Moving to Seattle soon and trying to find a good neighborhood that is runner friendly. Love dirt / gravel trails.. any recomendations on a place that might fit the bill?
I am working in Downtown for a big tech company, so trying to minimize the commute if possible.
The Issaquah area seems amazing as far as trails, but the 45 min commute each way gives me heartburn.. interested to hear what LR thinks though
Try Medina or Clyde Hill
maybe take advice from people who actually have fulfilling lives.
Check out Magnolia, only 15 minutes north of downtown, and home to Discovery Park, which has lots of trails. Issaquah is definitely the best for trail running though. It's easy enough to drive there on Saturday/Sunday mornings for your long runs.
Someone asked this same question about a month ago. Check their thread. It might answer a lot of the questions you have as there were a lot of good answers.
Maybe Federal Way or North Bend. Seattle is not Chicago or Manhattan, NY. What is the value in being in or near dt Seattle and paying highest prices?
Magnolia is the best mentioned so far. The rest of the suggestions are not worth the nightmare commute
Finding the right house at an affordable price is no small feat. That might steer your decision.
As for neighborhoods, if you go to the neighborhoods to the north of downtown, you have the Burke Gilman trail which is flat and together with the trail on the east side, forms a very nice 26 miles or so of trails. Though it's paved, most sections do have a foot or two wide dirt/gravel running path next to it. Those neighborhoods would be Greenlake, which also has a nice 3 mile loop trail around the lake, Ravenna. Wedgewood, Laurelhurst, and on and on....
Really, your basically nuts if you do anything except come out and check it out for a couple of weeks, and decide. It's a big decision, and being a few miles closer to your fav trail is just one factor. And i can't imagine it could possibly be one of the most important factors, for that matter.
Welcome, and check out one of the many running clubs, too.
Federal Way if you like crime, North Bend if you like to drive, Issaquah or Medina if you're rich.
fromtheheart wrote:
Federal Way if you like crime, North Bend if you like to drive, Issaquah or Medina if you're rich.
So true! Basically, if you want a short commute to downtown, you'll pay a lot in Seattle. Also, just FYI, traffic is going to be especially bad in January/February when they switch from the viaduct to the tunnel going through downtown.
If Green Lake are Magnolia are too pricey, you might consider West Seattle, there are a lot of smaller parks with loop trails, the Alki path, and a lit 4 lane track, which is nice Nov-Jan. when it gets dark by 5:00.
Wallingford, Ravenna, Green Lake, anywhere north Seattle. Can get on burke-gilman, around green lake, arboretum, UW trails/waterfront. Lots of waterfront, not so much on "trails" in the city.
Issaquah for trail running at Cougar Mountain.
Redmond Watershed is still one of my favorite long run spots in the country.
Might also look at Bellevue. It is boring, but housing prices are less ridiculous. There is a nice trail system that goes through all the parks and you are close to Cougar Mountain. The commute is slightly more manageable in that you can chose between 90 and 520. That can make a big difference when there is a traffic issue on one or the other.
A similarly boring option is Bainbridge Island. You take the ferry to downtown to commute. While the ferry has lines and can be a chore in some ways, it does beat having to deal with traffic every day. You drive, walk of cycle onto the ferry and then relax and read a book while you ride across the sound. Bainbridge does not have any great trails, but there are some really nice trails in Poulsbo. Housing prices are almost reasonable on Bainbridge Island by PNW standards.
Working downtown you'll have all the bus options you'll need if you can stand to commute in. The north/east area of Lake Washington (Redmond and thereabouts) have great trail options like the watershed and you can get downtown in under 30 minutes on a bus.
F wrote:
Working downtown you'll have all the bus options you'll need if you can stand to commute in. The north/east area of Lake Washington (Redmond and thereabouts) have great trail options like the watershed and you can get downtown in under 30 minutes on a bus.
No you cannot...
The Ravenna area can be nice if you want to be in Seattle proper. You have good bus and light rail access to downtown for your commute. You can run to Greenlake and Woodland Park pretty easily. You can also head the other direction through Ravenna (Cowen) Park to the Burke Gilman trail (paved bike path, but there is soft shoulder for a lot of it) to by Husky Stadium, then cross the Montlake Bridge and get into the Arboretum.
Another option that many Seattle-ites will sneer at is living in Tacoma. Your money will go a lot further when it comes to housing, and neighborhoods like the North End or the Proctor District are really nice places to live. Point Defiance has great trails for running, and you can take the Sounder commuter train from Tacoma to Seattle in around an hour. It might be longer than that 45 minute commute you mentioned for someplace like Issaquah, but since you're on a train and not driving, you can get work done, read the paper and do the crossword, etc.
"Might also look at Bellevue. It is boring, but housing prices are less ridiculous."
Huh?
Bellevue median price is $929,000
https://www.zillow.com/bellevue-wa/home-values/
Seattle median price is $739,000
https://www.zillow.com/seattle-wa/home-values/
You can actually get a decent house in Seattle for $700k right now. A few months ago, it was more like $820k minimum
Hardloper wrote:
F wrote:
Working downtown you'll have all the bus options you'll need if you can stand to commute in. The north/east area of Lake Washington (Redmond and thereabouts) have great trail options like the watershed and you can get downtown in under 30 minutes on a bus.
No you cannot...
I'm sure it depends on the time of day, bus number, and specific end and start points, but yes, yes you can. Or, I can. Maybe you're not trying hard enough.
Slow Bro wrote:
Seattle median price is $739,000
https://www.zillow.com/seattle-wa/home-values/You can actually get a decent house in Seattle for $700k right now. A few months ago, it was more like $820k minimum
The median house is not a decent house by any reasonable definition. There are houses on sale for ~$700k, but they are 1- or 2-bedroom 1920s teardowns, or those new, cheaply built boxy townhomes, on busy streets. And remember that there is supposed to be a 9.0+ earthquake any day that, according to seismetologists, will render the area "unrecognizable" and "back into the Dark Ages."
For half the monthly cost of a median house you can rent a house or luxury condo in a neighborhood of your choice.
what is the big draw to seattle?
F wrote:
Hardloper wrote:
No you cannot...
I'm sure it depends on the time of day, bus number, and specific end and start points, but yes, yes you can. Or, I can. Maybe you're not trying hard enough.
Redmond TC to downtown Seattle is like 45 minutes and that's the BEST case scenario. Let's not pretend you can just live anywhere in "Redmond and thereabouts" and commute anywhere close to 30 minutes.