Moving to Seattle...

[MikeVick7]

My g/f and I are thinking of moving to Seattle next year and while this thread (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=46492&highlight=seattle) offered some great insight on the city and housing, my needs are a bit different.

The company I work for has a location in Everett and if things work out I would like to transfer to that location, but I don't necessarily want to live IN Everett. (Unless someone has spectacular things to say about that city) My g/f and I are content with the burbs and would be looking to live in an apartment when we first got there. Then looking for a townhouse or house once we got settled. So I was curious about finding information on northern suburbs that are located halfway between Everett and Seattle that have newer commercial and residential developments in the area.

Right now we live in Lewisville (sup Jeebs), which is a northern suburb of Dallas, and we really don't mind living a few blocks away from shopping and restaurants so we would be looking for the same type of area when moving there.

[MikeVic]

I think Seattle has a QB already.

[scooter]

When my wife and I first moved out here 12 years ago, I had a job in Mount Vernon and she had a job in downtown Seattle. So we looked for places to live in the area you are talking about. We started out in an apartment in Lynnwood, moved to a townhouse in Edmonds, and then to a house in Brier (all of these are in the same general area in Snohomish County).

Some people might try to point you toward areas closer to Seattle, but if you get into King County, prices for housing, rent, etc. get more expensive (their closer to the city and therefore a shorter commute to downtown). King County also has higher sales taxes and fees on license plates. The benefit is that you are closer to the city and all that that brings (major sports, museums, tourist sights).

One thing about settling south of Everett is that your commute would be opposite of most of the traffic (not all by any means ;) ). I have a cousin that lives in Lake Stevens (an area that has just exploded in the last 5 years), and her husband commutes to Seattle every day. It takes him about 1.5 hours to get to work. But at the time it was the only place they could afford to buy a house.

Some other places to consider: Marysville, Smokey Point are both north of Everett and a little farther "out", but are starting to grow rapidly as well. There are probably fewer apartments to rent but rent is probably cheaper.

If you would like any other specific information you can PM me too.

[Desnudo]

Under no circumstances should you live in Everett. If you don't mind the suburbs, then consider living south of Lynwood, but north of Northgate.

A place I noticed the other day that seemed pretty nice is Lake Ballinger which is right off the highway, but quiet, and like it sounds, right on a lake. I think that would be considered in the Mountlake Terrace area which is about 10 miles N of Seattle. If you try Rent.com and do a seach on that area, you'll see a number of options. Good luck

[path12]

Under no circumstances should you live in Everett. If you don't mind the suburbs, then consider living south of Lynwood, but north of Northgate.

A place I noticed the other day that seemed pretty nice is Lake Ballinger which is right off the highway, but quiet, and like it sounds, right on a lake. I think that would be considered in the Mountlake Terrace area which is about 10 miles N of Seattle. If you try Rent.com and do a seach on that area, you'll see a number of options. Good luck

I live in Shoreline, which is right around Lake Ballinger and just west of Mountlake Terrace. Not a bad commute if you're working north and it is a nice area, housing is quickly catching up to the city though, with 3 bedrooms in my area around the 350-400K range currently.

[MikeVick7]

Under no circumstances should you live in Everett.

Ha! That cracked me up. Yeah I haven't heard anything good about that city. Is it solely because it's a naval base town?

[path12]

Ha! That cracked me up. Yeah I haven't heard anything good about that city. Is it solely because it's a naval base town?

I'm sure that might have something to do with it, but it's more just an overall sense that Everett just seems.......well, tired. Past it's prime. You've got horrible traffic around the downtown on the freeway, you've got a lumber mill or something on the north side that reeks, you've got a crumbling downtown core........I guess I could go on, but that kind of sums it up for me.

It is fun to see the rookie league baseball team play though.

[scooter]

Ha! That cracked me up. Yeah I haven't heard anything good about that city. Is it solely because it's a naval base town?

Everett is a very blue collar town and has been for a very long time. The naval base isn't large, but it doesn't help the image much.

