Need neighborhood recs for a friend

[ilovebed]

I have a friend from college back in maryland who is interviewing for a great job in downtown Seattle. She's asking me for recommendations of neighborhoods and I looked at the recent thread from the other gal moving here which was helpful but for her commute wasn't an issue. I'm not well versed in east side neighborhoods so I'm sorry to ask a similar question again.

So here's the deal. She's a single mom with mostly school aged kids, but one in daycare. She's looking for a rental in the 1500-1900 range depending on what the offer is if she gets this job. She needs an area with good schools and she will need daycare for the youngest. 

She currently has a 10 minute commute and would like a 30 minute commute. I advised her that it would be tough to find an affordable rental in a good school district with a 30 minute commute. 

Are there any options for her? What about West Seattle? I know that's a lovely area and it's not too far out from downtown. 

I invited her to join our board for recommendations btw!

[karebear219]

Are you asking $1500 to $1900 dollars or square feet?

[ilovebed]

No, for rent.

[toratoratori]

West Seattle will probably be her best bet for those rent prices and school districts, but the commute is going to be way more than 30 minutes, particularly if she's far south or west.

[toratoratori]

ETA: How many bedrooms does she need? Is she okay with a condo or townhome? She could probably get into a better neighborhood with a shorter commute if she doesn't need a single family home.

[karebear219]

I'm out, everywhere on the Eastside would be over 30 minutes. She could look at Mercer Island, but I don't know what rent is like there.

[Deleted]

Jan 23, 2015 13:50:15 GMT -5 karebear219 said:

I'm out, everywhere on the Eastside would be over 30 minutes. She could look at Mercer Island, but I don't know what rent is like there.

Agreed, unless she works non-peak hours I don't see how you can get from the east side to seattle. 

Wait, does she have a jet pack or a helicopter? That would change my answer. 

[ilovebed]

Yea I already warned her about the commute. I think she would probably be open to condo/apartment/townhome living. But no matter what I think she's going to he dealing with a long commute, which is tough as a single parent bc it just adds a lot of extra time to daycare needs.

[mkate710]

Mercer Island is super pricey.

One factor to consider is the time of day she'd be commuting. I work a 7-3:30 day (well, in theory, not so much lately) and h works a more common 8:30/9 - 5/6 day. We have the exact same commute but it takes him 3x as long to go the same distance. There is nobody on 520 when I'm heading into work but if she were commuting from the Eastside for a more typical work day it would be longer than 30 minutes.

[joenali]

Our west seattle SFH is up for rent $1800. We paid $1200. Rent prices are increasing in this part of town.

[joenali]

Oh and it's two beds, one bath. Super tiny.

[PandaPear]

Greenwood, Crown Hill, Northgate are the best options IMO for an reasonably affordable townhouse that isn't too far from the city and relatively decent schools.

SE Seattle could be an option (Columbia City, First Hill), but not sure about the schools. The SW area of Seattle (Arbor Heights, Delridge, Georgetown) is relatively affordable but not sure about the rental market - there doesn't seem to be as many TH over there.

[tuck]

I know this thread is several days old, but oh well.

I would look at Shoreline. Depending on how close you are to an express bus stop, parts can have a really short commute. DH works downtown, and his bus commute is less than 30 minutes. Uber commute is even faster- less than 10 minutes in the middle of the day.

[MrsPotatohead]

Yup, we have a great space in N Seattle that's a good size in that price range. We commute downtown and it's 30 min or less.

[tacocat]

I love SE seattle but not sure about the schools.