So I moved to Seattle

So, it sounds like my family and I may do a 12 month stint in Seattle. My employer would like me on-site a more often to provide leadership to the junior staff and my occasional visits to the city have convinced me that, weather not-withstanding, it'd be a pretty fun place to live for a year before returning to the Midwest.

I'm trying to identify neighborhoods to explore rentals. Here are my criteria:

  • family-friendly: I'll have an 18 month boy and a dog that love to take walks together. Parks, yards, and other families are plus.
  • easy commute to downtown: my office is in Pioneer Square near the ferries
  • reasonable rent: hip, trendy neighborhoods are not necessary. We have a little guy so our nights carousing clubs and enjoying fine dining are limited. Better to have stuff walk-able - corner stores, cafes, etc.

    GWJ Seattle-ites - what say you?

  • Maple Leaf (commute to work on the 66), the north slope of Queen Anne, Magnolia (metro varies), Greenwood (on the 5), or North Beach/Blue Ridge/Crown Hill (on the 15/18) all have everything you want. Nice parks, little retail clusters, and you can find a house or apartment for very reasonable* rent.

    Wallingford, Fremont, Green Lake, the top of Queen Anne, and parts of Ballard will also fit and be a little more "city", though the rent will be a bit higher.

    All these areas are family-friendly too.

    *will probably still feel astronomical compared to Madison

    I have nothing to contribute since clover nailed it all but I want to say that I really like living in Maple Leaf and it's extremely family and dog friendly.

    clover wrote:

    Maple Leaf (commute to work on the 66), the north slope of Queen Anne, Magnolia (metro varies), Greenwood (on the 5), or North Beach/Blue Ridge/Crown Hill (on the 15/18) all have everything you want. Nice parks, little retail clusters, and you can find a house or apartment for very reasonable* rent.

    Wallingford, Fremont, Green Lake, the top of Queen Anne, and parts of Ballard will also fit and be a little more "city", though the rent will be a bit higher.

    Yup. Clover nailed it.

    If it was me, and I could afford it, I'd go for one of the bolded areas. I *love* those neighbourhoods. But they're the pricey ones. When I was buying a house a couple of years ago, we couldn't find anything affordable *and* suitable there. If you're renting for a year though, I reckon you'll be able to find something.

    One alternative which hasn't been mentioned is to live a little further out, as long as your commute is OK. For instance, I live on the Seattle-Shoreline border, 2 minutes drive from the highway (I-5). My commute to downtown or South Seattle is actually faster than it used to be living in Blue Ridge thanks to the highway.

    if you're working in Pioneer Square, you might want to consider West Seattle too...

    Jonman wrote:

    if you're working in Pioneer Square, you might want to consider West Seattle too...

    Yeah, I really wanted to suggest this but with the viadoom viaduct construction that seemed cruel. That stretch of I-5 is brutal now.

    Although... you could get a place in Alki and take the water taxi every day. Best commute ever, and Alki has a California-style boardwalk along the beach.

    clover wrote:
    Jonman wrote:

    if you're working in Pioneer Square, you might want to consider West Seattle too...

    Yeah, I really wanted to suggest this but with the viadoom viaduct construction that seemed cruel. That whole stretch of I-5 is brutal now.

    Although... you could get a place in Alki and take the water taxi every day. Best commute ever, and Alki has a California-style boardwalk along the beach.

    Fair point, but getting from the West Seattle bridge to Pioneer Square doesn't necessitate getting on the highway. Well, I assume it still won't once all the tunnel nonsense is done with....

    Either way you can take the little bridge to Harbor Island down below the West Seattle Bridge, but that gets bound up like a spider's dinner every day even before the construction. I shudder to think what that looks like now.

    If you're going to be working in Pioneer Square I recommend looking at West Seattle/Alki/Admiral and a bus commute HIGHLY.

    momgamer wrote:

    Either way you can take the little bridge to Harbor Island down below the West Seattle Bridge, but that gets bound up like a spider's dinner every day even before the construction. I shudder to think what that looks like now.

    If you're going to be working in Pioneer Square I recommend looking at West Seattle/Alki/Admiral and a bus commute HIGHLY.

    Huh - none of my co-workers live over there so I had written off. Maybe worth checking it out.