Downtown Everett has been trying in recent years to clean things up and create a more positive image. It is the county seat and they are just finishing up a bunch of construction to build some new buildings for that. The most impressive thing though is the Everett Events Center. It's a great facility that brings in concerts and is the home of both the Everett Silvertips (WHL hockey) and the Everett Hawks (AF2 football). The city is also home to the AquaSox (Single-A, short-season baseball). But even with all of that, the city still has that image.

[JHandley]

I live in Bothell and that's about as far south as you'll want to look. You'll be looking at an hour or more to Everett if you get any closer to Seattle from here. From my experience, Bothell is really no different from Lynnwood except that Bothell is a bit closer to Seattle. The burbs are the burbs, ya know? As far as housing costs go, Bothell is about moderate with a 2 bedroom home going for about $250-300k, rent on a decent sized 2 br apartment will be around $900-1k.

To me, Everett is a lot like Tacoma. It smells bad, feels dirty, and there's some good jobs there. Also, you'll be near the Tulalip casino and I can vouch that the 4/8 tables there are ridiculously easy.

[Desnudo]

The odor is the main problem. Like when you're driving down to Tacoma on I-5and you hit that wall of odor near the Tacoma dome. It doesn't matter how much you revitalize when your city smells like damp dog.

[MikeVick7]

When my wife and I first moved out here 12 years ago, I had a job in Mount Vernon and she had a job in downtown Seattle. So we looked for places to live in the area you are talking about. We started out in an apartment in Lynnwood, moved to a townhouse in Edmonds, and then to a house in Brier (all of these are in the same general area in Snohomish County).

Some people might try to point you toward areas closer to Seattle, but if you get into King County, prices for housing, rent, etc. get more expensive (their closer to the city and therefore a shorter commute to downtown). King County also has higher sales taxes and fees on license plates. The benefit is that you are closer to the city and all that that brings (major sports, museums, tourist sights).

One thing about settling south of Everett is that your commute would be opposite of most of the traffic (not all by any means ;) ). I have a cousin that lives in Lake Stevens (an area that has just exploded in the last 5 years), and her husband commutes to Seattle every day. It takes him about 1.5 hours to get to work. But at the time it was the only place they could afford to buy a house.

Some other places to consider: Marysville, Smokey Point are both north of Everett and a little farther "out", but are starting to grow rapidly as well. There are probably fewer apartments to rent but rent is probably cheaper.

If you would like any other specific information you can PM me too.

There's a lotta good info here....thanks. The Lynnwood/Mill Creek area actually stood out to me when looking at the map. Is that just your typical suburban-type area? Lots of restaurants, lots of stores/strip malls...that kinda thing? Is that area somewhat newer or would you have to be further out on the edge of the metro to be in the newer developments?

[scooter]

There's a lotta good info here....thanks. The Lynnwood/Mill Creek area actually stood out to me when looking at the map. Is that just your typical suburban-type area? Lots of restaurants, lots of stores/strip malls...that kinda thing? Is that area somewhat newer or would you have to be further out on the edge of the metro to be in the newer developments?

Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace are older "bedroom" communities, but there are still areas of Lynnwood that are being developed. Lynnwood is also kind of the northern shopping area with Alderwood Mall and just about any major store or chain restaurant you may want (most stores and restaurants in the Seattle area have a location in Lynnwood, Bellevue/Kirkland, and Southcenter near Seatac). Mill Creek is a little newer and probably a little more upscale. That community is growing rapidly though and traffic is bad because of its limited access to I-5.

Most of these areas though have been developed since the 60's and 70's. Most of the development now is in the "less-buildable" areas - lots with steep slopes, odd shaped lots. Developers are buying up older homes on large lots, subdividing them, and building 2 or 3 homes where there used to be one. There just isn't any land left. That said, there are still some decent homes being built - you just have to look a little harder.

One nice thing about the area you are looking in - the access to both I-5 and I-405. These are the main highways in the area, and if you are going south, one of them is usually better than the other traffic-wise. And as for your commute to Everett, you won't encounter most of that smell issue the others were talking about - the mill is northeast of Everett (along with the water treatment plant and the slough).

[Vinatieri for Prez]

I just moved from Seattle, but it's a great place. If you have the dough, go for Mill Creek or Mount Lake Terrace. Definitely live south of Everett to get the reverse commute.

[Glengoyne]

Atlanta fans will be relieved.