search and yee shall find as this has been done, many times, and recently.

But to add to quik's post, travelling east/west west/east in Seattle sucks my peachpouch. Good luck getting anywhere but Fremont in decent time if you live on Queen Anne or in Magnolia. When I lived on Queen Anne, I had on office in Everett and one in Madison Park. It took me the same amount of time to get to each of them.

**Dromond** · 12-23-2010, 04:41 PM

Originally Posted by ColinB

Do you know where in the city your office is going to be located? Due to the geography and transit infrastructure, where you are going to be working may dictate what neighborhoods you would want to live in.

Do this. I would consider the commute very carefully.

**dtown** · 12-23-2010, 04:51 PM

Our company is putting a new region office there so we haven't picked out where the office is going to be yet, the local office is in Bellevue right now so it may be near there. Thanks for the heads up from everyone, looking forward to the move.

Hugh Conway · 12-23-2010, 09:27 PM

Originally Posted by PNWbrit

With a reasonably clear run 4 hours is easily doable.

sure it is - coming home from Whistler that's reasonable.

It's functionally rarely possible when a weekend warrior is heading to Whistler between shit Seattle traffic and shit Canadian border fucktards

**timeo** · 12-23-2010, 09:37 PM

Don't even think about where you will live until you know where your office is going to be. If you have to decide where to live before you know if it will be Seattle or Bellevue, and you have some coin, go with Mercer Island.

**Flash** · 12-24-2010, 12:18 AM

dtown,

You sound a lot like me. I moved from Denver to Seattle (twice, actually), and I have a couple of small kids (5 and 3). When I moved here the first time, two of the most important things to me were good skiing and fishing, and I cared little about commuting and schools. Now that I have a family, these things also seem pretty damn important. (Even though your boy is young, if you are buying a house, it is worth giving at least some thought to schools....).

If you like Wash Park or the Highlands, you will want to live in Seattle (as opposed to the sprawling Eastside suburbs). Sadly, housing prices here are way higher than Denver. As noted above, Seattle is a city of neighborhoods - there are lots of great ones from which to choose. We live in Madrona (after living in Park Hill in Denver). Super-family-friendly, we can walk to the beach/lake and a some killer restaurants, and we are still only a couple of miles from downtown (and less than an hour from Alpental). Every neighborhood has different things to offer, and there are several really good choices.

Feel free to PM me. We just recently bought our house, and spent a fair bit of time looking at neighborhoods. I would be glad to talk about what we learned or answer any questions.

Seattle is a great place to live. Welcome.

**The AD** · 12-24-2010, 11:45 AM

Originally Posted by timeo

Don't even think about where you will live until you know where your office is going to be.

Agreed. If your office is in Bellevue you should live on the Eastside (east of Lake Washington) unless you really like sitting in your car or a bus. If your office is in Seattle then try to live on the west side of Lake Washington.

**dtown** · 12-28-2010, 02:43 PM

Flash- PM Sent

**Art Shirk** · 12-28-2010, 02:50 PM

yo dtown, I also started a "best bars in Seattle" thread awhile back. Tons of great resources from the posters in that thread for boozin in Seattle.

**IslandSnow** · 12-29-2010, 10:39 AM

Originally Posted by timeo

Don't even think about where you will live until you know where your office is going to be.

You know why this has been mentioned so many times in this thread?

You should listen to this advise.

**Yonder_River** · 12-30-2010, 02:17 PM

Here's a thread I started when I moved from Denver to Seattle over four years ago: http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...seattle+denver
I'd hold off on buying a house here in the short term and rent for a bit to get a feel for where you want to live. We lived in Wash Park in Denver as well...Bellevue is a lot different than that, but as others said, live there if your work is going to be permanently located there. Most of the schools over there are good as well. It's a little more hit and miss in Seattle.

House prices are still trending downward and could go another 15% - especially as interest rates rise. The recent Case-Shiller Index numbers show downward trends in all tiers. I'd be hesitant to buy anything unless you feel it's properly priced and has good qualities (quiet street, views, good layout, an actual yard) or you will lose money on it in the next couple of years.

We currently rent in Fremont and our commutes are easy. I work downtown and my wife in Burien (which is far away, but takes only 20 minutes). Seattle in general isn't the most kid friendly city, but it doesn't bug us at all. Our two year old does just fine. We don't need a giant yard and cul-de-sac in burbia anyways.

If you have any specific questions, pm me.

**dtown** · 01-03-2011, 10:36 PM

Thanks for all the advice from everyone, especially Flash and Yonder. Looks like I'll probably be renting a furnished place for a month or so in the city, which will let me feel out the town a bit, while we sell our house in Denver and close on a new one, wherever that may be.

Right now we're leaning more to the Eastside as I'll be working in Bellevue and houses seem to have more yard for the $$$. Out of curiousity, what's the thought on North Bend? I know its a bit of a drive into Bellevue and Seattle, which doesn't bother us, looking more for info on the town itself. We're not opposed to living in an area w/ a small town feel that has good opportunity for/ close to skiing, mountains, trails, road biking, parks, and maybe a few decent bars/ restaraunts. We've seen some properties there we really like but have not found much on the town itself. Keep in mind, I'm looking for opinions on the town, not how bad the drive to Bellevue will be, and I realize that its not living in Seattle. We're still looking at some neighborhoods in the city as well, just something about a smaller town appeals to us both.

Again, thanks for all the help.

Hugh Conway · 01-03-2011, 11:06 PM

Great coffee in North Bend. And doughboy shredder lives there. Can't help with the yard fetish

**The AD** · 01-04-2011, 10:53 AM

Originally Posted by dtown

Out of curiousity, what's the thought on North Bend?

I have some friends who live there and in my opinion it's a little too out there if you're used to living in an urban area. You'll be making frequent trips to Issaquah if you like to go out to eat, go to Costo, Home Depot, etc. The obvious plus side is how close it puts you to Snoqualmie Pass.

**Yonder_River** · 01-04-2011, 11:23 AM

Not too familiar with NB beyond Mt Si and the outlet malls below it. I do know it's a lot cloudier over there than in Seattle.

You may be a little young for the area, not 100% sure though.

Recreation wise, it's a great location.