First off I would need to know where you are going to be working. You will want to have enough time to enjoy life after you get home from work. There are many wonderful areas to choose from.
If you don't have children and don't plan on having children there are many wonderful
Seattle neighborhoods. There are many view homes which would always be desirable for resale.
What would your price point be? This will play a big part in your decision.

If you want to pick some great places to be I would choose Queen Anne Hill, Leschi, Mount Baker,
Madison Park, Magnolia, Kirkland, Ballard, Fremont and Bellevue just to name a few. They all have a different flavor.

I have lived here my entire life, traveled a lot and always come back to the Northwest.
So if you need someone to show you the sights I'm always available.

Sincerely,
Jan Lipetz
425.445.5201http:// www.lipetzhomes.com

Mon Apr 14 2008, 17:15

southwest side of Queen Anne

Sun Apr 13 2008, 14:26

Dear Anttie,

The Seattle-Bellevue vicinity has much to offer. Most decisions on where to relocate end up being based on where the commute will take you twice a day. As with San Francisco, there are some traffic issues getting over and around the bridges during peak hours. Whether or not children are in your 5 year plan would be a significant factor in a location decision. Price point is a major determining factor. The area in general has performed extremly well appreciation-wise compared to most of the country.

I would look at all these factors and more before recommending specific neighborhoods to you. Feel free to contact me - and check out my convenient website to obtain more information regarding the area, specific listings and so on.

Good Luck,

-Joel Scott

Wed Apr 2 2008, 08:32

The Green Lake, Phinney Ridge area is very high on the scale for fun, convenient, most livable neighborhoods. Green Lake itself is a sweet pond beautifully landscaped and maintained with a circumference of approximately three miles, which makes for a perfect walk/run. A community center in the park provides a public indoor pool and basketball court. Lovely older homes, new construction, up-scale condominiums, scores of restaurants, espresso stops, pubs, a gym, a "runners" store, bike and rollerblade center are located all around the lake just across the street from it. The west side of Green Lake moves up a hill to become Phinney Ridge.
All the amenities mentioned around Green lake can be found all along the Ridge plus: the Phinney Neighborhood Association, housed in a huge turn-of-the- century school (offering classes, groups and events for all ages with emphasis on family), a fabulous zoo, two great markets, an art gallery, many antique stores and quite a selection of eclectic retail shops. Lots of good food on the Ridge! It should be mentioned here that the commute from Green Lake or Phinney Ridge to downtown Seattle is about 15 minutes.
Traveling north you'll find yourself in Greenwood. Not quite as gentrified therefore not as pricey. But Greenwood has much to offer and is catching up in a hurry.
Moving south on Phinney Ridge you'll find yourself in funky Fremont. Well, back in the 60's it was funky. There certainly are plenty of upscale clubs, restaurants, and a spectacular health food market today. But Fremont is still famous for its Sunday Flea Market and a decidedly liberal flair. It's about a 10 minute drive to downtown.
Back to the middle of Phinney Ridge...if you head west down the gentle slope of the hill, you will be traveling into Ballard; a fairly large community with all the bells and whistles mentioned in the other urban neighborhoods. Many older homes, Craftsman bungalows, Tudors and Cape Cods may be easily found. Noteworthy is the heart of "old" Ballard which boasts ancient brick streets lined with handsome old buildings housing everything from clothing stores, the ubiquitous great restaurant choices, a fabulous wine bar, and specialty retail shops. Ballard has many beautiful townhouses and condos within walking distance to all the places mentioned. I've seen most of them and they provide beautiful, comfortable living spaces about a ten minute commute to downtown Seattle. The Burke-Gilman Trail, an ultimate in-city bike trail, runs from/through Ballard and winds its way to the St. Michelle winery in Woodinville. (30-40 miles) Ballard is also where the majority of our fishing boats are docked in Fisherman's Wharf.
Busing is pretty easy from any of these neighborhoods too. But whether you drive, bus, or bike you'll be travelling over a bridge! From Green Lake to downtown is the Aurora Bridge, from Ballard is the
Ballard Bridge, which may decide to stop all traffic and "go up" to accomodate boats passing, and from Fremont is, yes, the Fremont bridge, which also has the propensity to slow down the commute due to boats passing. If you live on Phinney Ridge you get to pick which route and which bridge to cross.
If you go onto my website athttp:// www.christinebuck.com, you can click on any of these different neighborhoods and read some of their fascinating history.
So there is my highly biased opinion and diatribe on the best locations in Seattle for a young couple relocating to Seattle to live. All my best to you in your search.