    The bonus here is I'll be trying to negotiate a one-year "relocation" bonus to cover the move and the cost of living increase. The president (who's pushing for the move) is a big fan of Seattle and might be willing to put up the extra dough so we can get a nice place in a neighborhood he thinks we'll really enjoy for a year. That makes some of the pricey places in Ballard and Fremont seem possible.

    However, this looks good.

    Trashie wrote:
    momgamer wrote:

    Either way you can take the little bridge to Harbor Island down below the West Seattle Bridge, but that gets bound up like a spider's dinner every day even before the construction. I shudder to think what that looks like now.

    If you're going to be working in Pioneer Square I recommend looking at West Seattle/Alki/Admiral and a bus commute HIGHLY.

    Huh - none of my co-workers live over there so I had written off. Maybe worth checking it out.

    The bonus here is I'll be trying to negotiate a one-year "relocation" bonus to cover the move and the cost of living increase. The president (who's pushing for the move) is a big fan of Seattle and might be willing to put up the extra dough so we can get a nice place in a neighborhood he thinks we'll really enjoy for a year. That makes some of the pricey places in Ballard and Fremont seem possible.

    However, this looks good.

    When we first moved to Seattle I lived on 40th and Morgan, which is just a bit farther down the street from that house. That was from 1997 to 2000, though, so please look into things harder from sources who are more recent.

    It was an awesome neighborhood. The reason I moved out of there is I got a job in Redmond, and that commute was just ridiculous. It's fairly suburban with lots of access to nature, but it's a hop, skip, and a jump to the real city. The prices can be a little interesting, though.

    +1 to the bus commute from wherever you decide upon. They're adding new high-zoot transit lines from downtown to parts of West Seattle and Ballard next year also (consolation prize for those of you who voted for the original Green Line ;)).

    Edit:

    Trashie wrote:

    However, this looks good.

    A couple of my good friends live off 35th there. If you come home to a view in that part of town, you will honestly not care how bad the commute is

    (That's a good price for the house, too... bus commute is ok from that address, and if you think you might want to rent it I'd be happy to go over and put some eyeballs on it for you)

    Yeah that view is ridiculous.

    Thanks for the updates. Also padmapper is fantastic. Just what I need. I'll update as I find out more.

    Any good resources for identifying child care in the Seattle for a two year old? I'm guessing since we'll won't have time to get on a waiting list, we'll be going the nanny route but if there's a good local clearinghouse, it'd be appreciated. My co-workers aren't much help as most of either don't have kids or have kids far beyond day care age.

    If you were going to buy a house outside of Seattle, where would you look?

    I'm leaving the question ambiguous on purpose.

    Trashie wrote:

    Thanks for the updates. Also padmapper is fantastic. Just what I need. I'll update as I find out more.

    Any good resources for identifying child care in the Seattle for a two year old? I'm guessing since we'll won't have time to get on a waiting list, we'll be going the nanny route but if there's a good local clearinghouse, it'd be appreciated. My co-workers aren't much help as most of either don't have kids or have kids far beyond day care age.

    My wife's a nanny. She's worked through the Seattle Nanny Network for years, and speaks highly of them.

    EDIT - Other option is to call the local schools where you end up living and ask if they maintain a list of nearby daycares.

    SixteenBlue wrote:

    If you were going to buy a house outside of Seattle, where would you look?

    I'm leaving the question ambiguous on purpose.

    Does it have to be a house? Is space an issue?

    NathanialG wrote:
    SixteenBlue wrote:

    If you were going to buy a house outside of Seattle, where would you look?

    I'm leaving the question ambiguous on purpose.

    Does it have to be a house? Is space an issue?

    Yes. Yes.

    ....I really should've seen that coming. Shalalm Baskur.

    Late to the thread, but we moved to Seattle from Madison ourselves a year ago Trashie. Small world!

    Child Care Resources of Seattle (http://www.childcare.org/) maintains a searchable database of child care providers. It's $40 for a six month subscription, and we found it to be invaluable when we were looking for daycare for our (then) three year old. I wouldn't discount getting on a waiting list: two years old is the age at which provider ratios start to go up. Expect to pay what you would at the upper end of Madison daycare: between $1200-$1500 a month for full time institutional care.

    As an aside, we rent a place in Green Lake that we love. Rent is twice as much as our mortgage in Fitchburg, Wi, natch. I had awful luck finding a place to rent through Craigslist, and ended up finding our place through a realator. I had no idea that there are rental listings in the MLS.

