Ping: Path12 ( Moving to Seattle, leaving thursday)

[path12]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I may be making a business trip out to Seattle in the next couple of months. Not sure yet. I've heard mixed things about the area - one guy who makes Schmidty sound like he works for the Seattle Area Tourism Division, and a couple people who think it's a great place to live.

Let us know when you get the dates. It would be fun to have a Seattle get-together.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

Seattle to Issaquah isn't that bad, depending where you live.

Well, depends on where in Seattle. Somewhere near I-90 like Columbia City would be OK, but West Seattle would be a chore - getting to the West Seattle Freeway, dealing with the traffic on that freeway, getting onto I-5 and dealing with that traffic, then getting on to I-90 and dealing with that traffic. And trying to come home on days when the M's are in town? Better stay late or leave by 3PM...

Not to mention the West Seattle Freeway is going to get it's long-overdue rebuild starting in a couple of years. Good for West Seattle long-term, but probably not pleasant while it's happening.

[path12]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

Not to mention the West Seattle Freeway is going to get it's long-overdue rebuild starting in a couple of years. Good for West Seattle long-term, but probably not pleasant while it's happening.

I was living there when the old bridge was rammed and out of commission until the high-level one was built. What a pain in the ass that was.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by path12

I was living there when the old bridge was rammed and out of commission until the high-level one was built. What a pain in the ass that was.

Yep, that sucked. I grew up in West Seattle - nice place, but getting into town was tougher then.

[path12]

Hey, we were neighbors! Whereabouts in WS were you? Looking at your profile my youngest brother might have been a couple years ahead of you in school.

[dawgfan]

I grew up in the Admiral district, about a block away from the totem pole viewpoint.

[path12]

Heh. My high school girlfriend worked at the Admiral and I got a part time gig changing the marquee and stuff back in the day, though my main job during that time was at Alki Spud. We lived about a block away from Madison Jr High.

[Lathum]

OK, need some input here.

It looks like we have things narrowed down to 2 areas, west seattle and Bothell.

West Seattle looks closer to the city, slightly more expensive.

Bothell looks further from the city but we can get a house there for the same price as a townhouse.

My wife will be working in Issaquah and I will likely be going to UW. She tends to leave for work pretty early, by 7:00 AM so I'm not sure traffic will be a huge issue.

We are leaning towards West Seattle because it is much closer to the city so it won't be such a hassle to go in, we're lazy like that.

Thoughts?

[dawgfan]

For West Seattle, going to work for her at that time of day probably won't be horrible, though it will be busy. The bigger issue for her will be the commute home. Especially on days the M's are playing at home. Also be aware that the West Seattle Freeway will be undergoing major renovation/expansion work in the next few years, and the Alaskan Way Viaduct will undergo some type of rebuild/replacement in the next 5-10 years which will impact getting in to the city from West Seattle.

Bothell is also a fair distance from Issaquah, but I suspect the commute won't be quite as bad.

You may want to take another look and see if you find anything appealing in the Beacon Hill, Mt. Baker or Columbia City areas - that would cut out the West Seattle Freeway and I-5 portions of your wife's commute, and you'd be pretty close to the light-rail line that will start service next year.

[path12]

I agree with what Dawgfan said except do think the commute from West Seattle is pretty bad at 7AM. Sometimes we drop the dog off at a friend's house there and I know it's taken a good 20 minutes to get to I-5 at around 7:15......

[Lathum]

So it seems there are alot more townhouses out there, would it be fair to say thats the norm?

[path12]

There's been a ton of new construction because the area was one of the last to start to get hit by the housing bubble, so there were a bunch of townhouse/condos/new housing in the pipeline that prices are dropping on now....

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

Well, depends on where in Seattle. Somewhere near I-90 like Columbia City would be OK, but West Seattle would be a chore - getting to the West Seattle Freeway, dealing with the traffic on that freeway, getting onto I-5 and dealing with that traffic, then getting on to I-90 and dealing with that traffic. And trying to come home on days when the M's are in town? Better stay late or leave by 3PM...

Not to mention the West Seattle Freeway is going to get it's long-overdue rebuild starting in a couple of years. Good for West Seattle long-term, but probably not pleasant while it's happening.

I guess it's all relative. I don't know much about the West Seattle traffic. In the mornings, it takes me about as long to get to Sammamish from Ballard as it does to Redmond. And sometimes less.

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by Lathum

OK, need some input here.

It looks like we have things narrowed down to 2 areas, west seattle and Bothell.

West Seattle looks closer to the city, slightly more expensive.

Bothell looks further from the city but we can get a house there for the same price as a townhouse.

My wife will be working in Issaquah and I will likely be going to UW. She tends to leave for work pretty early, by 7:00 AM so I'm not sure traffic will be a huge issue.

We are leaning towards West Seattle because it is much closer to the city so it won't be such a hassle to go in, we're lazy like that.

