Living in Seattle

[happos2]

There are some potential job opportunities for me near Bremerton Naval base. However, I have never been to Seattle and don't know the area at all. Where are some decent places to live? Here are some things about me - Kids will come along in 2-3 years, love the outdoors (biking, climbing, camping, etc), like to do things in the evening after work (pretty social).

In Indiana, I live in a somewhat trendy place (as trendy as you can get in Indy) where I can walk to local bars and restaurants, even the grocery store.

I don't mind moving away from downtown into a more suburb area, just looking for options in both situations. I understand Seattle is WAY more expensive than Indiana as well.

Thanks for the help!

[dereksM3]

Originally Posted by happos2

There are some potential job opportunities for me near Bremerton Naval base. However, I have never been to Seattle and don't know the area at all. Where are some decent places to live? Here are some things about me - Kids will come along in 2-3 years, love the outdoors (biking, climbing, camping, etc), like to do things in the evening after work (pretty social).

In Indiana, I live in a somewhat trendy place (as trendy as you can get in Indy) where I can walk to local bars and restaurants, even the grocery store.

I don't mind moving away from downtown into a more suburb area, just looking for options in both situations. I understand Seattle is WAY more expensive than Indiana as well.

Thanks for the help!

I'm very familiar with the Bremerton area as I lived over there many years and have worked within the DOD a few years back. It is a nice area and real estate is booming over there a fair bit. I would say though it's a place that you may not want to live. It's fairly inexpensive to live there and Silverdale and Poulsbo are close by. If you are big into fishing, hiking, etc it's a decent place to live. I wouldn't raise kids there personally as Bremerton isn't that nice of a place in a lot of respects. Now commuting to and from Seattle (across the water via ferry) is a bit of a commute. That is 1+hr each way and with as busy as it is can typically be a 3+ hour commute. I did that for a few years and it became very tiresome. I now live in Northern Seattle and like it MUCH more but renting or owning a house is substantially more expensive. It really depends on your budget and the type of commute you would consider doable for yourself. I wouldn't consider Bremerton a trendy place by any means and most is spread out. Seattle on the other hands sounds more like what you would want but if you worked in the shipyard would be a lengthy commute (although many people do it).

[happos2]

Originally Posted by dereksM3

I'm very familiar with the Bremerton area as I lived over there many years and have worked within the DOD a few years back. It is a nice area and real estate is booming over there a fair bit. I would say though it's a place that you may not want to live. It's fairly inexpensive to live there and Silverdale and Poulsbo are close by. If you are big into fishing, hiking, etc it's a decent place to live. I wouldn't raise kids there personally as Bremerton isn't that nice of a place in a lot of respects. Now commuting to and from Seattle (across the water via ferry) is a bit of a commute. That is 1+hr each way and with as busy as it is can typically be a 3+ hour commute. I did that for a few years and it became very tiresome. I now live in Northern Seattle and like it MUCH more but renting or owning a house is substantially more expensive. It really depends on your budget and the type of commute you would consider doable for yourself. I wouldn't consider Bremerton a trendy place by any means and most is spread out. Seattle on the other hands sounds more like what you would want but if you worked in the shipyard would be a lengthy commute (although many people do it).

Thank you very much for the reply. I guess I wouldn't plan on living in Bremerton...but are there nicer suburbs near it that you wouldn't have to take the ferry (up to 1 hour of travel)? As for budget, probably looking to buy a house / nice condo for around $400k if that helps the price point. Also, if I were live North of Seattle, is it feasable to take public transportation or ride a bike to Bremerton using the ferry if needed?

Appreciate the help. I will be driving through Seattle in February as I head up to Whistler so I plan on driving around a little bit to get an idea.

Cheers!

[kerrit]

Definitely would never live in Bremerton if you are looking for a similar experience to where you live in Indy.

The ferry ride from downtown seattle to bremerton takes an hour each way. You'd definitely want to bike since a car round trip costs about $35-40 each time. Not sure how much time you want to spend commuting but that is probably the smoothest option.

[happos2]

Originally Posted by kerrit

Definitely would never live in Bremerton if you are looking for a similar experience to where you live in Indy.

The ferry ride from downtown seattle to bremerton takes an hour each way. You'd definitely want to bike since a car round trip costs about $35-40 each time. Not sure how much time you want to spend commuting but that is probably the smoothest option.

Great info...thank you. Are there good options between Seattle and Bremerton?

