Moving to the Seattle Area
If you’re planning a move to Seattle or Seattle’s Eastside, first of all, welcome! This is an amazing place to live. We have a wealth of outdoor recreation and beautiful scenery within anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour from downtown Seattle, and the metropolitan areas are fun and filled with opportunities to explore the arts, sightsee, shop, and more.
(Please click here if you’re looking for information about Seattle and Eastside schools.)
Seattle versus the Eastside
Map of Seattle Districts - click for larger map.
You will find a cultural difference between Seattle and the Eastside, which primarily entails Redmond, Kirkland, Bellevue and Woodinville. Seattle’s neighborhoods are much smaller and more defined, giving each a distinctive feel. Whether it’s the Norwegian fishing heritage of the Ballard district, the lake-happy crowds jogging and rollerblading around Greenlake, or the almost California-like feel of Alki Beach in West Seattle, you’ll notice it.
The Eastside was settled more recently. Many of the homes were built in the 1950′s through the 1970′s (as opposed to the first half of the 1900′s in Seattle), and the neighborhoods have a less differentiated, more suburban feel. The main exception is downtown Kirkland, with its older architecture, the ever-bustling Lake Street and a very popular waterfront park, which gives it a fun, quirky, Seattle-like atmosphere.
Seattle and Eastside Neighborhood Locations
Seattle is basically broken down into districts (click on the map to see a larger version of the district map), which in turn consist of individual neighborhoods, although the distinctions between neighborhoods and districts sometimes overlap. Here are some resources that will help you become familiar with various Seattle and Eastside neighborhoods.
SeattleMet.com’s 107 Neighborhoods Compared List – for Seattle and the Eastside. You can click on the Map View option and then zoom in to locate neighborhoods. (Please keep in mind that the housing price data is from 2009.) This site also lets you compare neighorhood statistics.
WalkScore.com’s ratings of neighborhood walkability. This is very helpful because as you mouse over each neighborhood you can see the boundaries, and the name pops up at the top of the map.
Bing also has a very good breakdown of local neighborhoods as you zoom in.
Seattle and Eastside Neighborhood Personalities
Here are some resources that can help you get a feel for the character of various neighborhoods.
In Seattle:
The City of Seattle’s list of community neighborhood blogs. Click on a district in the map to see a list of corresponding neighborhood websites.
Go Northwest has good descriptions of Seattle neighborhoods, as well as information about food, lodging, and attractions.
Seattle Post Intelligencer Webtowns Page - blogs from various Seattle neighborhoods.
On the Eastside:
Redmond: Redmond visitor information from Go Northwest, and the Experience Redmond site.
Bellevue: Bellevue visitor information on Go Northwest.
Kirkland: The Explore Kirkland website.
Woodinville: Official City of Woodinville page.
Issaquah: Visitor information from Go Northwest, and the Live Issquah page.
Bothell: Official City of Bothell website.
Other locations: Choose a location from the official list of Washington Cities and Towns Websites.
Seattle and Eastside Traffic
Here’s the link to the Seattle and Eastside live traffic map.
Generally, in the mornings it’s a south and north convergence to the hot spots on each side of the lake: downtown Seattle, and Bellevue/Redmond on the Eastside. The east-west 520 and I-90 bridges also get backed up going both directions, especially 520. In the afternoons it’s the opposite flow, starting anytime from 2:30 pm on depending on the day, and nearly always from 4 pm to around 6:30 pm.
Note: People tend to leave early on Fridays (to get out into those beautiful mountains!), so expect rush hour to move ahead by about an hour.
If you are planning a move to the Seattle area I would love to help you with any real estate needs you may have. Please use the form below to let me know how I can be of service, or simply give me a call at 206-335-3335.