Seattlites, some help please.

[gkdmaths]

So, if you had $400,000 and required a small-ish (1500 sq ft) Seattle area house with a small-ish fenced yard for your puppy in a nice-ish, preferably semi-rural neighborhood, where would you go? I'm moving from Olympia to Seattle in a few months. Its a forced move so I dont have a lot of time to be picky, but I don't know Seattle's suburbs too well.

I would appreciate any advice you can afford re: neighborhoods to avoid, high traffic routes, best ways to get to the school, etc.

Here are our priorities:

I'll be attending the U, and proximity would be nice - even though it means paying through the nose for it.
What places should I avoid at all costs? I understand that Shoreline/Bothel are largely industrial. Duvall is not too far out there I guess.
Any suburb is an option, assume I can afford most places (except around the lake, ya know) so don't omit anything you think of if it seems a little steep in price.



This move is really beginning to be a hassle and your help is appreciated!

-gkd

[Whoa_Nelly]

1. Hsve you checked out Fox Island?

http://tinyurl.com/jybue

[Suich]

2. Do you have a realtor?

I live just west of the U and once and a while a smaller house goes on the market and they seem to sell quickly. Next time I drive by, it's been bulldozed and they're getting ready to pour a new foundation!

Give me a minute and check your pm.

[SeattleGirl]

3. I would second the suggestion for getting a realtor.

I think it might take a little of the pressure off you.

[gkdmaths]

4. We dont really have the option

to get a realtor, or at least it would be a significant waste of time since the state is relocating us. My partner was in real estate for the first five years of or relationship and we have realtor friends, but this is all being orchestrated by the state relocation agent.

Its a package deal: they bulldoze our house for a road and they move us where we need to go. their timeline is, lets say, accelerated.

I just dont want to say "I want to go to here" and have it be the neighborhood where my house gets tagged twice a week because Im unfamilliar/ignorant.

[cemaphonic]

6. I'm in Seattle, and bought a house earlier this year. My thoughts:

The good news is that for 400k and 1500 sqf, you have a reasonably wide range of options, including some parts of Seattle proper (mostly in the historically poor, but rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods in and around Rainier Valley). As for the suburbs, the Eastside is largely too expensive, but there are still some parts of the northern suburbs (Shoreline, Bothell, Kenmore) and plenty to the south (Burien, SeaTac, Tukwilla) that would fit your budget. I don't know much about the smaller towns outside of the suburbs, but it sounds like there are some possibilities there too.

The downside is that "semi-rural" and "decent commute to the University" is a tall order. I personally would try to avoid any commute that either goes through Everett or the 520 bridge, which cuts out most of the smaller towns in the area.

Have you considered renting a place in the area for awhile to give yourself a chance to find where you would prefer to live?

[Missy Vixen]

5. Okay, I'm a native

We live in Duvall. There's no freeway access from Duvall, which makes for a long commute to the U. If you don't mind the driving, it's nice, but the houses here are over $400,000 now. If you're feeling adventurous, Preston might be an interesting place to look; it's close to the I-90 onramp.

Seattle proper is just out due to housing prices. So's Redmond, unless you'd like a fixer-upper to the 10th power. Bellevue? If you don't mind an older home, it may be a possibility.

I'd try Woodinville.

If you'd like to browse a bit, here's a great website: www.windermere.com. I'm sorry you won't need an agent, because we had the best. I'd recommend him to anyone. I'm also happy to answer questions if you need additional information on neighborhoods, etcetera.

Julie

[rustydog]

7. I agree. woodinville is an option, but Duvall isn't too bad either

A co worker of mine lives in Duvall.
I work in kirkland and my wife and i are thinking of the Duvall area for our home.
we live in Snohomish, it is a bit pricey.

GKDMATHS, welcome to the area. sorry the move is forced.