    Janci wrote:

    Late to the thread, but we moved to Seattle from Madison ourselves a year ago Trashie. Small world!

    Child Care Resources of Seattle (http://www.childcare.org/) maintains a searchable database of child care providers. It's $40 for a six month subscription, and we found it to be invaluable when we were looking for daycare for our (then) three year old. I wouldn't discount getting on a waiting list: two years old is the age at which provider ratios start to go up. Expect to pay what you would at the upper end of Madison daycare: between $1200-$1500 a month for full time institutional care.

    As an aside, we rent a place in Green Lake that we love. Rent is twice as much as our mortgage in Fitchburg, Wi, natch. I had awful luck finding a place to rent through Craigslist, and ended up finding our place through a realator. I had no idea that there are rental listings in the MLS.

    Excellent! Thanks for the advice. I'll bring a case of Spotted Cow on our drive out and you can point me to the Wisco ex-pat bars.

    Trashie wrote:

    I'll bring a case of Spotted Cow on our drive out

    You're going to get along just fine here

    Congrats Trashie! Hope you like it hear, even if it is relatively short term.

    Janci wrote:
    Trashie wrote:

    I'll bring a case of Spotted Cow on our drive out

    You're going to get along just fine here ;)

    Indeed. Looks like the Madisonians are taking over.

    So the search continues. Above nobody mentioned Capitol Hill. What are people's thoughts? My wife is interested in that area as some good friends will be moving there around the same time and would like to be close to some friendly faces. Some examples:

    http://zillow.com/homedetails/809-24...
    http://zillow.com/homedetails/107-21...

    Are you bringing a car? Street parking is a disaster on most of Capitol Hill.

    clover wrote:

    Are you bringing a car? Street parking is a disaster on most of Capitol Hill.

    Yes but most of the places I've seen have off-street parking.

    clover wrote:

    Are you bringing a car? Street parking is a disaster on most of Capitol Hill.

    And rent is high. And if you're not working in a downtown neighbourhood, your commute is going to be a bear.

    For all that we're poo-pooing it, it's a freaking cool neighbourhood to live in, with loads going on. But there are downsides.

    Trashie wrote:
    clover wrote:

    Are you bringing a car? Street parking is a disaster on most of Capitol Hill.

    Yes but most of the places I've seen have off-street parking.

    Nice! If your car is on the larger side, be sure to check what kind of off-street parking it is too.

    And hey, if you're down with the rent it's a great neighborhood. It will be louder at night, unless you're on the far north end of Capitol Hill, but you get used to that after a while. If you know what area your friends will be in, that will make the search a little easier if you want to be near them... there are several discrete sub-neighborhoods up there.

    What's considered North Seattle there?

    Trashie wrote:

    So, it sounds like my family and I may do a 12 month stint in Seattle. My employer would like me on-site a more often to provide leadership to the junior staff and my occasional visits to the city have convinced me that, weather not-withstanding, it'd be a pretty fun place to live for a year before returning to the Midwest.

    I'm trying to identify neighborhoods to explore rentals. Here are my criteria:

  • family-friendly: I'll have an 18 month boy and a dog that love to take walks together. Parks, yards, and other families are plus.
  • easy commute to downtown: my office is in Pioneer Square near the ferries
  • reasonable rent: hip, trendy neighborhoods are not necessary. We have a little guy so our nights carousing clubs and enjoying fine dining are limited. Better to have stuff walk-able - corner stores, cafes, etc.

    GWJ Seattle-ites - what say you?

  • You also might consider Bainbridge Island. It's a 30 min ferry ride from downtown and the ferries are an easy 5 min walk from Pioneer Square.

    Update: my last night here in Seattle after spending a couple of days checking out daycares and apartments and working at the office. After checking out the top of Queen Anne and Wallingford, it looks like we're either going to end up in Capitol Hill. Either in a renovated Victorian near 23rd and Madison or this amazing house in North Capitol Hill near Volunteer Park with views of Lake Washington. Either way, a complete success. More importantly, we also found a daycare in the area that my wife loved. Now just to figure out the commute!

    Thanks everyone for the advice and input. Be here mid-August.

    Congrats! Capitol Hill is fun.