Whats Preston and Issaquah like? I have a friend thats lives in Issaquah that rides alot but i have not had a lot of time to talk to him about it. He works in Seattle (fluidride)and said it was not too bad of a drive.
Seattle Living
- Thread starter csr1
- Start date
Issaquah is great...15 minutes from riding, 35 minutes from skiing, 4 hours to Whistler if you drive fast. The commute to Seattle is on I-90 which is usually better than I-405 or 520. The downfall is that it is expensive and there are lots of people. Oh, and although there are a ton of trails, its pretty frustrating as barely any are open to riders--just hikers and horses. It is beautiful here though.
Nightlife in Seattle is inferior than Portland and especially Vancouver B.C. in my book. But i'm a tea totaller what do i care....
I work with Zeb at Fluidride. He's pretty happy with issaquah as far as i know. Issaquah is kinda like a mini city, its got just about everything and lots of suburbs. I would look in the preston area if i were you. Tiny little town about 5 minutes east of issaquah, has a post office and thats it but its quiet and the property isn't insane.
the difference in personality between neighborhoods is so vast that i think all of our suggestions in this thread are junk... preston, issaquah, renton, capitol hill, ballard, fremont, wedgwood, west seattle, beacon hill are all radically different.
Good luck finding ANYTHING on the Eastside for under $375k that isn't a condo.
Thanks to all, keep the info coming in.
I will be up there to visit in Aug. to drop resumes and do some riding and a little vacation-honeymoon.
as for Issaquah, I think its sounding better than some of the others places.
I will be up there to visit in Aug. to drop resumes and do some riding and a little vacation-honeymoon.
as for Issaquah, I think its sounding better than some of the others places.
too bad you don't want to be a bit further north, I could sell you my home in Burlington(60miles north of DT seattle).
.24acres fenced yard, 3bedroom 1.5bath $240k 1800sqft.
my wife and I are working in bellingham now, our friends are up there too, so we want to move.
.24acres fenced yard, 3bedroom 1.5bath $240k 1800sqft.
my wife and I are working in bellingham now, our friends are up there too, so we want to move.
I bought a house on 1.5 archers at 217K, raised to 296k in 2 years (i didn't do anything but neglect the lawn) 35 min. east of seattle in the foothills (North Bend). It's gravy now but if the add a $10 round trip for bridge tolls, and work in downtown like I do, then my effective mortgage just went quite a bit higher ($200 more a month for commuting before gas and car).
My boss commutes from Burlington to Seattle every day, says it takes him 2 to 2 1/2 hours some mornings...I don't think you want to move there...
Public transportation can help with the commute. The busses use the HOV lanes and exits downtown. It cuts the commute time down a lot. They have racks on the front. You can get from Lynnwood to downtown in 30 minutes most days.
I take the Sounder train from edmonds. It is 28 minutes exactly - every time. The ride is along the water. We see eagles, herons, seals, boats, the olympic mtns etc. I take my bike on the train so I have it downtown, but there are lots of busses down there too.
One thing you will need to pin down is 'where will the job be'. If I didn't work downtown my commute would look a lot different.
+1 the poster who said bike to work. Its great training, great for the head, can be quicker than a cager. Plus you can combine it with trains and busses if needed.
You asked about how far east to get out of the wet. During the wet season here, they have a cold and frozen season over there. It's not always THAT wet though. You will learn how to maintain your bike! The trails on whidbey island and in anacortes stay a bit more dry during the winter due to the rain shadow.
I came out here from Chicagoland about 10 years ago. Best thing I ever did for my life. There is So much to see and do around here if you are outdoorsy.
I almost forgot to mention. The local beer here is so good you won't have to worry about how late the bars are open. You will be good and drunk before you know it.
I take the Sounder train from edmonds. It is 28 minutes exactly - every time. The ride is along the water. We see eagles, herons, seals, boats, the olympic mtns etc. I take my bike on the train so I have it downtown, but there are lots of busses down there too.
One thing you will need to pin down is 'where will the job be'. If I didn't work downtown my commute would look a lot different.
+1 the poster who said bike to work. Its great training, great for the head, can be quicker than a cager. Plus you can combine it with trains and busses if needed.
You asked about how far east to get out of the wet. During the wet season here, they have a cold and frozen season over there. It's not always THAT wet though. You will learn how to maintain your bike! The trails on whidbey island and in anacortes stay a bit more dry during the winter due to the rain shadow.
I came out here from Chicagoland about 10 years ago. Best thing I ever did for my life. There is So much to see and do around here if you are outdoorsy.
I almost forgot to mention. The local beer here is so good you won't have to worry about how late the bars are open. You will be good and drunk before you know it.
If I bus to Seattle from home, it's a 5 mile bike ride to the bus station then an hour and 45 min. if I don't count waiting at the bus stop. if i lived in downtown North Bend it would be a mere 1 hour 45... unacceptable most of the time.
I live out in Enumclaw and work in Auburn. Theres tons of riding out our way and everything is about 30 to 60 minutes drive away. Seattle commute would be about an hour to an hour and a half. if you have an econo-box car its not that bad. as far as the riding up here, IT ROCKS!!!! we are so spoiled by the quality of trails here. And theres even more good stuff close! like WHISTLER!!!
Shuttlefever~
Shuttlefever~
i sold a car and dropped it off to the buyer in north bend. taking the bus(es) back to seattle was certainly painful.
moral of the story: don't live in north bend.
to the OP: once you get an idea of where you'll be working plug in potential starting addresses here to see how the bus situation works out
http://tripplanner.metrokc.gov/cgi-bin/itin_page.pl?resptype=U
N Bend and Duvall are looking better all the time... hard to leave a place that your grew up in as did your Mom...