My sister is getting ready to take a job in Issaquah, Washington. What type of town is this? Nice place to relocate? Will she be able to buy a nice condo(2 bedroom) under $200K? Any entertainment in the area? Or is this a sleeper type of bedroom community? As a single professional will she enjoy the relocation, or should she think twice. She loves visiting Seattle, but would like to live closer to work due to the traffic. Thanks for any advice!

I'm single and would never choose to live in Issaquah (or anywhere on the eastside, for that matter). It's all too suburban for my tastes; I prefer to be in the city. But, commuting out there from the city would definitely be a drag (especially coming back into the city at night). For me, the benefits of living in the city would probably outweigh the downside of the commute.

Can't help you on Issaquah real estate; has she checked the Seattle Times classified online?

Issaquah has some advantages over other suburban communities - it has a (little) but still fairly authentic small town downtown area, and it's reasonably close to skiing and lake recreation resources. That said, it's definitely a fast growing community, lots of high tech commuters, developing employment base, some local theater but still pretty suburban as far as culture is concerned. $200K will probably find something in the condo arena, not more.

Thanks for the advice!
Sheri - I guess part of her feeling about living in Issaquah is why pay so much more in rent to live in Seattle and still have to deal with the commute. She's thinking that she could find more reasonably priced real estate and rentals in Issaquah and then just head into the city on weekends for fun.

Does Issaquah have normal entertainment like movie theaters, yoga classes?

Do any single professionals live out in the East Side?

I've also considered relocating up to that area. But like Sarah's sister, I don't know if I can face the traffic and high rents in the city if I'm going to be working on the East Side.

Just out of curiousity, how old are you Sheri? I'm in my late 30's and single and not sure if I'd blend in with the single scene in the city and might be better suited to the suburban life at this stage of my life. But I also want to make sure that I'm not the only bachelor in town!

I live one street away from the Issaquah border. Issaquah is a lovely town with a big movie theater, Costco, Home Depot, Fred Meyers and a cobblestone shopping village with a salmon hatchery. There are cows and sheep around and tons of married couples with children in tow... I am one of them. I think the single scene is zilch. Kirkland has the singles and is a fun artsy town on the water not too far but traffic is a problem. Cost of living is high not only with housing but food and fuel and we are getting hit with high electicity because of our drought. I love it here and Issaquah is settled in the foot of Tiger, Squak and Cougar Mountain so hiking is plentiful. We are a 40 minute straight shot drive to a ski area and there are numerous parks and huge lakes etc. She can e-mail me if she likes. I moved here 4 years ago.

Sarah, like Melinda says, Kirkland is really the only place on the eastside that has much nightlife, etc. But rents are high there and it would take as long to get to Issaquah to Kirkland as it would to get from Seattle to Issaquah, if not longer (plus she'd have to drive on I-405--yuck). In any event, Kirkland is a bit pretentious for my tastes.

Chuck, I'm in my early 40s, and very into live music, etc. So I wouldn't want to live out in the 'burbs...too far from all my favorite music venues! There are *plenty* of single people in our general age group out and about here in Seattle!

Hi Again -
My sister was up in the area last week checking things out and is still kind of undecided on making the move. Coming from Southern California, she was surprised to be faced with sticker shock when it came to real estate prices. Since her office would be in Issaquah, she's considering looking for a condo in neighboring Bellevue, since it appears to cater a little more to the single lifestyle. Are there any neighborhoods that should be avoided? Does anyone by any chance have advice on a real estate agent in the market? Thanks again for your help!

While Issaquah is overrun with young families (you won't be able to get down the sidewalk without getting mowed over by a barade of strollers), Bellevue tends to attract the pompous type of residents. Not much to choose from for a single professional who isn't into being a snob. Good luck with your sister's search. Maybe she should look elsewhere.

Sarah, if your sister is coming from southern California I bet she wouldn't find the 20-25 min. commute to Issaquah from central Seattle all that objectionable. And in Seattle proper her housing and social choices would definitely be expanded over the eastern suburbs. Just a thought.

Sarah:

I would suggest that your sister contact the Seattle Convention Bureau which has an excellent package for people who are thinking about moving here. As far as Issaquah and the e-side in general, it is NOT a singles community. I live in Seattle itself and as other posters have said Kirkland is the only place on the e-side that has singles (or a large singles population). As far as commuting - traffic here is horrendous no matter where you live. Moving around Issaquah and the e-side during rush hour is bad. If you want to live in such a beautiful place as Seattle, you learn to cope and have a lot of books on tape to listen to. I would strongly suggest that perhaps your sister visits for a while and stays in Issaquah for a few days and then in Bellevue, Kirkland, and Seattle. Perhaps this will allow her to make a more informed decision. I have had some acquaintances from So CA who move up here and then move back within the year. And yes, real estate is very expensive here.

Sarah - Kirkland does appeal to many single professionals, but the housing prices are outrageous. While prices are high in the entire area, Kirkland seems to be one of the worst. I would suggest that your sister look in the Bellevue area, though I think the prices will be much higher than in Issaquah. I wish I could help you with an agent, but I don't know of any that I'd recommend.

Maybe the local chmaber of commerce in Issaquah or Bellevue could help you with names of real estate offices in the area. The housing up there is very costly for what you get. I moved away a few years ago when I realized that the prices were getting too high for me to ever buy a home (even though I make close to 6 figures). Maybe your sister might want to rent for a while and see if there aren't a lot of foreclosures in the near future after the fallout of the dot.com industry and Boeing's latest layoff. It's nice up there, but not nice enough to go into major debt for a lousy condo and a long commute. And since it rains all the time, you want to like your home since you will spend so much time locked up indoors.

Sarah:

Contrary to what Tina said, most of us do NOT stay indoors because of the rain. There are many activities to do that the weather really doesn't matter. Plus, we have had GREAT weather this year! I agree with Tom - she should probably rent for awhile and see what she really likes as far as neighborhoods go. I still think she'll probably want to live in the city itself and commute over the bridge - it's a matter of accessibility to fun things when you're not working.

Despite all of the other recommendations to live in Seattle, I'd advise her to stay on the east side and avoid having to rely on getting back and forth across the bridge every day. The traffic up here can be far worse than anything that she's used to. While Southern California traffic can be horrible, atleast drivers have the option of many different freeways. Up here however, you're stuck with two bridges to get to the east side, which is a real problem since we also have far worse weather conditions. Live close to work and then just drive into the city on the nights or weekends when you have something planned to do.