Issaquah neighborhoods

**carlh** · 09-14-2024, 02:49 PM

Sps is planning to fuck over our zoned elementary school and is canceling advanced learning so considering a move to the eastside.
Wants
Good schools, quiet location, easy i90 access pricing inline with north Seattle.
Current job is in south center but want flexibility on commute.
I haven’t spent much time in towns on the eastside but thinking Issaquah or sammamish. I think Bellevue is too uppity and expensive with hyper competitive schools. Might consider Kirkland or Redmond but not very enticed.
Where can I find a rundown of different areas? Currently have squawk, klahanie, Eastlake and highlands areas on the radar.
Probably target next summer for a move so no rush just starting to do research.

**plugboots** · 09-14-2024, 03:28 PM

I have a place in Issaquah Highlands, B-I-L is in Klahane. We like the Highlands because we can get to Alpental in about a half an hour, I mountain bike Grand Ridge, wife runs there all the time and we walk to dinners. I’m not so sure if Issaquah is less uppity than Bellevue though. We placed a high priority on being able to walk to things so we pay a definite premium for that. We have an incredible real estate agent by the way.

**Buster Highmen** · 09-14-2024, 04:07 PM

Eastlake was a kickass high school when our kids went there. Lots of AP offerings. Emily Dickenson grade school has an Explorer co-op school too.

It does seem to be getting detuned a little with the abolition of the French classes and cuts to music and art , but bolstering the football team/coaches.

We've been on Union Hill for 17 years and love it. No businesses up here, so I do miss walking for coffee or beer, but it's quiet, overlooked and low key with Redmond Ridge easy access for food. A friend just sold their house 1/3 mile away on 5+ acres for 1.35M.

But getting to South Center will either be a nightmare on 405 or will require sneaks through May Valley/SR18.

**carlh** · 09-14-2024, 04:17 PM

Union hill is likely further than I want to commute but you do get a lot of house for the money.
How packed in is the highlands? I would love to not stare at my neighbors wall and listen to them with the windows open and not sure I can afford that in the highlands.
My agent is one of my close friends who lives in Seattle but works across the region, he has solid info but I like to crowdsource as well.

**PNWbrit** · 09-14-2024, 04:34 PM

Lived on Squak for 23 years.

Big Snow events can be an issue with very steep streets (my even steeper driveway) and the fact you can be 1000? feet above downtown Issaquah in the higher neighborhoods

Power outages also frequent with mostly overhead lines running through so many trees.

No kids so can't speak about the schools but I understand that they're well regarded?

I like Issaquah even with the growth of the place since we've been here. Some good restaurants, bars and lots of small businesses/stores inside the ring of big box strip malls.

Traffic can be a bear but you'd probably be going against the worst of the flow if regular office hours in South Center.

Highlands is pretty tightly packed. A couple of years ago we thought about a townhouse in a new development up there. Leaving our forested acre of privacy was one of the deal breakers.

**Huskier** · 09-14-2024, 05:13 PM

Highlands is rife with HOA (sorry), the lots are miniscule, stare at your neighbor taking a shit affairs. Dollar does NOT go far. It was a good return in the early 2010's when reasonable $ got you a solid house, but that is no longer the case. Arguably you'd get more for your money in the central/north Zone of Sammamish but ski/bike commute gets longer. Not sure what your budget is but detached SFH on a normal lot you're looking at approaching 2 mil, give or take

OG Issaquah (Squak, Sycamore, Park Pointe) I think gives the best balance between school quality, cost and access. Came very close to winding up here

Orrrrrr you be like the cool kids and look South in Mirrormont (still technically Issaquah) and make your dollar really stretch. We're on a little under 4 Acres and paid about 800 less than a similar footprint in the Highlands, 500 less than Klahanie. Liberty HS, so you'd be lumped in with the Newcastle crowd. Not terrible. Also, 13 minutes to Tiger, about 25 mins to Tukwilla.

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**carlh** · 09-14-2024, 06:07 PM

How bad is the commute north out of mirrormont? I know I can get to tukwila around the back but jobs don’t last forever and I don’t want to hate life if I need to get to Redmond.
Being further in the woods is appealing to me but probably less so to the wife.
Budget depends on selling our house in Seattle and if interest rates drop but likely 1-1.5 with a preference for the lower half the range. We only have 1 kid so don’t need a giant house and I would prefer money in my retirement account to designer finishes.

