The Radford Court Apartments might be something to consider. Located in a quiet residential neighborhood northeast of the UW district, these were formerly “student housing” for families. Now managed by a commercial management company, there are many residents who are young (and a few older) professionals and fewer families. Parking is assigned but not covered. There’s a bus stop about 5 minutes away, but it looks like a 43 minute commute to SLU by bus. There may be a way to get there more quickly by driving a bit to a better bus route. http://radfordcourt.com
Radford is immediately adjacent to Magnuson Park, a huge waterfront (Lake Washington) park, with walking paths, swimming, sports fields, wetlands and a dog park. A fitness center, indoor soccer arena and indoor tennis center are adjacent to the park. The paved Burke Gilman Trail for walking/running/biking is a couple blocks away and goes miles in each direction. University Village, an “outdoor” mall with upscale shops and restaurants and a suburban feel, is nearby.
It is really easy to catch a bus downtown from Greenlake during rush hour. The ones that take the freeway get to use the high occupancy lane, and the stops at Green Lake & Ravenna are before the park & ride by the freeway entrance, so I’ve gotten a seat the few times I’ve gone downtown during rush hour. Buildings near there are the Circa, Green Lake Village, Eleanor, and Florera.
So this is Amazon we’re talking about, which has a reputation for working people like crazy. He should make a significant effort to be as close as possible, as he won’t want to spend his free time commuting. Worth paying extra for. If he gets hired, I’d spend some time driving around.
I was going to suggest Magnuson Park or Sand Point. It can get really slow cutting through UW to get south of there, though.
I was really hoping the luxury bus idea was going to take off. Microsoft does that, picks up their employees in a comfortable, high speed wi-fi bus and counts the commute time as part of their hours worked. That way, the “commute” is the time it takes to get to the bus stop and the bus ride is part of the workday but in a better chair.
Another thing to consider, Seattle’s most urban areas are nothing like the blighted cities I was used to on the east coast. My wife and I are downtown at night a few times a month and have never felt anything worse than slightly bothered.
There are also a some apartments over the hump in Madison Park, a very nice and relatively quiet area.
I think that if this kid wants a short commute, he’s going to have to give up the suburban idea. There are hundreds of parks all over Seattle, if he wants green space. But I don’t really see the point of living in a city if you don’t like cities! He’s going to have to choose one-short commute or open space. The freeways here become a living neightmare every week or so. Just the other day I-5 was shut down in both directions all day because of and accident.
Is OP’s son SCARED of urban living or just doesn’t like density? Because as pointed out above, there are many “urban” areas here that are perfectly safe, AND close to parks. If he wants lots of space, then he loses the commute-sorry-that’s how it is here. He might look south-prices aren’t insane-too much-yet, and there is lots of building going on. The light rail runs frequently, he could bring his bile and bike from downtown, or take the bus or the trolley to SLU. DH is downtown in about 20 minutes and never has to worry about parking.
I read it like he does not like urban density. I am married to such a country boy, I know they exist.
I was hoping you would chime in, @sseamom, because I am not familiar with the areas south of the city. We live up north.
The train is amazingly fast and efficient for commute to work because it runs often and it in the tunnel under the city, and some of the buses I mentioned (255, 150, 41, and 550) also run through the same tunnel, which shocks many visitors to the city. Yup, as soon as a gaggle of busses clears the tunnel, a train comes in. Very efficient. This underground commute is a godsend when there is a traffic jam on the surface streets. I just dive in the tunnel and take the first bus that would carry me out of the madness and then deal with the rest of the commute.
I know there are all sorts of different teams at Amazon and it really depends where you land in terms of work satisfaction. But overall this would be a great career opportunity - and hopefully he’d also find compatible people for social opportunities. I think it would be a better lifestyle for him than what he has now. He commutes into Chicago now so it’s not like he isn’t used to big cities, but he’s lived in those burbs most of his life so is familiar with and comfortable with that city. Still he didn’t want to live in the city.
Personally I agree with those who think he should try for a short commute, at least for the first year or two. At the moment he just wants to start getting a feel for what might be possible when he goes for the onsite interview so he can hit the ground running if lighting strikes and he gets an offer. He also wants to understand if he would really be comfortable moving to Seattle. It does sound like there are several close in neighborhoods that are safe and attractive. It’s part safety and part density, I think.
(My brother said not to show him the New Yorker article about earthquakes but DS did live outside San Jose for a few years so hopefully that won’t spook him.)
Thank you Seattle parents for all the input! Crossed fingers that I have a reason to come back for more details!
