<p>Computing @ Boeing is in Issaquah, I believe.
Boeing also has vanpools as hours aren’t always conducive to public transportation.
H works across from museum of flight.
Info on microsoft transportation.
[Microsofties</a> in Seattle side… How realistic is it to catch the connector bus from Seattle to Microsoft HQ in Redmond? (Bellevue: sale, rental market) - Seattle and King County Suburbs - City-Data Forum](<a href=“http://www.city-data.com/forum/seattle-area/1553956-microsofties-seattle-side-how-realistic-catch.html]Microsofties”>Microsofties in Seattle side... How realistic is it to catch the connector bus from Seattle to Microsoft HQ in Redmond? (Bellevue: sale, rental market) - Washington (WA) -Seattle and King County Suburbs - City-Data Forum)
With this you can calculate the time needed for Metro.
[Metro’s</a> Online Trip Planner](<a href=“http://tripplanner.kingcounty.gov%5DMetro’s”>http://tripplanner.kingcounty.gov)
And the microsoft connector.
<a href=“https://www.connectorride.com%5B/url%5D”>https://www.connectorride.com</a></p>
<p>Depending on the weather, commute to Redmond from the top of Capitol Hill could take anywhere from 40 minutes to a couple of hours (I’m not kidding). The average is approximately 45-60 minutes. Parking on Capitol Hill is insane especially if there is a huge event going. I know many younger folks who enjoy living in rhe Center of the Universe - aka Fremont area of Settle. I used to work in that neck of the woods and like it a lot! It is has just the right mix of quirky and peacefull about it. I have seen MSFT connector bus in Fremont quite often. Fremont is the home to the offices of Adobe and the Seattle campus of Google, and the University of Washington is a 15 min bus or bike ride away.</p>
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<p>Just going with what S says who lives there with a relatively small paycheck. But, it is walking distance from his work and figures he saves some on commuting costs. As to a car, there is a pretty big zip car industry to rent for occasional use.</p>
<p>I love going into Seattle because it’s fun and vibrant; however, I don’t enjoy driving and parking there, lol. I could see many neighborhoods holding a lot of appeal for a person your son’s age. Somebody mentioned West Seattle. Cool spot, but it does seem like that would be especially far from Redmond. If he wants to settle in Seattle itself, the trick is just getting the commute part figured out.</p>
<p>For people considering West Seattle as a place to live for someone who works on the Eastside, I have three words: West Seattle Bridge. :eek: Also, if there is a game, he will be stuck on I-90 with a bunch of baseball, football or soccer fans.</p>
<p>I recommend playing Big Brother of sorts and watch the traffic cams on the WA DoT website during heavy commute times to see what the traffic patterns look like.</p>
<p>West Seattle is good if you work in Burien or have flexible hours, but as for accessibility you might as well live in Magnolia.
Theoretically capitol hill could work because it has access to both the old & new bridge ( I dont know which is which anymore) 
520 is a toll bridge however.
I don’t know what peak times are for traffic these days, although I grew up in Kirkland & lived in Bellevue when we first married, I rarely go to the eastside anymore & it seems there is always traffic. Plus 405 seems a lot crazier than i-5.( more accidents lately anyway)
Besides zipcar, there is also car2go.
<a href=“Your Future Car Rental | SHARE NOW International”>Your Future Car Rental | SHARE NOW International;
<p>My kid in Seattle says:
If he wants urban/edgy, Capitol Hill is the place to go…it is where all the “hipsters” live, but isn’t the cheapest place to live. It is full of events, music, art, students, great cafes and restaurants. If the main part of the hill is too expensive, try looking more East, between 15th and Madison. 23rd has quick access to the 520, as does Madison park/the arboretum (lake Washington drive). </p>
<p>Others have recommended Bellevue which would be even more expensive than cap hill and frankly, lame…if he works and lives on the East side there he wont really live in Seattle at all…that’s like saying you live in SF but you really live in Oakland. NOT the same. Bellevue is where more mainstream, businessy types live, and frankly I haven’t felt a need to go there since they put a toll on the 520. </p>
<p>Queen Anne is great but its way too much of a hassle for commuting to the east side as you’ll have to cross multiple bridges = bottlenecks = worst idea ever.
