There is a reasonably good chance that I’ll be moving to Seattle in 3 months for a job. I’ve never been there, but I have been to Portland, OR and liked it quite a bit.
What neighborhoods should I check out for reasonably priced housing?
What restaurants/museums are a must?
Which coffee shops should I not be caught dead in?
Any other advice welcome!
Thanks!
I think we need to know a bit more about ‘you’ in order to help you decide what neighborhood to look in. What range of prices for homes are you looking for? Your term reasonably priced isn’t very specific! What one person considers reasonable isn’t even in the ballpark for someone else.
Single or married? Kids? Age? Straight? Gay?
Is the job in Seattle proper, or Redmond or Tacoma or ???
Without knowing any of the above. Greenlake/Wallingford/Phinney areas are nice, relatively close to downtown Seattle. Nice neighborhoods with moderately to pricey homes, but nice restaurants, etc. Capital Hill is interesting depending where you live. Downtown I think would be enjoyable to live if you can afford it. Queen Anne is similar pricewise to Downtown or Belltown I would imagine. Ballard has certainly come into its own now. Wedgewood has some nice neighborhoods but I can’t speak about their restaurants.
Personally I don’t care for the suburbs like Bellevue, etc. But I know several people who live on Mercer Island who love it as it is equal distant from both Bellevue and Seattle.
Or you can commute via ferry by living on Bainbridge, Vashon or in Kitsap. More rural with easier access to the Olympic Mountains and more affordable.
So if you give me/us some more clues as to what you enjoy I think you could get some good information. Either way–good luck.
I have lived here since 1990 and love it.
Pecos pit, its on first south of safeco
Pike Place Market, hmmm, 3 girls bakery, Mr.D’s Greek Delicacies, Mee Sum Pastries, Peroshki Peroshki, and Turkish Delight, all of these are located right on the street in PPM. (oh for the hell of it stop in at the Starbucks there, its the first one in the whole world)
Pagllacis (good lord Italian names) pizza, there are a few around.
life long Seattle area here, I love this town but seriously the whole fall/winter/spring nonstop clouds and rain can be rough. Summers here are f-n kick ass though.
Also, are you looking to rent or buy? House, condo, apartment? The job location is really key, unless you like long commutes. I lived in Belltown (near the Space Needle) for about five years, and walked to work much of the time (later it became a short bus ride when I worked in the International District). I loved most aspects of living there, and the commute was awesome. Then I moved to the Eastside, which is a better fit for me in many respects (actually able to afford a decent house with a yard, don’t have to pay $120/mo for parking at my own home, etc.), but the commute to downtown was a killer. Thankfully, I was able to find a job within a few miles of home and I’m happy again.
Like I said, I like living in the Eastside suburbs better than I liked living downtown, but both are nice – just very different. It really depends on your personality and what you need. Also, in the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that I don’t really like living in the northwest much (mostly a weather issue – I need it to be warmer and sunnier). My recommendations ignore that, since it’s a constant…
I work in Belltown. I’d like to have an apartment here.
What did you like about Portland? Where are you moving from?
I’m not a Seattle resident, but I spent some time there on business. I highly recommend Beth’s.
Heh, too many variables unanswered, so far, but I’ve been here since '99 and I don’t care how many clouds there are. This is the place to live.
Seattle proper confuses the hell out of me, as there are one-way streets and always traffic. I lived in Shoreline first, it’s at the northend of Seattle. Moved to the east side 7 years ago and much prefer it. Bellevue itself reminds me of L.A. I live in a suburb, up a hill in a forest. There are some really great restaurants all over, it’s just a matter of finding them. I prefer other than Starbuck’s, but yeah, visit the one at Pike Place. They have their original logo there.
Give us more details and we’ll be more helpful ;p
Sorry for the open-ended post, and thanks to those who have contributed so far.
More details:
Thanks!
This is going to be a significant issue in providing useful feedback, due to the traffic around here. It could affect whether you spend half an hour a day commuting, or three hours a day.
Which eastside neighborhoods do you recommend? We’ll be settling in the Seattle area in about a year and are retired, so commuting to work is not an issue. We are interested in neighborhoods that are “alive”, rather than just suburban havens with no businesses to speak of, and with easy access to public transit. We’re probably looking at a single home, 1500 sq.ft. or so, in the range of $250-300K.