If he is looking north of the city (Ballard, Crown Hill, Fremont, Wallingford, Phinney, Greenlake,Greenwood) He should look for a place walking distance to the Rapid Ride Buses (D and E lines) they come every 10 minutes or so during rush hour and make excellent use of the bus lanes. H commutes on the E from Greenwood to SLU and it can take less than 30 minutes including a nice walk.
In general, N <-> S travel is reasonable, E<->W travel can be a nightmare! That makes the Magnuson Park listing above problematic, though the new Light Rail at the University might help? (It doesn’t go to SLU, but I guess he could use it to get to Capital Hill or Westlake and bus the rest of the way.)
Magnolia feels very suburban to me (hidden power lines, which is unusual in Seattle). But transit is not great from there. There are parts of north Ballard/Crown Hill (Olympic Manor) with the same feel, but transit is not great (walking to the D would help) and it is mostly single family.
I’m not as familiar with West Seattle (seems like transit is bottlenecked by the bridge) but that feels suburban to me.
Mercer Island is very suburban feeling and very family oriented from what I know. Does he care about being close to other young adults?
Yeah, that’d be my worry with some of the farther out places. Great places if your have a family (or are coupled), but seems kind of lonely for a single person. Seattle is famous for being hard to break into socially, though maybe Amazon creates is own social world. Seattlites do love to do stuff together—seems like everyone is in some type of social organization or another. I’m sporty so my social group are all (mostly) members of the Mountaineers, City League, adult soccer teams, SUP meet-ups etc etc. But every interest has their own social organizations/groups. I’d think about what he likes to do, and where to live to make it easier to meet up with those with the same interests. Ok, you can drive but if you live next to Greenlake (say) and like open water swimming or running (just for example), you will easily find a immediate social group to do that with after work without having to fight traffic AND they are more likely to be your age.
I suggest north end of Queen Anne. It is more suburban feel than lower Queen Anne close to the Seattle Center. I used to live near Seattle Pacific University. Because it was near university, the apartment rent was pretty reasonable. One quick bus ride to downtown Seattle.
Magnolia has some of the worst east-west bus service and with the new tunnel, lack of exits to downtown proper won’t make it better. It’s also a long way from anywhere, IMO.
There are some nice, less hipster parts of Ballard, think Sunset Hill and north of the locks.
^^I would never consider Magnolia for that particular reason.
Fremont is a fun part of the city. More like urban vibe without high-rise. Buses to downtown run from several spots, and I bet at least one route stops right near Amazon.
^^Yeah, just don’t visit Fremont during the Solstice Parade. It must be every pervert in the country who hangs out and parades around naked (except for their private parts painted in artistic ways). Where else in the US are you going to find both a large statue of Lenin, and a massive (goblin, hobgoblin, gnome, bugaboo, ogre) with a Volkswagen Bug in it’s hand?
Fremont is a fun place. Lots of restaurants, and very unique.
Oh my gosh, I realized I tried to write the T word. Well, that doesn’t work!
I live on Capitol Hill. There are some nice neighborhoods a few blocks northeast of the Broadway/Pike/Pine area, including some beautiful old buildings with apartments.
My son has lived in a variety of neighborhoods in Seattle over a period of about 8 years – Queen Anne, Magnolia, UW, West Seattle … and now he is in Wallingford. My son works downtown & takes the bus to work & back-- traffic really is a mess.
@Marilyn – it might be a good idea for your son to consider looking for a shared-housing situation to start, moving in with some person or group looking for a roommate. Plenty of listings on Craigslist. If your son does get the job offer, his Amazon job will probably be considered a plus factor by potential housemates. Shared housing is a good way to get acclimated to the new city, and generally avoids the hassle of rental applications and credit checks - as well as also avoiding getting tied into a long-term lease. Plus it is a nice way to meet people in a new city. My son actually has relocated several times for work before he ended up in Seattle, and he always went for shared housing to start.
Since your son is single with no pets, he’d probably have a lot of options that way - and then he could wait until he had become more familiar with the area and his work routine before getting himself locked into a lease for his own apartment.
I tried earlier to post a link the Metro Trip Planner which will give an idea of options and commute times for travel within King County (including Seattle). Please ignore that link and use this one instead:
Yup, as soon as a gaggle of busses clears the tunnel, a train comes in. Very efficient. This underground commute is a godsend when there is a traffic jam on the surface streets. I just dive in the tunnel and take the first bus that would carry me out of the madness and then deal with the rest of the commute. 