Fremont is also cool, but more “Berkeley” in feel, more hippy than hipster. Wallingford and Greenlake are pretty good for students/younger crowd, but again, too much commute time. </p>
<p>I have a few friends who work on the East side (Bellevue/Issaquah) and they have lived in Kirkland, which is a great option if you want to avoid commute over the 520 and pay less than Bellevue…it is a young crowd and has a main strip of bars/restaurants that attract ppl his age. </p>
<p>If it were me, and I had to work in Redmond, I would pick a place south of 520 on the East side of cap hill, with easy access to the bridge, and suck it up and get the good-to-go pass, and commute. Allowing my evenings and weekends to be more fun in true Seattle style. </p>
<p>ALSO, if your kid wants to email my kid, PM me his email address for more details on Seattle living</p>
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<p>Boeing has locations in Everett, Mukilteo, Renton, Seattle/Tukwila, Lynnwood, Frederickson, Auburn, and Bellevue, among other places. Computing services is currently located in Bellevue across I-90 from Factoria, though many functions are moving to St. Louis or North Charleston. Boeing is not the easiest place to get a job, but there are always lots of openings if one is open to different positions and work locations.</p>
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I’m more familiar with North Seattle, Georgetown, and West Seattle. While there are places I visit in each of those areas, they’re not really areas I’d expect to see many young professionals living. I hear a lot about Capitol Hill from reading the Stranger and know that Dan Savage and his family live in Capitol Hill and that Dan Savage has never learned how to drive because everything he needs is nearby. Granted, having a lot of money means that one doesn’t need to care about cost as much. A quick Google search shows 2 QFC locations, a Safeway, and a Trader Joe’s in Capitol Hill as well as a Whole Foods and a number of local markets. I’m not aware of Trader Joe’s changing prices depending on the location of the store, except for alcohol due to state having different laws, and know that QFC and Safeway use the same ads throughout the region, so sale prices aren’t going to be any different than at store locations in less expensive areas.</p>
<p>somemom, I would not recommend Queen Anne for a young kid to live. It is a steep hill covered with uber-expensive single family dwellings with a few yuppie places to shop and dine sprinkled in between them. Pretty much a Redmond in the city. The south bottom of the hill is more lively, but commuting from there involves driving through the Mercer Mess (aka Mercer street) - even with the recent pathetic redesign it is something that I will not wish upon even a nemesis. :)</p>
<p>Kirkland is a good suggestion. Pretty much a Belltown of the Eastside, and downtown Bellevue is not as stodgy as some portray it and is (what a shock!) cheaper than Capitol Hill or Belltown. </p>
<p>He might also consider the South Lake Union area of the city, which would put him closer to the freeway (leaving the Mercer Mess behind). It is conveniently connected to the city center by Paul Allen’s SLUT. :)</p>
<p>*If he wants urban/edgy, Capitol Hill is the place to go…it is where all the “hipsters” live, *
From your lips to Gods ears…if only that were true. :(</p>
<p>The part of capitol hill that most in their 20’s would be interested in is off of Broadway.
Piecora’s off of Madison is one of the best places to get pizza in Seattle & quite a few really excellent rock musicians work there as their day job.</p>
<p>The east side of Capitol Hill is more for families & adjacent to Volunteer Park I imagine is much more pricey, I cant say Ive noticed many apartments, but if you had 5 or 7 people to rent one of the mansions, you could have some great parties.</p>
<p>BB & EK- that’s all from my twentysomething, I have never lived in Seattle, but she has lived in several places around town.</p>
<p>I was born in Seattle 20 years before Factoria Square was built, & me anything south of i-90 & east of 405 was Issaquah- but it is correct that Boeing computer is in Factoria not Issaquah.
I have the same problem with the north end, what used to be loosely Bothell, is now Mill Creek & who knows what other suburban developments gave popped up.