Originally Posted by Huskier

Highlands is rife with HOA (sorry), the lots are miniscule, stare at your neighbor taking a shit affairs. Dollar does NOT go far. It was a good return in the early 2010's when reasonable $ got you a solid house, but that is no longer the case. Arguably you'd get more for your money in the central/north Zone of Sammamish but ski/bike commute gets longer. Not sure what your budget is but detached SFH on a normal lot you're looking at approaching 2 mil, give or take

OG Issaquah (Squak, Sycamore, Park Pointe) I think gives the best balance between school quality, cost and access. Came very close to winding up here

Orrrrrr you be like the cool kids and look South in Mirrormont (still technically Issaquah) and make your dollar really stretch. We're on a little under 4 Acres and paid about 800 less than a similar footprint in the Highlands, 500 less than Klahanie. Liberty HS, so you'd be lumped in with the Newcastle crowd. Not terrible. Also, 13 minutes to Tiger, about 25 mins to Tukwilla.

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**Huskier** · 09-14-2024, 10:17 PM

It's, uh, awful. But a big confounding factor is all the construction on 18 diverting northbound traffic, which won't last forever. Unfortunately the Maple valley crowd has found it a convenient way to get to Bellevue and that area is definitely growing. Ms. Doc didn't love the move out of the city either but she did love the peace and quiet.

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**phatty** · 09-15-2024, 12:32 AM

Lived in Issaquah for 23 years. Lived on Squak first, then Highlands before it got fully developed. Been in Klahanie for the past 18yrs.

Squak is pretty nice, but as Brit says, snow gets dicey and loses power.

Highlands is great access and convenience with shops, etc. I hated it because the streets are narrow and you pay for the privilege of living in the Highlands. Great internet, though.

Klahanie is great as the schools are walkable. We have an HOA, but it's not too bad. We have 2 swimming pools with 1 year round. Lots of trails close and Duthie/Grand Ridge is 5 minutes away. Can get to Alpental in 40 minutes. Also, all power is underground. We have not lost power for more than 5 minutes in all the years we've been here. So we got that going for us.

Lots of other great neighborhoods around the plateau. Also agree that it's just as uppity out here as Bellevue but not quites as bougie as the waterfront neighborhoods there. The heavy Asian influence here keeps competition going at school. My kids in college say it's pretty easy coming from Skyline HS.

You've been to my place, so you've seen it out here. I love it, but would move down on Lake Sammamish in a second if I could afford it.

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**PNWbrit** · 09-15-2024, 03:43 PM

"How bad is the commute north out of mirrormont? I know I can get to tukwila around the back but jobs don’t last forever and I don’t want to hate life if I need to get to Redmond."

Can be ~30 minutes to get between Mirrormount/90 or 90/Mirrormount during commutage. On a day there's a wreck on IH (often) don't bother.

And it's only going to get worse as the huge development in Black Diamond continues.

**Going Coastal** · 09-15-2024, 08:40 PM

I have lived in North Bend since June. Things are a lot quieter once you get past Issaquah, and if you have a long drive to/from 90 it may be a wash in commute time. 20min to the pass and biking right out the door.

**phatty** · 09-15-2024, 10:51 PM

Originally Posted by Going Coastal

I have lived in North Bend since June. Things are a lot quieter once you get past Issaquah, and if you have a long drive to/from 90 it may be a wash in commute time. 20min to the pass and biking right out the door.

Was just talking with a buddy from Issaquah and saying we both were thinking about North Bend. I'm lucky to work remote and not worry about a commute, so NB becomes more of an option. Unfortunately it rains an average of 12" more there than Issaquah (59" to 46"). The quicker access is nice, but I'm not sure I want that much more rain.

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**Going Coastal** · 09-16-2024, 11:45 AM

I can definitely understand that. I will personally take rain everyday of the week if I can avoid suburbia, because I don't know if I could last more than 3mo before having a Falling Down moment, haha.

**carlh** · 09-16-2024, 02:52 PM

Great info so far, keep it coming. I need to bring the wife and go wander some areas this fall.

**puma** · 09-16-2024, 03:02 PM

We have been in North Bend for a few years. Love the access to recreation, views, walks out the front door with the dogs, and privacy. I am mainly WFH, and Bellevue is where I go if not WFH so that helps. Adding 15 minutes (As compared to Issaquah) going anywhere but east is noticeable if done often. We miss having a multitude of walking options for food\beer\coffee, but something I miss less than my other half does. I would also say the chance my political views do not align with someone is higher out here than closer to the city, but that does not worry me as much as the better half...

With the very recent and inevitable announcement of RTO 5 days a week by the Amazonion overlords, my wife is much more insistent upon moving closer in. I hear Magnolia is nice...

**phatty** · 09-16-2024, 04:09 PM

Originally Posted by puma

With the very recent and inevitable announcement of RTO 5 days a week by the Amazonion overlords, my wife is much more insistent upon moving closer in. I hear Magnolia is nice...

Saw that from Jassy today and was not surprised at all. Magnolia is too close, though. Come join us in issaquah.