Kirkland is the first place that popped into my head. Kirkland is a great little town with a small downtown, right on the water and a lot of nice neighborhoods. However, I don’t think you’ll be able to find a house in the $250-300k range in Kirkland (or really anywhere on the Eastside proper). Prices have been coming down, though, so I could be wrong. I haven’t looked at listings recently. Last time I looked, you’d have to get fairly far out to find something decent (not a major fixer) in that price range.
For that price range you will need to go west–out where I live in Kitsap County. More rural then Seattle and only a ferry ride away 
A beautiful little town north of where I live is Port Townsend. It is difficult to commute from, but if you don’t have that issue you might look there. It has almost all the old infrastructure buildings in it–no urban renewal projects that tore down old buildings to put in parking lots. Very nice little town Another possibility on the Kitsap side is Poulsbo, it is similar in nature and easier to get to Seattle from.
I like Kirkland too–but it is not in that price range. In fact I would say there isn’t much in Seattle proper in that price range (although with the recent drop in prices you may find some things).
I just took a quick look on Redfin, and there are a handful of listings in the Kirkland area under $300k. For example, 11642 NE 92nd St, Kirkland, WA 98033 | MLS# 429057 | Redfin
hmm…well I would suggest either lower Queen Anne, Greenlake or Phinney. There are apartments in all those locations (can’t speak to the cost though) and they are all nice neighborhoods with nice restaurants and other public amenities. West Seattle is also nice but some people I would recommend it for and others not so much. It is more diverse then the other neighborhoods I mentioned–but has some excellent restuarants, etc there as well.
A good ‘healthy’ mexican restaurant in Phinney is called "Gorditos’ and it pretty damn awesome in both portions and I like the food. I like Starbucks, but I also like Cherry Street Coffee Houses and I also like Diva Expresso.
Mmmmm…Gorditos…(Homer Simpson drool noises)
Seattle might just be the most confusing city in America to get around in. The street system here is a nightmare with the standard grids you see in other places only happening by random chance. You really have to “Learn” your way around the down town area, given an address you will still need google maps or something like it to get around.
if you live anywhere near the down town area the whole thing is yours to play with. Seattle downtown area is all easily accessible with a cab ride, the bus system in the city is pretty good as well.
for living you might check out the Eastgate area located just on the other side of lake Washington, that area has a lot of housing and pretty easy access to the city as well via I90.
Which are all great neighborhoods, but all are a very frustrating commute to the Eastside if that’s where your job is. As is West Seattle, which I’d also recommend if your job is going to be in Seattle proper and not in
I would disagree with Critical1. The city is laid out on grids, and if you know the address it’s pretty easy to know approximately where things are. The big problem is inconveniently placed bodies of water. So, you can’t drive from point A to point B. You have to drive from Point A to the shores of some lake or another, drive around (or occasionally over) the lake, and then resume your grid navigational skills. But the lakes are very pretty, so the detour is usually scenic.
I’ve been here 10 years now and I’d have to disagree with Amarinth, yes the city is laid out in grids but when you have intersections on the Eastside like 140th Ave NE and NE 140th Ave it’s not nececcarily easy to navigate. Seattle itself isn’t much better, sure the Avenues start at 1 and work their way up, but the named streets follow no discernable order to the outsider.
That said I love living here. I live on the Eastside, mainly due to the fact that I work on the Eastside and it’s much more convenient. Kirkland is the hippest of the Eastside cities and if you live near downtown there are plenty of shops and such. If you can find a place close to downtown Bellevue or downtown Redmond you can be in walking distance of shops and food and the like also.
As for food, if you are moving from California you will learn that the Mexican food here is, for the most part, lackluster. However the seafood, Indian, Thai and other Asian foods are great. If you like beers we have a wealth of microbreweries and most restaraunts have some nice choices. Our wines are pretty great too (and can hold their own against a lot of Sonoma/Napa wines).
Downtown has a lot of fun things to do, museums, shows, food, nightlife.
Traffic sucks. It’s not as bad as L.A. but if you are trying to go to or from any major city at rush hour things can get pretty messy. Sometimes going from the Eastside to Seattle can take up to 45 minutes for less than a 15 mile trip. Hence the need to work and live on the same side of the water. If you live North or South of the city things aren’t much better. Traffic is pretty much the worst part of living here (if you don’t mind the weather).
Just remember that Jesus Christ made Seattle under protest.