If you look in Kirkland, he might look off of 85th, that would give him a straight shot down to Redmond.</p>
<p>I’d also suggest he check out Fremont. Commute from there would be about the same as from Capitol Hill. I bet he’d find it worthwhile to live in Seattle proper and commute as opposed to living on the eastside (of Lake Washington). With the Microsoft Connector buses he’d be in good company and could sit back and relax, use the wifi. Commuting for 45 minutes to an hour sounds grueling but the Connectors would really change the experience IMO. He could be making plans with friends, looking at Instagram, doing whatever those 22-year-olds do on their phones!</p>
<p>Haven’t read the whole thread, but we visited Kirkland during our Washington state senior high school trip. There was a Nintendo repair shop there that was one of the highlights of the trip. The surrounding area was very pretty. We were a short distance away from the Nintendo main headquarters, which I believe was in Redmond, seemed to be a very nice area. Sadly, we were not allowed to go inside, despite pleading with the rather austere receptionist. Next stop was our tour of the Microsoft campus, so again, very close to Kirkland. Also on that day trip, we stopped at Snoqualmie Falls, site of Twin Peaks, gorgeous area. I have a grammar school friend who actually lives in Snoqualmie and has been very happy there. There’s the Twin Peaks diner in the nearby town, very quaint, and a gorgeous mountain that juts up right next to the highway. I believe it’s Mt. Se? For us flatlanders from New Orleans, it was like going to Heaven, and we are so hopeful that son will settle in that area of the country and raise our grandchildren so that we’ll have an excuse to move there.</p>
<p>Anything on the east side of Lake Washington (Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Issaquah, Woodinville) is probably too family/middle-aged oriented. Same with North East - Mill Creek, Bothell, etc.</p>
<p>My 22yo would like to live in Fremont or Greenlake, possibly Ballard, Wallingford, or Phinney Ridge. There are lots of apartments going in, but rents are high, like more than my mortgage high. $1,500+ for a <em>small</em> one bedroom in the Greenlake area is not unheard of. South Lake Union, home to Amazon, is incredibly popular, but the rents…up and up and up. Some of the younger co-workers of mine moved from there due to rent increases. Needing a roommate at age 30+ wasn’t desirable.</p>
<p>With a MS commuter bus, transport to/from work should be easy. It will still take time, upwards of 40 minutes I’d guess, but the joys of not driving across the bridge are many, not to mention the savings on bridge tolls.</p>
<p>I saw in an ad yesterday that Windermere Real Estate has something on their website to estimate commute times from various locations throughout the area. Even though he’ll be renting, not buying, it might be something to look at. </p>
<p>Boeing is everywhere and as soon as you choose an area close to your office, they’ll move you 40 (or more) miles away. The wise ones among us live centrally, so commuting north, south, or east is do-able. </p>
<p>Oh, big article at the weekend in the Seattle Times on Craig’s List rental scams. With rents as they are ATM, the scammers have been out in force.</p>
<p>When we lived in the Seattle area, we lived in Redmond, then Bellevue, then Bellevue again, then Sammamish. None of those areas is remotely trendy or hip or whatever. Pricey, yes, hip, no.</p>
<p>That said, where a new Microsoft employee lives is irrelevant, because he’ll be working 60-80 hour weeks for quite a while, and what little social life he has will center around his co-workers.</p>
<p>My advice (and it’s what DH and I did, in the early '90s, when he started his job at Microsoft): short-term rental, furnished. Spend six months figuring out what you really want.</p>
<p>There is a fairly lively young scene close to the Kirkland waterfront. Downtown Redmond is building like crazy and slowly accumulating young professionals. I went to buy beer at the beer store there on a Thursday evening and the place was mobbed with 20-somethings. </p>
<p>That said, my neighbor’s daughter lived in Greenlake and commuted to the Eastside. All her friends were over in the city and of the social scene is in the various neighborhoods of Seattle. Ballard is really trending these days but would be the farthest away. Microsoft has a very active internal discussion board dealing with all things related to living and working in the area. Does he have access to that?</p>
<p>One thing your son might consider is that the Connector busses have wi-fi and time on the bus is typically considered “at work.” Those things are pretty plush and make commuting almost painless.</p>
<p>I posted some Microsoft related links.
My niece works at Microsoft & lives off the lake hills connector but as she is LDS her social scene may not be what he’s looking for.
:)</p>
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<p>Is that still the norm? I know it was when my friends worked there back in the 80s…</p>
<p>EK, the Lake Hills connector goes right by this:
[Seattle</a> Washington LDS (Mormon) Temple](<a href=“http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/seattle/]Seattle”>Seattle Washington Temple | ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org)
So great spot for LDS young folks who didn’t marry yet.</p>