Thoughts?

There is going to be a huge cultural difference between living in Bothell versus living in West Seattle. If you ignore traffic, it's really a decision of whether you want something closer to city style living (West Seattle) or the burbs. Although West Seattle isn't exactly close to downtown, it's doable on a weekend night, whereas a place like Bothell is a hike, even without traffic.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by path12

There's been a ton of new construction because the area was one of the last to start to get hit by the housing bubble, so there were a bunch of townhouse/condos/new housing in the pipeline that prices are dropping on now....

any word on if those prices are going to continue to drop. The last thing I want is to pay 365K for a condo that will be worth 300K in 3 years.

[path12]

Originally Posted by Lathum

any word on if those prices are going to continue to drop. The last thing I want is to pay 365K for a condo that will be worth 300K in 3 years.

Well, now that's an entirely different issue and depends a lot on where you feel the market is nationwide. I'm pessimistic enough that I'm continuing to rent rather than look to buy right now, but I've been holding off for the past four years because of not trusting the market. Inventories are continuing to grow while sales are dropping, and getting a loan is tougher than it has been -- just like everywhere else.

A local housing blog I read every week or so: hxxp.seattlebubble.com You might guess their stance by the url.

I can also give you some anecdotal evidence. About a half mile from my house is Echo Lake. There was a new townhouse development built right on the lake that is now for sale. There are around 20 units and about 6 of them were presold. Those presales all fell through, construction is at least 95% done now and not a unit had been sold as of the weekend before last. We're interested, but want to see how these start to sell and at what level before pursuing further.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Lathum

So it seems there are alot more townhouses out there, would it be fair to say thats the norm?

Yeah. It's a combination of factors:

- High demand for housing in the Seattle metro region;
- Big spike in housing prices was leaving fewer options for new homeowners/entry-level housing prices;
- Concerted effort in King County to reduce suburban sprawl and encourage greater urban density

As for the housing price bubble, from what I've read prices are expected to continue dropping somewhat, but the Seattle area isn't expected to have nearly as bad a drop as other regions have experienced. But if you're not sure you'll be here 10+ years, you may want to wait on buying and rent for a few years until you better know your long-term future in the area and the prices stabilize.

One other factor to consider is while prices may be dropping right now, interest rates are probably as low as they're going to be, so there is a long-term advantage to buying now and locking in the current rates if you think you'll be here long-term.

Desnudo is right about cultural differences between Bothell and West Seattle. West Seattle is more of a traditional neighborhood in layout and character, whereas Bothell is primarily suburbs. West Seattle has always had a slight detachment from the rest of the city due to the location, but it's still close enough that a night on the town isn't a long drive or bus ride and the neighborhood itself has really upgraded in the last decade. It used to be a very sleepy, old area, but there's been a big uptick in new businesses and renovations and the demographic has gotten younger. Since it was underpriced relative to other Seattle neighborhoods during the big housing price spike, it attracted a lot of younger home buyers in the last 5+ years.

Still, the upcoming transportation projects that will directly affect West Seattle (the W. Seattle Fwy rebuild and the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement) should not be ignored in your decision.

[Lathum]

my wife would like to know what time How I Met Your Mother comes on in Seattle

[path12]

Originally Posted by Lathum

my wife would like to know what time How I Met Your Mother comes on in Seattle

I believe it's 8:30.

[Lathum]

Well we looked at townhouses today.

We basicly have it narrowed down between 2.

One in Fremont near the downtown area and on in Ballard. Both nice areas but man, they are expensive.

[Lathum]

bump for the Seattle crowd

[Bigsmooth]

Hey. I've lived in Seattle for about 7 years now, love it. I live in Wallingford and work downtown (for Seattle Public Utilities). One way to beat the traffic is to take the bus. For all the complaining around here about lack of mass transit, I find that the city bus system is very accomodating. In the future, when I'm ready to buy a home, I'll most likely go north to Shoreline/Lake Forest Park and just hop the bus downtown. They just take the express lanes and you fly past the rest of traffic....

Anyhow, it's a great city. Congratulations on your move.

[Lathum]

well the movers and packers are coming today. It's a pain but at least we don't have to do it ourselves. The company sends people to do everything, pack our dishes, etc...


We are leaving Thursday, driving to austin MN. Friday we are staying in Rapid City SD and are going to go to Mt. Rushmore. From there we are going to Butte, MT then onto seattle. About 2400 miles. It's a long drive but we have plenty of audiobooks ready.

I can't say I will miss Cincinnati but I will miss the people we have become friends with. I am really looking forward to Seattle but it will definantly be an adjustment. Especialy for viewing live sporting events.

[cartman]

You said Butte.

[Schmidty]

We need to get something going. It'd be really fun to hang out with you guys, so you can see that I'm not as angry and insane as I seem on this board!!!