Fri Mar 28 2008, 00:53

Kirkland, hands down. Before moving here in 1993, I researched all the demographics in the region. That's the spot for young upwardly mobile or empty nesting downsizers. Fun places to play, more public waterfront access than any other city in King County, great area for walking, biking. Affordable condos and starter homes if you are a good camper. Upscale in a casual, low pressure atmosphere. Seriously. Nothing else can touch it except Greenlake.

Think Saratoga or Los Gatos, but with waterfront. Actually it wants to be Sausalito, but it is about 15 years behind. If you had the opportunity to go back in time and buy something in Sausalito BEFORE the stampede of the late 1990's, that's where Kirkland is right now.

The views of Seattle from Kirland can be spectacular.

Thu Mar 27 2008, 21:10

Wow-there are lots of great neighborhoods depending on what you like to do and the look and feel of the neighborhood. Ballard, Queen Ann, Fremont, Greenlake, Phinney ridge are some of the popular neighborhoods. Madrona is a nice neighborhood close to Lake Washington. If you want upcoming and funky in an industrial kind of way, you might try Georgetown. I purchased my first investment home in 1991-after the market had gone up 40% (I wasn't a realtor and didn't know any better). That home was in Greenlake and was 114k-now about 400k. there are some great buys now - you should be fine if you are working with a competent agent that knows the neighborhoods.

Wed Mar 26 2008, 15:50

I haven't seen anyone mention Bainbridge Island. Keep it in mind. We are an easy 35 minute ferry ride into downtown Seattle. For $500-600K you can get an upscale town home or condo (it is a buyer's market on condos over here too) within walking distance to the ferry. Since you love the outdoors,and the urban feel, you get the best of both worlds living on an island with hiking and biking trails, beaches, and a small town feel - and then you can be dropped off in Seattle in just over half an hour. But, we have great shops and restaurants here too. Think about the easy stress-free commute option and ferry over to the island next time you are up and check it out.

Sun Mar 23 2008, 16:05

maybe consider Central Area for future growth/appreciation. Close to everything: freeways, medical, restaurants and downtown! Look for new homes, builders are making great deals to reduce inventory. There is a 3 home project on 20th between Cherry and Jefferson you might want to look at. Best quality and value.

Sat Mar 22 2008, 00:32

You may be interested in reviewing community demographics - this is a national search tool and you can search by city, state or zip code:
http://www.victoriagulsvig.com/community_reports.shtml

Wed Mar 19 2008, 16:25

Laurelhurst, Windermere, View Ridge, Bryant, Ravenna, Wallingford, North Capitol Hill.

Sat Mar 15 2008, 14:07

I was facing the same dilemma when relocating to the Seattle area several years ago. Someone on the plane had recommended Kirkland and that was an excellent choice-- a beautiful city (not to mention Lake Washington) with an excellent school district (important if you plan to have children in the future), Microsoft only 15 minutes away, fantastic location and a friendly community.

As a local Realtor who specializes in Kirkland I can only add that we have a very strong real estate market here. Nevertheless, there are several other communities that would meet your requirements, i.e. "an upscale neighborhood with strong potential for a return after 5 years". I am enclosing some links (see below--these are only some possibilities), to help you get started.

Please let me know if you need more detailed information about the real estate market in these areas.

Best regards,

Ineza Kuceba, M.A.
Windermere Real Estate/S.C.A., Inc.
737 Market Street
Kirkland, WA 98033
Telephone: 425-442-6544
E-mail: ineza@windermere.com
Web site: inezahomes.com


http://www.explorekirkland.com
http://www.ci.kirkland.wa.us/home.htm
http://www.ci.bellevue.wa.us/
http://www.experienceredmond.com/

Wed Mar 12 2008, 13:25

Hi Thuan-it all depends on what you like to do-many love Ballard, Fremont, Wallingford, Queen Anne,Phinney Ridge and the area around the zoo. There are many places to shop, dine, visit, etc. Of course, these will be the most expensive. If you live on the outskirts of these neighborhoods you can find better values. You might also want to look at some of the neighborhoods that are enjoying big (positive) changes like the Northgate neighborhood. Also, traffic in the Seattle/Bellevue area is terrible so it really also depends on your commute, etc. The East side neighborhoods of Kirkland and Bellevue are also very nice. Best to contact a Realtor that specializes in the neighborhoods and can give you some good advice. You may also consider renting for a bit until you spend some time here.

