Depends on the kind of commute that you want. Working in seattle is going to suck traffic wise, but if you don't mind an hour commute, there are a ton of cheaper possibilities. I live in Tacoma, an hour away with good traffic. I don't suggest moving down this far south, but you could potentially live in as far north as Lynnwood, but again the I-5 commute is ruthless.
Check out the online moving sites for your price range - renting or buying a house has gotten quite reasonable out here, properties dropping almost 50% with almost no signs of a rebound just yet. Houses you'd see for 600k are literally selling for 300k. You can get a huge house to rent as well.
So consider what you see as reasonable for a commute - gas prices are 2.80 almost right now and further up north they will get higher. I-5 is ridiculous for commuting, but then surrounding highways are just as bad, especially if he has a 9-5 job...just one of those things you have to live with out here.
Moving.... Sucks
So.. We have to move again.
Little backstory: Hubby got laid off from the Job that brought us up here to Bozeman back in Oct. Fortunately, he had just been offered a contract/telecommute job by a friend of his so he was only out of work for a week. That contract is up in Sept, with no guarantee of renewal, so we've decided to move over the summer, so we don't have to move just as school is getting into full swing.
So... after some thought & discussion, we've decided on the Seattle area. I'm pretty sure a few of you are in that area, or have been recently, so I need help figuring out the best area to find a place.
I'll likely be headed up there in a couple weeks to get a place for us, but before I book tickets & hotel & all that fun stuff, I'd like to get an idea of where I wanna look.
What I'm looking for:
Mainly suburban area, possibly even "out in the country" so to speak, yet still fairly close to the bigger areas.
Hubby says that being near a "best Buy" is a must 
Good schools
That's about all I can think of atm, so much going on, so much to do with so little time left to do it is making me 
and I think I"m allergic to packing 
ROzbeans
15 years ago
Verity
15 years ago
Thanks Roz.
Hubby & I discussed it a little & he wants to be up near the Renton/Bellview area, so that's where we'll be looking.
I'll be headed out there next Weds for a few days to look around & hopefully find a place to live.
*not* looking forward to dealing with the traffic though.
Hubby & I discussed it a little & he wants to be up near the Renton/Bellview area, so that's where we'll be looking.
I'll be headed out there next Weds for a few days to look around & hopefully find a place to live.
*not* looking forward to dealing with the traffic though.
ROzbeans
15 years ago
Good luck!
Laschae
15 years ago
Yea just don't be dumb and get on I-5 during rush hour or you can enjoy a long relaxing sit in traffic :P I told her not to go south of Seattle !!!
ROzbeans
15 years ago
North or South, it won't matter much =/