Where to live in the south Seattle area?
September 26, 2013 2:43 PM Subscribe
I have accepted a job in Auburn, WA and need to relocate to the Seattle area within the next month. What are some good neighborhoods to look for rentals for a late-20s couple (no kids)? We are hoping to stay under $1600 for a 2-bedroom, preferring a townhouse or small house over an apartment. We need to be somewhat central since my husband will be looking for a job and would potentially need to commute in a different direction.
It looks like Renton would be the easiest area for my commute and a potential commute for my husband to either downtown or the eastside. We've also heard Columbia City and Beacon Hill as good options, the West Seattle junction area, possibly downtown Burien. We do want to be near things to do and amenities like grocery stores, but we would prefer quiet and safe over bustling and unsafe. Public transit access is not very important, as we both have cars. No pets currently, but I would love to eventually get a dog (looks like the majority of listings I've seen allow pets with an additional deposit). We currently live in the Santa Barbara, CA area.
We will be doing a brief exploratory trip in two weeks, so we would love some ideas of neighborhoods to explore and Craigslist-hunt, as well as places to avoid!
It looks like Renton would be the easiest area for my commute and a potential commute for my husband to either downtown or the eastside. We've also heard Columbia City and Beacon Hill as good options, the West Seattle junction area, possibly downtown Burien. We do want to be near things to do and amenities like grocery stores, but we would prefer quiet and safe over bustling and unsafe. Public transit access is not very important, as we both have cars. No pets currently, but I would love to eventually get a dog (looks like the majority of listings I've seen allow pets with an additional deposit). We currently live in the Santa Barbara, CA area.
We will be doing a brief exploratory trip in two weeks, so we would love some ideas of neighborhoods to explore and Craigslist-hunt, as well as places to avoid!
My brother lives in Rainier Beach and loves it. It's walkable, diverse, tons of great restaurants, close to transit and bike routes; he lives in a 3 bedroom house that would probably rent for $1500-$1600 by his estimation. The neighborhood has a high-crime reputation, but it's never really affected my brother's life in any meaningful way. Commuting to Auburn wouldn't be terrible, and neither would be commuting to downtown Seattle or the Eastside, though Queen Anne and the north end could be kind of awful -- but that's likely to be true anywhere in south seattle.
posted by KathrynT at 3:39 PM on September 26, 2013
posted by KathrynT at 3:39 PM on September 26, 2013
Renton is a huge area; it absorbed a whole lot of otherwise unincorporated King County. There's a downtown, but also miles and miles of housing developments.
Burien has a nice downtown core. It couldn't be more convenient to the airport (which should give you pause, vis-a-vis the noise) and it sits right next to HWY-99, the second major artery to Seattle; I-5 is on the other side of the airport from Burien. You'll also be about 10 minutes away from Southcenter, a megalopolis of shopping that dominates retail in "the south end," -- all of these places are The South End; Lake Washington seems to be the reference frame here.
posted by Sunburnt at 3:39 PM on September 26, 2013
Burien has a nice downtown core. It couldn't be more convenient to the airport (which should give you pause, vis-a-vis the noise) and it sits right next to HWY-99, the second major artery to Seattle; I-5 is on the other side of the airport from Burien. You'll also be about 10 minutes away from Southcenter, a megalopolis of shopping that dominates retail in "the south end," -- all of these places are The South End; Lake Washington seems to be the reference frame here.
posted by Sunburnt at 3:39 PM on September 26, 2013
I live in Beacon Hill, and used to commute to Auburn. The nice thing about that commute is that it's completely against traffic, and I almost never got stuck in the typical Seattle drive-time slog, unless there were blocking accidents.
Beacon Hill is a pretty quiet area, but is close to more active parts of town (closer than a lot of people seem to think). It feels very family friendly, but I don't have a family so wouldn't know for sure.
posted by cathodeheart at 3:39 PM on September 26, 2013
Beacon Hill is a pretty quiet area, but is close to more active parts of town (closer than a lot of people seem to think). It feels very family friendly, but I don't have a family so wouldn't know for sure.
posted by cathodeheart at 3:39 PM on September 26, 2013
I lived in Renton for several years and loved it. I was in the downtown area and only a few blocks from the cute local-owned shops and restaurants there, but still within a relatively easy drive to major shopping (Southcenter, Bellevue, etc). They also had a farmer's market that was really good.
You also have the Cedar River within walking distance, which has a nice paved trail that leads to Lake Washington.
Honestly, when I lived there I walked almost everywhere except to work - library, shopping, food, pubs, etc - all close enough to be able to leave your car at home.
That area has lots of cute 1940s-1950s homes, you probably wouldn't have too much trouble finding a rental there.
The commute to Auburn would be bearable, and I always found it pretty easy to get to most other areas on the Eastside and areas south. Even Seattle wasn't a horrible drive.
I'm qualifying a lot of the driving, because traffic anywhere in the Seattle/Eastside area tends to be...not fun.
Good luck!
posted by tillei at 4:04 PM on September 26, 2013
You also have the Cedar River within walking distance, which has a nice paved trail that leads to Lake Washington.
Honestly, when I lived there I walked almost everywhere except to work - library, shopping, food, pubs, etc - all close enough to be able to leave your car at home.
That area has lots of cute 1940s-1950s homes, you probably wouldn't have too much trouble finding a rental there.
The commute to Auburn would be bearable, and I always found it pretty easy to get to most other areas on the Eastside and areas south. Even Seattle wasn't a horrible drive.