Sat Feb 2 2008, 11:23

Thuan -

Queen Anne is a really nice area. It would be my first pick though you may not get quite as much home for your money because the location is amazing.

Another area I would consider is Ballard and Green Lake. This gives you a few more outdoors options. They also both carry some very good neighborhood feels and are still just a short distance from downtown Seattle!

Also, don't discount the east side. Primarily the Bellevue/Kirkland area. As long as you don't mind a 15-20 minute commute to downtown Seattle you can live in many upscale trendy neighborhoods for that cost. Also, on the eastside you gain even more access to outdoor recreation areas. Kirkland is a wonderful place to call home with many great neighborhoods. You can get a very nice, trendy townhome easily with in your price range. There also also many great single family homes in that price.

When you come back to town I would spend time checking out Queen Anne, Ballard, Capitol Hill, and Green Lake. Then...head over to the east side and see how you feel about south of Bellevue all the way into the Kirkland/Juanita area.

Have a realtor show you a few places in each neighborhood to so that you can see what your money can get you!

Good luck as you continue your search!

Fri Jan 25 2008, 13:19

Hi Thuan,

I forgot to include with my previous answer, this link to Walk Sscore: http://www.walkscore.com/walking-matters.shtml

It can help you see how "walkable" a home is in it's nieghborhood. You just enter the address and it will give a score and a list of what's in the neighborhood; shops, restaurants, cafes, bars and parks etc. It's a great tool!

Fri Jan 25 2008, 01:30

Hi Thuan,

I did a couple of searches and found 11 that could be good candidates to look at on-line and begin a foundation for looking in Ballard, Fremont, Wallingford, Madison Valley, Capitol Hill, Queen Anne and Magnolia. All are townhomes and are 2000 and newer built (some under construction), mostly with 2 car garages (or 1 car with additional parking). As far as I can tell they all have small yard, patio, or decks.

I am not sure how to link them for you to see, the mls does not have unique url's to copy and paste as they are usually emailed.

Here are the mls numbers for the listings if you want to look them up on one of the local real estate websites:
27192041, 27211659, 27203673 ,28012056, 28003553, 28011300, 27198670, 27145910, 27182355, 27204183, 27135488. Or I can email them to you if you prefer, just email me to let me know.

All of these are close in to Downtown Seattle, and are close to shops, restaurants, cafes, and bars. All are also close to places for outdoor recreation too!

You might want to check out the Seattle Weekly ( http://www.seattleweekly.com/ ) to get a feel for Seattle too.

Please let me know if you have questions!

~Deborah

Fri Jan 25 2008, 01:15

Hi All,

Thanks for your insight. Here's a little more background on us...

We will most likely work in the downtown/metro areas, but are open to a 20-30 commute for a place with a neighborhood feel. He's an outdoor guy who enjoys biking, skiing, and water sports. I enjoy a more urban setting seeking great restaurants, bars, and shopping within walking distance. We're looking for a neighborhood that combines both our interests.

With that said, we're seeking a 2-3 bedroom home (newer construction preferred) in the $500k-600k range, which must include parking for 2 cars. Since we would like an outdoor space, we prefer a townhouse or single family home. However, we are open to a condo if a large deck/patio space is available.

We're leaning towards Queen Anne, but our lack of Seattle knowledge leaves us open for suggestions. We've only been to Seattle once and plan to visit in early Spring to further explore different neighborhoods. If you have any listings that match my request, please feel free to post via link.

Thanks in advance for your insight.

Thu Jan 24 2008, 21:54

How do you define best? What are you looking for in your home. There are many neighborhoods and areas that are likelto give you a good return on your investment in five years in this region. Seattle is so diverse that there are many neighborhoods that I would recommend, but ultimately it depends on your needs and what you are hoping to get out of the community.

So far in here, not many people have discussed the east side. I love the east side even for working downtown. If you really want room to enjoy the outdoors or the city...eastside living is great! Woodinville is the home of Washington Wine Country and there are many good neighborhoods all over from Bellevue all the way up to Lynnwood!

Let us know what you're looking for...talk to a couple of realtors from this area and we can soon let you know what may actually fit your wants as well as your needs. You are moving from my second favorite city to my favorite...congratulations!

Thu Jan 24 2008, 11:07