**plugboots** · 09-16-2024, 05:42 PM

A lot of the things people mention about the Highlands in this thread are things either we like or don’t mind at all. And when I say Highlands, we are a 5 minute walk to Amarone and a 10 minute walk to the park and ride. This was the maximum distance when we were looking here. We first got an apartment nearby and lived there for about seven or eight months to check it out, then narrowed it down to where we are now. 2 different neighbors lived farther away in the Highlands at first and they moved to where we are now so they could walk to places as well. Yes HOA is high, but then I don’t do any landscaping and the outside maintenance is covered so I pay less insurance. I wish I didn’t have to get their Internet, but it works really well, and I get about 100 Meg, and I could pay more for faster service. I like that the houses are close, actually. It doesn’t bother me at all. It’s extremely quiet and the density means more kids everywhere.

**Cisco Kid** · 09-16-2024, 05:59 PM

We moved to North Bend 12 years ago. My 2c.

A mag on my "Moving West" thread said that if I liked rain, I'd love North Bend. It's 8 months of rain in one form or another somewhere in town all of the time.

OTOH, Not having to put the top up on the Jeep for the other 4 months or having your picnic get rained out is a big plus.

Power goes out all the time but not all over all the time. Get a generator.

Schools are ok if your kid is above average as every Mags kid is for sure. All 4 of my grand kids get mostly all A's. Area is a great place for kids to grow up in IMO.

It's going to get crowded. Population is exploding. Up 50% since we got here and
700 new homes being built. Lot's of new, tall, white men with soft hands and their families moving in. Good thing or bad thing depending on your station and who you ask.

Both sides of the political divide have cooled it lately. No citizens on roof tops looking for antifa to start something in a couple of years. I drive a Jeep, wear a camo hat mostly and can move about under the radar if I keep my mouth shut.

Pretty good ski shop in town too.

NB isn't the boonies, it's cut into the wilderness. Deer, bears, coyotes, raccoons, elk, lions and the occasional zebra pass through my yard.

**chaka** · 09-17-2024, 03:14 PM

Eastside represent! 13 years in Sammamish for us. Eastlake HS has been great. Love access to riding and only 15 min further than Issy to the pass. Only complaints... very few walkable eats, power outages are frequent due to above ground lines, too many fucking teslas.

**PNWbrit** · 09-17-2024, 03:35 PM

Originally Posted by chaka

too many fucking teslas.

EOT

**puma** · 09-17-2024, 04:01 PM

Originally Posted by chaka

Eastside represent! 13 years in Sammamish for us. Eastlake HS has been great. Love access to riding and only 15 min further than Issy to the pass. Only complaints... very few walkable eats, power outages are frequent due to above ground lines, too many fucking teslas.

You forgot to mention your private lake access\dock!

Seriously though, I think Sammamish is a great location. We recently looked around there, and our buying power was not strong, and what we could get was not ideal. We went home, had a mixed drink on the back porch and enjoyed the view. With return to office of 5 days, may have to re-evaluate.

**Wapow** · 09-17-2024, 04:15 PM

I'm wondering how long before the insurance companies stop issuing homeowners policies in Issaquah and North Bend due to wildfire risk? The trend is rampant in eastern WA and throughout rural and urban communities in CA. Given how houses are situated in Quah and NB (direct opposite of fire wise), I'd give it 5 years max. May want to factor that into your planning.

**phatty** · 09-17-2024, 04:45 PM

Originally Posted by Wapow

I'm wondering how long before the insurance companies stop issuing homeowners policies in Issaquah and North Bend due to wildfire risk? The trend is rampant in eastern WA and throughout rural and urban communities in CA. Given how houses are situated in Quah and NB (direct opposite of fire wise), I'd give it 5 years max. May want to factor that into your planning.

I don't see that any time soon at least for Issaquah. There have been very few wildfires (if any) on the west side of the pass. Those companies back out due to high claims or the threat of high claims. There's been nothing to show NB or Issy is in any danger of forest fires. Those places losing coverage receive a fraction of the rain we do. We don't have the dry underbrush which drives much of the fires. It's not something I lose sleep over at all.

**abraham** · 09-17-2024, 05:03 PM

There have been fires in North Bend and up the middle fork. I don't think it's an entirely unreasonable think to think about but I'm not sure it would impact my choice much compared to other issues.

https://prod.livingsnoqualmie.com/ho...ualmie-valley/

**PNWbrit** · 09-17-2024, 05:14 PM

Originally Posted by phatty

I don't see that any time soon at least for Issaquah. There have been very few wildfires (if any) on the west side of the pass. Those companies back out due to high claims or the threat of high claims. There's been nothing to show NB or Issy is in any danger of forest fires. Those places losing coverage receive a fraction of the rain we do. We don't have the dry underbrush which drives much of the fires. It's not something I lose sleep over at all.

This.