[gkdmaths]

9. Thanks for the welcome

There's quite a few nice places in Duvall that I was looking at, but Im trying my hardest to avoid driving the 520 bridge anywhere between 6 and 9 am.

Ive always liked snoho when I drove through but, like you said, it might be a little pricey.

My current commute is 60 mins each way, but Im a little tired of it.

[spindrifter]

8. You can get a place in Seattle for

$400K. I know someone who just did that. It is west of I-5 near 130. I would look north of 100th for cheaper properties. This person found another place that was smaller, cheaper, but needed some work--also in the northend of Seattle.
Get on the Windermere website and put in your requirements.
I agree with everyone who cautions you about a commute involving 520. You should also consider whether you want to take the bus to the U. You get a UTrans pass with your student id. Parking is outrageous and there is darn little parking in the surrounding neighborhoods.

[gkdmaths]

10. nice

thanks for the parking heads-up. the college I work at now has ample parking and I get free annual passes - so Im spoiled.

:thumbsup:

[spindrifter]

18. Sorry--you can kiss "ample" parking and

free parking passes goodbye at UW. They are trying to discourage driving to campus by making it hard on the pocketbook. And truly, traffic around campus is nightmarish around rush hour, since a lot of people drive through the area to get to 520.

[maxsolomon]

11. if you have a pup, you should be IN the city

so you can study & get home fast.

north ballard might still be doable at 400k.
shoreline east of i-5 is viable - not real classy, but ok.
the CD would be sketchy if you could get in for 400k, but worth a shot.

[gkdmaths]

13. they have a compact disk district?

:)

whats the CD?

[pscot]

17. CD is the Central District

Used to be the GHET-TO, but it has gone upscale. If you want In town, the area northeast of Northgate all the way over to Lake City Way might work. It was built up in the fifties and features large lots and smaller houses, many of them built on slabs of contrete. Some are pretty nice. Probably still a relatively low cost area.

[maxsolomon]

20. pscot is right

its pretty decent up there.

don't give up on the city - get a realtor.

[Tripper11]

12. I just pm'ed you gkd

It seems we are all trying to help. I sent our realtor's info your way.

He's is very good, one of the best and did some amazing work for us in a very timely fashion. Usually buying a house is so frightening(or so I'm told) but for us, Kyle made it happen so quick it was like pulling off a band aid...RIGHT OFF!!!!!

No pressure obviously, just trying to give you some options.

Edited to add we live in Renton and we have sevral commute options include direct bus service. My wife takes the bus daily and it saves so much time money etc. Plus she reads like crazy!!
I drive, but my hours are messed up(3am-11:30am so no traffic to deal with)
The other options are northbound 405 to 90 into town, Southbound 405 to northbound I-5 into town OR even if you want, take SR 99 northbound into town.....

[gkdmaths]

14. nice! commute options!

cool. thanks. I know the main through routes from driving "through", but Im totally unfamilliar with the travel times for morning and evening rush times. Its kind of one of those things you can only know by doing it for a while.

thanks for your help. I'm checking my PM.

[Tripper11]

16. No problems...

I can tell you that if you leave Renton around 6am(not much after) your commute into town could easily be 25-30 minutes.
If you hit traffic which usually thickens up after 6:15am, you're talking 45-an hour.
If you are able to HOV it...enjoy the scenery!!!!

[pscot]

15. Try Briar. It's east of Mountlake Terrace

Lot sizes run a little larger out there and it's semi rural. Communit transit will take you to the district, and there's a campus in Bothell. There's really no place to escape what's happening to the burbs. Issaquah is similar, but pricey.

[gkdmaths]

19. hey brier looks kinda nice

just north of lake forest park.

The problem with the Bothell campus is the lack of the medical school. It would have been nicer if the Tacoma campus had the med school. I would have just moved across the street from where I am now!

Ill check out brier!

[philosophie_en_rose]

21. Try Ravenna - Roosevelt.

There are a few cute houses in the area, though you want to be closer to the Ravenna side.