Socal reefer considering moving to seattle area.

[dkreef]

no state tax seems awesome. property tax of 1% in king county seems really good to me. here its 2% or even more almost anymore. plus homes are double in cost compared to seattle.

as far as street signs, i should maybe get a navigation system???

 

[spongebob lover]

I used to live in Mill Creek and i always liked it, the houses are a little bit pricey for what you get but the neighbourhoods are good ... i think .

I live in Everett now and i really like it too, i haven't explored to much because i take the bus but if you are into historic houses (old houses ) you'd like it and not only that but you get plenty of space for what you pay ... specially if you got kids .

 

[jetaero]

no state tax seems awesome. property tax of 1% in king county seems really good to me. here its 2% or even more almost anymore. plus homes are double in cost compared to seattle.

as far as street signs, i should maybe get a navigation system???

Navagation system.. Or you could do what I do; plan extra time and spend more on gas. :lol:

-Josh-

 

[jnarowe]

Let me chime in... I moved from Beverly Hills to Seattle in 1997. I rented a house in Shoreline for a year to scout around for a place to buy. I looked at all the previously mentioned areas and particularly in the East Side and North side.

Shoreline is actually a great place to live with good schools and a family atmosphere, but we didn't want to live in a neighborhood. We also searched the Kitsap Peninsula and ultimately bought a house there between Silverdale & Poulsbo. There is very high growth here and not enough dentists to be sure. Many of them are not high quality either.

While searching we did extensive demographic and weather research as well since we planned to own our own business. What we found is that the area we are in is a really good mix of better weather patterns and that there are more millionaires with homes here than on the Seattle side. Our theory was to make a "city" income but with country overhead. So far it has worked out fairly well. We bought our home in 1998 for less than half what you are expecting to pay now. It's 4,100 sq. ft. plus two 2-car garages and a workshop on 2.5 acres with a stream. We are 10 minutes from a Costco, and 15 minutes from a very high end grocery store. There is more waterfront property here than anywhere else, and it is still affordable in some areas.

Our business is a small specialty food and marine store (hybrid) in Poulsbo that is doing quite well and enjoying the population boom. Often couples will come into our store during a search for a place to live and ask us about the area. What I typically ask them if they are from Kalifornia is: "If you had the opportunity to go back in time 20 years and buy property in Marin County, would you?" That is what Kitsap County is all about for us. You can situate youself here like we did and have zero commute. It takes me 12 minutes to get to my store, and that's only because we didn't want to live in town.

 

[Blazer88]

Nobody wants to chime in for Bellevue? Well, living in Bellevue is much more expensive when compared to other areas but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I'm only a few minutues into Seattle, a short walk to waterfront, crime seems non-existent, I don't see any "shady" people, and the neighorborhoods are really nice (Medina, Clyde Hill, Yarrow Point, etc). Also, having a central location means I never sit in traffic. But if you don't need to work in the Seattle/Bellevue area, I would probably look elsewhere as your money will go much farther.

 

[Slickdonkey]

Blazer is right, Bellevue is pretty nice but you are going to pay dearly for living there. But coming from southern CA you might be able to afford it!

I lived there for a few years before I met my wife and was shipped to Monroe.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

The closer in from any direction to a major hub such as Seattle, Bellevue, or Tacoma will increase the property value. You get what you pay for. I'd move in a flash to Bellevue burbs if I could afford it.

 

[Slickdonkey]

I also agree with jnarowe, the peninsula is very nice, not too crowded, cheaper, less traffic. But it's not for everyone... I had considered living over there but for me it just isn't practical because of my job (and my wife's). I will spare you the details but commuting back and forth at the mercy of ferries would get old really fast, unless maybe you're working downtown.

However if you're going to own your own business and don't have to commute I think it's a great location. Great LFS over there too

 

[jnarowe]

yeah I know a lot of people do the commute thing, but there is no way I would do that. It doesn't make sense to me for most situations. What I like about the Peninsula is that business is good and growing, I can enjoy a somewhat geographically isolated area which means much less crime, and I can get to Seattle quickly enough to enjoy the benefits of a great city. A couple good LFS make it nice too!

 

[Reef Monkey]

If you decide on Puyallup don't move to the South Hill area of it, the traffic along Meridian is bad during the weekend and during rush hour just because it's pretty much one of the only ways off that hill. It took me around 45 minutes to an hour just to travel a couple miles. I have heard that Woodinville is pretty nice.

 

[cwby416]

I agree that Meridian is bad, but I live on South hill and Rarely find myself on Meridian there are tons of alternative routes. I've lived down town, by the mall, and now way back on south hill. I would pick south hill over any other part of Puyallup.

 

[dkreef]

i just spoke with a dental practice broker who gave some me some pointers. basically, just like here all the desired places east and north of seattle has high saturation of dentist. she said 1 hour south of seattle areas are best bet.

which comes down to puyallup, tacoma etc. man, i wanted to stay up north but ill have to check it all out when i go up there.

very confusing but also exciting.

by the way, is puyallup as nice as bothell, mill creek, woodenville, etc???
how does it compare to bellevue?

 

[cwby416]

Bellevue is a big city, Puyallup is a small town

 

[dkreef]

also everyone is complaining about traffic. but can u tell me if i were to live north or in bellevue goin south on 405, is traffic bad?

 

[coil1002]

also everyone is complaining about traffic. but can u tell me if i were to live north or in bellevue goin south on 405, is traffic bad?

Yes it would be there is no infrastructure the 405 is for the most part is a two lane highway that has connections to the two floating bridges out here and when they jack up so does the 405. north or south it never seems to matter some days you get lucky most you don’t all though if you avoid rush hour its not bad not to mention rush hour is not as long like out in LA there are three defined burst of traffic if there are no accidents you are golden if you avoid 6-8 am 12-2 pm 4-6 pm if there are accidents then well its when ever they clear. Oh and lets not forget they love to completely close the damn freeways if there is a bad accident. That’s always fun

 

[Slickdonkey]

Yep, like I said if you can avoid a commute you'll thank me for it. I really recommend you live close to where you're planning to work if you can swing it. Or at least so you don't have to get on the freeways and especially not the two bridges.

Did you ask your buddy about the dental situation in the peninsula? Not sure if it would be your thing or not but I like it over there. Current employment just won't allow it though.

 

[jnarowe]

funny how everyone bitches about the traffic here, but it really isn't that bad compared to LA. The only hard part is that because of topography, you can't jump onto surface streets to get around a jam.

 

[Blazer88]

also everyone is complaining about traffic. but can u tell me if i were to live north or in bellevue goin south on 405, is traffic bad?

The traffic isn't bad at all when you are reverse commuting. I go into my office a few times a week in Everett (about 25 miles north) and it only takes me 25 minutes to get there. But people going in the other direction (south towards Bellevue) look like a parking lot. I've had to go south on 405 in the morning for a few meetings and it was nothing to complain about.

 

[jetaero]

Traffic isn't terrible. You just have to be prepared for it.

-Josh-

 

[jnarowe]

I remember one time I got into slow moving traffic on the 520 bridge and thought to myself, those in LA LA land would die to be stuck in such a beautiful place. And with noone taking pot shots at you...