I'm qualifying a lot of the driving, because traffic anywhere in the Seattle/Eastside area tends to be...not fun.
Good luck!
posted by tillei at 4:04 PM on September 26, 2013
Commuting away from Seattle is easier than commuting into Seattle, and would be a nice compromise if you end up working further north. (I've lived in central Seattle with my boyfriend for 6 years, and for 3 years he drove south toward Auburn every day, and now he drives to the eastern side of Lake Washington.) In Seattle, the Central District and Beacon Hill are close to highways, less dense, and less expensive, while still being close to fashionable neighborhoods (eg, the CD is directly south of Capitol Hill and a short bus or bike ride from downtown). However, they are cheaper because they are less cute, so YMMV.
West Seattle is fun and feels quite safe to me. To get to the major highways you have to cross the West Seattle Bridge, which would add to your commute times.
I have not lived in Renton but it does have a downtown area with restaurants and shops, and housing seems to be less dense than in Seattle.
Regardless, if you aren't able to do test commutes, you could keep an eye on the WSDOT traffic map and travel time estimates to get some idea of what your commute might be.
posted by esoterrica at 4:12 PM on September 26, 2013
West Seattle is fun and feels quite safe to me. To get to the major highways you have to cross the West Seattle Bridge, which would add to your commute times.
I have not lived in Renton but it does have a downtown area with restaurants and shops, and housing seems to be less dense than in Seattle.
Regardless, if you aren't able to do test commutes, you could keep an eye on the WSDOT traffic map and travel time estimates to get some idea of what your commute might be.
posted by esoterrica at 4:12 PM on September 26, 2013
The answer to this really depends on whether you prefer to live in a city of a suburb/smaller town.
If you prefer the city, you will definitely want to look at Beacon Hill, Columbia City and West Seattle (Junction area is great, White Center is rapidly starting to gentrify). They are all great neighborhoods I'd be happy to live in - lots of stuff you can walk to and close to other areas of town. Do know that all three of these areas contain or are near less nice areas, so you'll want to make sure you visit the specific block that any house you're looking at is on. Downside of living in the city is, of course, the cost. You may be able to find something in your price range (especially in the southern parts of West Seattle and Beacon Hill), but there won't be a lot of options. And if the rent keeps increasing in Seattle at the rate it has been, you may find yourself priced out in a year or two.
If you prefer living outside the city, Burien is a good bet. Renton is kind of bleak, in my experience. And please avoid Kent. Maple Valley is sleepy but pretty nice and quiet, it might be an option too.
Commutes in this area can be pretty rough. Instead of picking a place that is central (but that might end up being bad for both you and your partner), you might want to sublet someplace for a few months until your husband finds a job. Then you could move to a location that works well for both of you. For example, if he's working in Seattle, you might want to live in West Seattle - but if he's working on the Eastside, that would be a hellish commute.
posted by leitmotif at 4:41 PM on September 26, 2013
If you prefer the city, you will definitely want to look at Beacon Hill, Columbia City and West Seattle (Junction area is great, White Center is rapidly starting to gentrify). They are all great neighborhoods I'd be happy to live in - lots of stuff you can walk to and close to other areas of town. Do know that all three of these areas contain or are near less nice areas, so you'll want to make sure you visit the specific block that any house you're looking at is on. Downside of living in the city is, of course, the cost. You may be able to find something in your price range (especially in the southern parts of West Seattle and Beacon Hill), but there won't be a lot of options. And if the rent keeps increasing in Seattle at the rate it has been, you may find yourself priced out in a year or two.
If you prefer living outside the city, Burien is a good bet. Renton is kind of bleak, in my experience. And please avoid Kent. Maple Valley is sleepy but pretty nice and quiet, it might be an option too.
Commutes in this area can be pretty rough. Instead of picking a place that is central (but that might end up being bad for both you and your partner), you might want to sublet someplace for a few months until your husband finds a job. Then you could move to a location that works well for both of you. For example, if he's working in Seattle, you might want to live in West Seattle - but if he's working on the Eastside, that would be a hellish commute.
posted by leitmotif at 4:41 PM on September 26, 2013
Good advice here. Working in Auburn is a hell of a lot better than living in Auburn. My wife commutes to that area from Beacon Hill and it's a breeze. Burien has a cool downtown but we ruled it out as we have kids and the public schools are challenged. In general, Columbia City and Beacon Hill are both strikingly close to downtown and the major arteries while dramatically cheaper than neighborhoods farther north. Beacon Hill doesn't have a lot of "there", there, but it was the right mix for us. Good luck, and remember that any Seattle-area neighborhood in the sunshine will look better than any other neighborhood in the rain. I cannot over-emphasize the importance of this point when neighborhood-shopping here.
posted by carterk at 8:48 PM on September 26, 2013
posted by carterk at 8:48 PM on September 26, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
Columbia/Beacon Hill are nice but would probably make your commute to Auburn from 'long' to 'unbearble.' I'd recommend checking the traffic stats on that to be sure. I tend to overestimate the impact of commuting on routes I don't travel every day so I may be inflating it. Definitely try out the commute from different neighborhoods if you have the chance during rush hours when you come to visit (~8-10, 4-6)
Anecdotally, I have known a few people who lived in the Renton/Auburn/Kent area but moved away as soon as they were able to. There's not a whole lot to do as far as I can tell (besides the Ikea, which is nice).
posted by Tevin at 3:24 PM on September 26, 2013