Learn me on Seattle

I live in Brown's point, which is pretty far from I5 (north side of commencement bay). I ride my bike daily in the commuter lane and it takes 40-50 minutes most days, similar on the ride home. I try to leave either very early or very late, both directions. Also a LOT easier to park the bike downtown than a car, free motorcycle parking in all of the Amazon garages. Right under my building.

 

Yeah, motorcycle commuting is the only way to fly. I support the Tacoma/South end living. I live in Shoreline (6-8 miles out of down town Seattle), my wife's commute to the stadium district (very southern edge of Seattle proper) can run from 30-60 minutes, depending on the yahoo's on the road. But, she leaves the house at 8:30-ish, which is peak travel time.

$3500/month should get you LOTS of options outside of Seattle. Our house is 2400 sq ft, three car garage (one side usable for a car, bikes in the rest). 10k sq ft lot. The house is worth about $550k (holy crap, just looked at the value on redfin), and that's about high average for the neighborhood/city. We are technically eight blocks north of the Seattle city limits, so we get great access without the idiotic laws and taxes. Probably similar in Tacoma/south end.

 

Awesome info. Thanks derblott.

Am I crazy to think that living on an island and commuting by ferry would be an insane proposition?

I've been all over Zillow and Trulia looking, but there's not a lot close to town with a yard, and garage that looks appealing. The home prices there are insane!

 

Not all of us are Hillbillary fans, trust me.

Bellevue is expensive. Mercer Island, add a few more $$$. Like anywhere else, there are good and bad areas.

Having grown up in south central Pennyslvania, I choose this climate over the one that I spent half of my life in. I was shocked to learn that central air conditioning is NOT a standard component here. If you do move out here, add that to your list anyway, if you like things on the cool side at home.

Traffic can be UGLY, but it depends on when you go and where.

 

Some folks commute by ferry. The only thing is that it's time consuming, but you can sit on the ferry and work or nap. Same as bus or train commuting - adds to the overall travel time but at least you aren't sitting at the wheel in stop and go traffic.