[kerrit]

Originally Posted by happos2

Great info...thank you. Are there good options between Seattle and Bremerton?

I hear there are nicer areas of Tacoma now, and you can drive from there to Bremerton.

[MFL]

Bremerton is where Juggalos go to retire.

AVOID.

[dereksM3]

Originally Posted by happos2

Thank you very much for the reply. I guess I wouldn't plan on living in Bremerton...but are there nicer suburbs near it that you wouldn't have to take the ferry (up to 1 hour of travel)? As for budget, probably looking to buy a house / nice condo for around $400k if that helps the price point. Also, if I were live North of Seattle, is it feasable to take public transportation or ride a bike to Bremerton using the ferry if needed?

Appreciate the help. I will be driving through Seattle in February as I head up to Whistler so I plan on driving around a little bit to get an idea.

Cheers!

Living in North Seattle isn't the best option as the closest ferry is Kingston-Edmonds which is 30min then about a 45min drive to Bremerton.

You may want to look at Gig Harbor area. It's a nicer area that is very nice and has lots of water options for Condo's and housing. It is a slightly "spendy" area and isn't that big. It's only about a 20-30min drive to Bremerton and about 1hr to downtown Seattle. Tacoma is okay with some nicer area's but I personally wouldn't ever live there. The nice part about Gig Harbor is it's quiet and fairly nice to live and you can get on a Fauntleroy ferry and be in Seattle in about 30min. Probably one of your better options for being near Bremerton, a nicer living area, and still within a decent distance to Seattle.

[happos2]

Thanks for the replies. Bremerton seems not to be an option to live, just a place to work. I will be driving through Seattle this weekend so I might just drive around and see where I like!

[NoSHAM3]

Tacoma is great and continues to be on the up and up. You can find great downtown living well within your price range. There are quite a few swanky hipster spots in and around town too. Feel free to hit me up when you are in the area and I can show you around if you are interested.

[mashimarho]

I just moved to the PNW area last week from the same midwest region, Michigan. Nothing but great things so far. Lot's of job opportunities, the weather is fantastic compared to what we're used to. People here complain about rain and being moody when it's dark out, but I will take that any day over our 18 inches of snow. Again, we've been here for 8 days now and still getting adjusted to everything. So far, it's nothing short of fantastic.

[happos2]

Originally Posted by mashimarho

I just moved to the PNW area last week from the same midwest region, Michigan. Nothing but great things so far. Lot's of job opportunities, the weather is fantastic compared to what we're used to. People here complain about rain and being moody when it's dark out, but I will take that any day over our 18 inches of snow. Again, we've been here for 8 days now and still getting adjusted to everything. So far, it's nothing short of fantastic.

Awesome! Thanks for the insight. I will be out on the 20th and staying that weekend. I plan on driving around and taking in the area.

[mashimarho]

Originally Posted by happos2

Awesome! Thanks for the insight. I will be out on the 20th and staying that weekend. I plan on driving around and taking in the area.

You'll love it. As I mentioned, it's only been a couple weeks, and I met a lot of people. People are friendly, the weather has been fantastic, and there's been endless things to do. I love the car pool lane.

[Flea7]

Originally Posted by mashimarho

You'll love it. As I mentioned, it's only been a couple weeks, and I met a lot of people. People are friendly, the weather has been fantastic, and there's been endless things to do. I love the car pool lane.

Mashimarho,
Welcome !!! The weather has been fantastic but don't get use to it. It usually wet and gray around this time. The summers here are just unbeatable!

I'm in Mill Creek as well. I'll be looking for your e92!

[mashimarho]

Originally Posted by Flea7

Mashimarho,
Welcome !!! The weather has been fantastic but don't get use to it. It usually wet and gray around this time. The summers here are just unbeatable!

I'm in Mill Creek as well. I'll be looking for your e92!

Very nice! What area of Mill Creek? And, what am I looking out for?

[Flea7]

Originally Posted by mashimarho

Very nice! What area of Mill Creek? And, what am I looking out for?

I'm in the south area at 174th & 35th. I'm in a AW e92 M3.
Love the color on your e92!

[mashimarho]

Originally Posted by Flea7

I'm in the south area at 174th & 35th. I'm in a AW e92 M3.
Love the color on your e92!

Nice. I'm not too familiar with road names yet, but I live right at the Mill Creek Town Center.

[dereksM3]

I'm not too far from you guys. I'm right off 196th in Lynnwood about 10min away. I frequent the Mill Creek area if you see a SG M3 around.