barrons

Crime may be relative but I guarantee you if you had your house robbed or your car broken into multiple times you would be dreaming ways to catch and maim the culprit.

coolay

I live on MI and if you're looking for short commutes, then be wary of anything east or north of Bellevue. Many of the people who work with me live in Beacon Hill or West Seattle which can be more reasonbly priced. Also Eastgate isn't as pricey (if you're not choosy) as some other Bellevue neighborhoods. Avoid anything that makes you get on 405.

If you want to get acclimated, Shorewood is a pretty nice apartment complex right on MI and my experience is that they can be flexible with lease arrangements. Almost everyone on MI who has needed short term housing (moving, remodeling, divorce) ends up at Shorewood.

Good luck

dragonmom

Seattle native and I spend time there every year:
Newport hills ? Only houses for rent showing up on craigslist but there are apartments there. Or maybe the Coal Creek area?
Frankly I'd stay on Mercer Island if you can stand the size of what you can get there. You'll be driving more for shopping and entertainment but you don't have to do that at rush hour.

DrDrewsmom

dmd: I am looking at apts since I don't need a house. No pets coming with.
coolay: I toured Shorewood. They are nice and at this point would probably be my first choice. Have you ever lived there?

Westcoastmon

DrDrewsmom - keep in mind that there are many "cottages" for lease on Mercer Island. These cottages are usually like a small guesthouse on larger properties. A good place to look is on the message boards at the grocery stores - QFC and Albertsons. Once you are working on Mercer Island you may make some local contacts. Few are advertised and most are found through word of mouth. There is also a local paper - the Mercer Island Reporter. The classifieds link does not work so you might have to pick up the paper - it's available at many businesses and has classifieds for local rentals.

Mercer Island Reporter ::. mi-reporter.com

As for the Factoria area - it's upgraded considerably in the past five years. Factoria Square is under new ownership. There is a DSW Shoes that opened within the last year at this mall. There is also a Target, Nordstrom Rack, Old Navy and some locally owned shops. Don't be afraid to look for housing in this area. Somerset Hill is also an area that you might want to look in and around for housing.

Shorewood is a long time complex (Obama's grandparents lived there!). I know of one family that lived there while they remodeled their waterfront home. They thought it reasonable and convenient. They also had a dog so wanted a complex that would accept pets and was also close enough so they could supervise construction during the day without getting stuck on the freeways.

Downtown Mercer Island has changed drastically over the past few years. Four story apartment buildings with storefronts on the first floor are very common. Lots of construction in downtown Mercer Island and the city is considering putting in stop lights where there are currently four way stops.

dragonmom

"Somerset Hill is also an area that you might want to look in and around for housing"

If you have a spare million hanging around, it's a wonderful neighborhood. Best sunset views in the city.
But wait - if you get to know people there, some have lower level "nanny flats" that they might rent out. I know someone who's basement apartment has spectacular city and sunset views. (Not currently for rent)
How long will you be in the Seattle area?

DrDrewsmom

westcoastmom, thanks for that info.

This move could be permanent.
It's actually a long story.....H's job has been not-so-stable for a while...at least he's been feeling that way. He works for a small, family-owned business and the owner has already demoted one person and given that job to his sister. This summer he's bringing his daughter in. So I had to really get serious about finding something for myself.....especially in case his job is gone.
It's a great job, good money (for me, anyway!) with great benefits. We're just going to have to see how it goes with where we all end up.

Westcoastmon

DrDrewsmom - dragonmom is talking about the west side of Somerset Hill - take a look around the east side of Somerset Hill.

bookiemom

DrDrewsmom: I've lived on the Eastside for 25 years, and I agree with those recommending that you try to live ON Mercer Island. Traffic has gotten much worse the last five years and is supposed to get even worse as more people are moving into the area. I would say that if you live on MI, you will save yourself at least an hour a day in commute time, plus the increase in gas cost. Wouldn't you like to enjoy that extra 5+ hours per week and avoid the stress of the lake commute? That seems smart to me. Take the smaller apartment on MI and occasionally drive over to Bellevue or Issaquah or Seattle for events and shopping.

justbreathe

As a side note, I fail to see how Factoria and Crossroads are crime-ridden. Sure, it appears a little sketch at night, but I haven't heard of anything. Most of the crime that goes down to my knowledge is, for example, marijuana deals at Crossroad Park at night.

DrDrewsmom

OK, one more question about the so-called crime-ridden areas of Factoria
Would you consider it about equal with Federal Way? More "dangerous" or less?
It's sounding like if I did find a place in Factoria/Crossroads that I'd probaby want to have my car garaged every night.....
We had some troubles like that in Federal Way sporadically; but nothing so bad that I wouldn't consider living there.

barrons

Similar to the less desirable areas of Fed Way. Fed Way has a wide range from really nice to not so nice. I'm not saying Factoria is Lakewood or Casino Rd. in Everett. It's just not as nice as most of the East Side. Plus the traffic stinks.

DrDrewsmom

barrons, I hate to admit this, but when H and I were newlyweds and had no money (....as if we do now???!!) we lived on Casino in Everett. Yikes. Is it any coincidence that I've never had any desire to ever go back to that city. Not even to stop on my way through it!

barrons

It's probably way worse now than 20 years ago. The rising tide has not lifted that area yet. The rest of Everett is actually improving.

DrDrewsmom

That's scary, because it was bad enough 19-20 years ago!! I know there are good areas in Everett......I just didn't live in one of them so my memory of the place is not good