There is a very distinct possibility that we'll be moving to the east side of Seattle later this year... anyone offer any opinions on the surrounding suburbs?

at the moment the place i'm likely going to is in Kirkland but moving to Bellevue within the year... areas we're looking at moving to are

Redmond, Kirkland, Bothel, Issaquah... from what i've seen Bellevue itself is too expensive.

thanks in advance.

They're all expensive. Hence why my husband works in Bothel and we live very south of there.....

how is bothel in general?

right now our friends in the area are recommending redmond.

Well its cheaper than Redmond for real estate and if I had my druthers I'd live in Redmond as well. I've never lived there... so can't advise. My husband works there, but probably couldn't tell you what happens outside his office walls. Although there is one person from his office that lives in Bothel, the rest live outside....

I've lived in Redmond and worked in Bothell, Bellevue and Seattle for the last seven years. I love Redmond. Great connectivity (roads and buses), no high-rises (I hate that in Bellevue), and the place has a real community feel to it.

What sort of accommodation are you after? What is the maximum travel time you want? Do you want public transport? What sort of community are you looking for? What do you like doing in your spare time?

Of the places you mentioned, depending on exactly where you go, living in Bothell and working in Kirkland or Bellevue could put you in commute hell: check out I-405 on this map sometime during the rush hours:

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/seattle/

Issaquah to Bellevue is a short 20-25 minute shot over I-90, but getting to Kirkland would be another 20 minutes or so.

Redmond prices are not much less than Bellevue, but they don't go up as high in general: typically they top out at $2-3MM, whereas Bellevue can go up to $4-5MM easily. And the cities that border Bellevue? Well my ultimate boss (Jeff Bezos) and Bill Gates live in Medina. Clyde Hill and Hunts Point are also insanely expensive too.

Prices in Kirkland can be very high (west of Market, and waterfront), but they are not necessarily stratospheric.

If you can give me answers to the questions above, I can give you much better information.

Thanks

What sort of accommodation are you after? 4+ bedroomed house, renting initially, a yard is also a must.

What is the maximum travel time you want? Max of about 45 mins by car.

Do you want public transport? If its possible this would be great, Chicago has a fantastic system tho we know Seattle has nothing close to it so we're already planning on a second car.

What sort of community are you looking for? Family oriented, quiet, good schools,

What do you like doing in your spare time? sleeping.

Lots to choose from in Redmond, then. Kirkland houses that size can be very expensive in the nicer parts of Kirkland, and downtown there is a lot of condo/apartment living.

Places to consider in Redmond include the Overlake area, which is on the Bellevue side of Redmond, and Education Hill, which the other side of Redmond from Bellevue.

Bridle Trails is a really nice area, but expensive.

Redmond and Kirkand will both be fine for working in Bellevue, then. Both will take around 15-20 minutes center to center during the rush hour, and a nice things is that there a many different routes you can take if the freeways get snarly. Issaquah to Bellevue is around the same time on I-90. You could get to Bellevue by going along either side of Lake Samammish in a pinch, but that can be ugly and time consuming, especially the east side could easily by an hour or more. Bothell is at the limit of the 45 minutes.

The buses around here are pretty good. For example, the express buses between Redmond and Seattle, and Bellevue and Seattle each run every 10 minutes or so between 06.30 and 09.00, and between 16.30 and 18.00. Outside those hours it's more like every 30 minutes, dropping to hourly from around 22.00 to 01.00. There are also numerous local buses as well, running over the whole eastside. There is also an express bus from Issaquah, but I don't know much about the schedule.

There are numerous longer distance buses as well (Tacoma, Everett and other places).

Local buses are operated by King County Metro, and express buses by other companies, such as Sound Transit and Community Transit.

Redmond would be a very good choice then. Lake Washington School District 414 is highly regarded, as a Bellevue public schools. There are also lots of private schools around.

Another place to consider is Samammish, but that is somewhat isolated, and the traveling to and from can be hairy: the only ways on and off the plateau can lead to traffic nightmare during peak hours.

Buy a bed ;-)

info much appreciated... it is starting to look like redmond is our best bet all around.

NP. Let me know if you have any other questions about this area: always glad to get more Brits here in Redmond.

BTW, we have a "regional institution" here called The British Pantry. It's a shop run by a couple of people we know called Fred and Mavis, from Bury. They have a restaurant called Neville's and a "pub" called The Three Lions attached. People come from all over the state to visit.

Ah yes....the British Pantry. Quite a few goodies in there....prices are pretty hefty, as you would expect.

ahh the good ole' expensive british store.

i'm pretty well adjusted to US style foods now... provided english stuff is available once or twice a year i'm good.

So is my husband.....my daughter just recently brought him over some Mars bars....he wasn't that interested. But he does like his Branston pickle.

any info on Sammamish?

See my reply at Jul 5th 2009 6:22 pm. Travel would be the potential problem there. Ways off the plateau are limited, and there's not much up there.

It's better than it was, since there is now access to SR-520 in eastern Redmond, but E Lake Samammish Pkwy is still a pain, as is Redmond Fall City Road.

how much do you think that would change given a 6am start time ?