Hello. My husband and I are moving to Seattle and I was hoping for some insider information on where to live. We are considering buying a house and were wondering which areas seem to be good places to buy in the $300,000's. My husband will work for Microsoft, and a commute of around 30 min is okay, but we are 30 with no children and would prefer the city to the suburbs. Any thoughts would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Have you been here during a regular traffic day? Working at MSFT and expecting 30 minutes commute - not realistic to live in the city! Areas for 300K (this is VERY hard to find BTW - please check windermere.com, johnlscott.com, and seattletimes.com for actual properties that are currently available) would include:

Greenlake/Wallingford
Lake Forest Park
Maple Leaf
Some condos in Capital Hill (not a home)
Central Area (not my favorite neighborhood, but it's up and coming)
Magnolia
Queen Anne (lower rather than upper)
Ravenna/Phinney Ridge
Belltown (condos)

The thing about Seattle neighborhoods is that each one is really VERY distinctive. It depends what you are looking for.

Many Microsofties live in Kirkland which is on the eastside and has a bit more going for it than Bellevue or Redmond. If you have any other ?s please feel free to email me. Hope this helps.

Sheila, ldsant is right about the commute to Microsoft from Seattle - the most direct route from the city requires the use of a narrow floating bridge across Lake Washington - now the most congested bit of highway in the region. If he can work flexible hours, or doesn't mind a 40 min. commute, or could use one of the many van- or carpools, then 30 min. might be possible some/most days, provided you live somewhere in Seattle fairly close to the bridge approach (SR 520, by the way.)

Kirkland is an attractive town, with a vibrant commercial downtown, considerable local history, and very high amenity neighborhoods. There are other attractive areas within okay commute range from the main MS campus (which is where he'll be, right? Be sure his job isn't slated to move to Issaquah or some other MS location in the region, which could make a big difference in your thinking.) Bothell, central Redmond, and parts of Bellevue are more urban in feeling than they used to be.

One thing for sure. The regional economy is about to enter a tailspin with Boeing layoffs and the softness in the high tech sector. I would seriously consider renting for a while in order to give yourselves a better idea of what areas you like, but more importantly to let housing prices stabilize, or even come down some, which they most surely will. Right now $300K will get a nice place in some areas, but only an ordinary place in others. Hang in there and interest rates and prices are likely to come down. It's a bummer for those of us here already, but we've had a good run and now maybe it's someone else's turn.

Congradulations on your pending move to Seattle! The comments listed previously regarding commute time are accurate! If you want to see your husband for more than an hour a day move to an area on the east side of Lake Washington. Look into homes in Woodinville and/or condo in Kirkland. However, if you would like less face time with your spouse then move downtown. Good luck! You will love it!

Sheila rent rent rent for now. Prices are falling in the area as we speak. Above posters are right on target with their suggestions. Kirkland is where I would want to be in your situation. Live on the "eastside" and play in Seattle as the commute doesn't look long on a map but is. E-mail with any questions. We moved 5 years ago and love it here on the Eastside.

One other thing to consider (or maybe two). While you may be able to find a place in the Eastside suburbs that will allow you achieve your goal of 30 minutes or less commuting each way, be aware that most (not all)neighborhoods on the east side require you to drive to all of your destinations - store, post office, restaurants, etc. Those "little commutes" can be real aggravating. In Seattle there are some neighborhoods where you can walk to most of the places you want/need to go, and, in most cases streets in Seattle are less congested than streets in the suburbs. I would think at least twice before living in one of Seattle's suburbs. If you are used to some of the older suburbs of the midwest or east you might be disappointed by what you find here.

Thank you SO much for the help. Maybe we'll try to rent until prices drop. We've got until the end of Jan. in corporate housing, so maybe we'll wait until later to buy. The other consideration is that I'll be spending 3 days/week at Univ. of Washington, so does that change anyone's mind about where to live? Any more suggestions.

MANY THANKS!

do you want to adopt a 40 year old child. LUCKY LUCKY YOU!!!!

The U of W is at the west end of the bridge I mentioned. At present the "reverse commute," i.e., eastbound AM, is worse than the westbound commute, plus there are lots of express buses from the eastside towns to the UW, fewer the opposite way. It tends to enforce an initial choice on the eastside, although the Seattle neighborhoods mentioned above would also be okay except for around a 15-min. penalty on your husband's commute. I should also mention that long commutes on the eastside (anything greater than around 5 miles) are no picnic, either. The whole region is pretty gridlocked much of the time.

Thank you! Which area would be good for renting. Fun, pretty views, intelletual/diverse community, easy to get to UW and for my husband to get to MS via bus or vanpool? Your suggestions are really great!

Hey Sheila

My hubby/I live in Olympia which is an hr from Seattle. Like you we have no kids. We go to Seattle often and would like to meet others with no kids. E-mail me.

Gee [email protected]

For renting purposes, I'd suggest the following:

Laurelhurst (very nice area, close to UW, fairly close to 520)
Greenlake/Wallingford (lots of rental properties available in these neighborhoods). I lived in this neighborhood when I first moved to Seattle - there are some nice rentals here.
Madison Park (very upscale, nice area - few properties available; but there are some - check at the hardware store for the latest listings)
Kirkland

I would not suggest the U District although others may disagree. Many of the properties are "student housing" i.e., not kept up very well. It's also a hassle to try and drive through there during school days and on weekends.

Capitol Hill has a number of nice properties the further away from Broadway you are. Some of my friends who work for MS live there - the commute takes ~40 minutes.

Buses run continuously from town and other places to the U District so you'll have no problem getting rapid transit. Check the metro schedule for more details. You should also consider buying a bus pass - good value.

BTW, you don't mention where you're moving from.

Thanks for the rental suggestions! What do you think of Greenlake? Our friends just wrote to tell us that they are unexpectedly having to sell their newly remodeled house (in the 300,000's) and would like us to buy it w/o a real estate agent (and MS pays the closing costs if we buy w/in a year). Do you still think it would be a bad idea to buy in that case? Is Greenlake an up-and-coming place at all? Anyway, even if we don't buy that place what do you think of renting in Greenlake? How's the commute to MS Redmond from there? And is it easy to get to fun places in the city from there? Many, many thanks.

P.S. we're moving from westside Los Angeles

Greenlake is very nice depending upon which part of the lake you are located. For example, the portion near Aurora is not very nice, but the part towards the Honey Bear Bakery is nice (and that side of the lake). Its a somewhat "bohemian" part of the city - not real stuffy, more laid back. Restaurants, shops, cafes are located here. The bus to downtown takes about 12 minutes. Yes, it is a very good place to rent as well.

That last post says Honey Bear Bakery. That closed, but greenlake is really nice.

Kirkland is like LA, I really hate it but I also hate Microsoft

Also, 30 minutes is a fantasy.

Wow - when did the Honey Bear close? I was there a few weeks ago. Sorry about that, but the area that it is near is nice as is that side of the lake. Wallingford also has some nice properties the further away from the highway and 45th you get.