Good Day:

My wife and I are moving to the Seattle area; My new job is in the Harborview Medical Center. Does anyone have any suggestions as far as where to look for a place to live. We would like to live approximately 20-30 minutes from Downtown in an area that has a mix between suburbia and city life. We require an apartment/duplex with woodfloors, a garage, and perhaps a little yard. We have been to the Pacific Northwest several times, but have never made it to Seattle. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you much,

J.

Jim, My mom works at Harborview also. She commutes from the Eastside and it takes about an hour in rush hour. You will want to stay on the westside to keep your commute down.

Jim,

We live in Belltown, which is right in the heart of downtown, very convenient, but definitely city life. For what you describe, I would look at Queen Anne. It is closer than 30 minutes, but commute time is variable here because traffic is so horrendous. Queen Anne has a mix of apartments and historic-ish houses. It can be pricey. Mercer Island is also an option: it has had a bad rep for being overpriced, but with the high tech downturn, that has been somewhat corrected. It is situated between the east side and the west side and has a host of apartments. It is very convenient to everything Seattle ahs to offer. Ballard is also a less-pricey but very convenient option -- historically a large Norwegian population with a sea-facing atmosphere. Fremont is funky and west coast.

Hope this helps-

Sandra

Mercer Island doesn't have much to offer in terms of rentals and is on the expensive side, even with the recent downturn in economy.

Also in that same general area is Bellevue. But you'll be faced with crossing the I-90 on a daily basis. And this area is newer and less hardwood floors to choose from.

Ballard is a nice area, as is Queen Anne. I'd also think about checking out the Alki area. It's beachy and offers some great city skyline views.

You should try and limit your search to the city if you have a strict commute time. Traffic is unpredictable and usually very bad. I used to work on the e-side (literally 8 miles from my home in Seattle) and it would oftentimes take me 1.5 - 2 hours to commute. The neighborhoods I'd recommend that may have what you're searching for include:

Greenlake
Wallingford
Leschi
Ravenna/Maple Leaf
Capitol Hill

You may also have to be a bit less stringent with some of your requirements; but if you're willing to wait and continue to look, you should find something close. Warning: real estate, even with the downturn, is still very pricey here compared to most of the country.

This thread had several responses a few days ago but it looks like the question has remained but the answers erased. Weird.

Most of Seattle's own neighborhoods have accommodation which will meet your criteria, whereas most "suburbs" will be farther than 20 or 30 minutes, and for the most part more expensive, with a couple of exceptions. Working at Harborview, right downtown, your choices will be broad. You might consider West Seattle, which is a pleasant neighborhood with interesting shops, good views, affordable prices, and somewhat off the beaten path. Most of the local realtors' websites have access to the Multiple Listing Service, so you can browse all the offerings for sale, so even if you want to rent you can get a more visual impression of the various neighborhoods.

I live in Shoreline near the King/Snohomish county line and commute to downtown daily. As long as you leave before about 6:30, the commute to downtown is only about 30 minutes (use the express lanes at Northgate.

As a side note, the housing prices in Shoreline, especially the North City area are extremely reasonable compared to the in-city areas like Wallingford, Wedgwood, Capitol Hill, etc... A 2500 square foot home with 3BR and 2 Baths on a 10,000+ SF lot can still be had for $200,000. In the city the same home would run about $350,000 and you would get a postage stamp sized lot.

As far as rentals, I doubt you'll find wood floors, yard and a little garden in "in-city" apartment/duplex living. Go north or south of the city, but expect vinyl floors, cheap carpeting and a parking space. Forget about a garage unless you plan on renting a house (at $1200-$2500 a month).

I live in Seattle's Central Area, less than 20 minutes to Harborview or downtown, by foot or bus. I highly recommend this area (from Harborview eastward for about 20-30 blocks.) By car the commute would be ten minutes at most. Car traffic is never seriously congested between the Central Area and Harborview or downtown. There are many houses with wood floors, garages and yards and it is much easier to commute to Harborview and downtown than almost any other neighborhood in Seattle. Local realtors have only within the last several years been advertising rental/purchase housing as "Central Area" and besides that label look, in the newspaper ads, for "South Capitol Hill","Providence", "Madrona", "Leschi" "Jackson Place" which are Central Area neighborhoods.