Redmond/Woodinville and Avondale info

[kattykay]

I am doing some preliminary research for a potential move to the Eastside of Seattle. Avondale and the Redmond/Woodinville Rd areas seem like they have affordable (well, for seattle it seems!) single family homes for rent.

Is this a good area? as in friendly neighborhoods with kids, low crime, nice to look at? What would the commute to the main Microsoft campus be during rush hour?

I am trying to research as much as possible so we don't end up in cracktown with an hour commute.

[DahliaRW]

Yes, those are nice areas. The commute is nasty from everywhere, unfortunately. Down Avondale is always really backed up. The closer to 520 you can get the better, or if you work off hours that helps to. MS also has commuter buses, which while they don't avoid the traffic they at least make it more bearable to be in since you can bring your laptop and use the wi-fi to work or browse, or just read a book.

You really can't go wrong on Woodinville or Redmond though, as far as I know. All the neighborhoods are pretty nice.

[angelpie545]

I agree with the poster above, if you can afford to live here, it's one of the best places on the eastside (my opinion). It's pretty low-key, although people do tend to be a bit more conservative than in the more urban areas. As far as I know the crime rate appears to be relatively low, and the schools are excellent. We have a Whole Foods and a PCC within five minutes of each other in Redmond, plus a whole host of other shopping conveniences including Redmond Town Center, and a bunch of great parks. The great thing is even though we have all those things here, it's really quiet and peaceful. You see a lot of families with young children and mostly people are very open and friendly.

[ChetMC]

We Rent Near Microsoft

We rent in Bellevue near Crossroads... very close to Redmond. We can walk about half a mile in three different directions and be in Redmond.

The house that we're renting is $2300 a month, but I think we could have found something for about $1800 if we'd opted for something smaller. We're far from family and needed a place that would accommodate house guests coming for extended stays. We also have an enormous yard, and the house was recently remodeled. DH looked at some places that were $1300 to $1600 a month, but they weren't particularly nice inside.

Bellevue is actually listed as one of the safest cities in America. Redmond seems extremely safe as well. I don't know about Woodinville Road. Honestly, this whole part of the eastside seems exceedingly safe though.

From where we are DH can bike to Microsoft in 7 minutes. Driving is about the same. The walk is about 30 minutes. We brought our car when we moved, but we only use it about twice a week since we're also walking distance from lots of shopping, a community centre, and a small library at Crossroads.

Do your best to avoid the traffic here. It's completely insane. This is a beautiful place to live and there is so, so much to do. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people here wasting an obscene portion of their week in a car. With essentially no commute DH can be home earlier enough for us actually go out and do stuff with the kids in the evening.

This area is very family friendly. There are lots of parks. We see lots of other families with kids around at the mall. I don't know where the truly friendly neighbourhoods are though. When we were looking into our move I asked here about life in the area, and I was warned that people weren't particularly friendly here. We didn't realize how unfriendly people could be until we moved here! Not in a rude way. People are just very cool. To be fair though, we came from Eastern Canada which is probably one of the friendliest places on earth.

[Kirsten]

I agree with the other posters - great area here. We've been not too far from there for 17 years, and in Kirkland before that. I love the Eastside - all parts. I feel it is very safe; I've never been concerned about my kids or myself - while out during the day or night.

Microsoft Commuter buses run now, so that helps. Lots of Trader Joe's and Whole Foods and PCC. Good libraries (one is on Avondale just near the cross of Woodinville-Duvall Road - the far end of Avondale - and a fairly recently updated one in downtown Redmond). LOTS of great preschools (Morning Star is just a few minutes from the far end of Avondale, and Farrell McWhirter is just a minute from the near 520 end of Avondale, and Redmond Co-op in downtown Redmond) if you have kids that are 3 or 4. TONS of parks - everywhere. Perrigo Park is just off Avondale - fairly new one.

We get organic milk delivered to our back porch weekly. You can get a box of local organic produce delivered to a local drop spot weekly as well.

I don't know where you are coming from, or what age your kids are, but we love it here!

[TiredX2]

The commute to main campus shouldn't be too bad from that area. Is there any way DP can work slightly off hours to avoid the main rush? The rush here happens much later than in many areas--- traffic is fine at 7am and a mess at 9am. We live further east than you are thinking of, but without traffic DP could make it to main campus in around 13 minutes. With reasonable traffic 30 minutes was no problem. The biggest congestion seems to be on Avondale itself (from Union Hill towards Woodinville) and then, in the afternoon/evening on 520 starting around W Lake Sammamish all the way onto Avondale.

Originally Posted by Kirsten

We get organic milk delivered to our back porch weekly.

Do you use Smith Brothers? How much is their organic milk? We had a guy come by the other day but he only had the prices for conventional I wish Smith Brothers was more "local". I noticed that Organic Valley actually comes out of Duval

[janaya]

it is a beautiful area, still highly wooded. that library on avondale has an awesome story time.

[kattykay]

Oh thank you for all this! I was afraid no one on here was an eastsider.

We will be coming from Raleigh, NC where housing is about 30-50% less. So we'll try to stay in the 1300-1700/month range if we can (ideally a 3 br house or townhouse with yard). DH is still interviewing but we are trying to research as much as we can to decide if we even want to come should they offer. I have been to the PNW twice before, but not the eastside.

I am glad to hear the area in general is nice. I have also researched other areas you mentioned like bellevue, crossroads, kirkland, lake hills. Any areas to def avoid?

The goal would be for DH to bike, walk or bus and me have the car during the day. Glad to know that is really possible. We are DEF not interested in any kind of commute over 30 mins which obviously limits us, but time is worth the smaller square footage.

I have heard of this "seattle freeze" you talked about - where people are polite, but don't really want to hang out or anything. You get spoiled in the south by friendly people and open neighborly relationships. If we come, maybe I'll just start our own "let's get over it and be friends" club Are the mom clubs or LLL meetings very active?

Our DD will be 1 this winter, but we would be looking for preschools in a couple years - i am glad that won't be an issue.

Any more thoughts/info/opinions are appreciated. Should we get an offer I will be bugging you to death for even more info. Thanks again!

[Aufilia]

We lived in the Crossroads neighborhood for 4 years and liked it -- it's "low income" for Bellevue but only because Bellevue has a ridiculously high average income. Crossroads to the east of the mall has a lot of 3 bedroom ramblers with decent yards. But in our old house we could walk to soo many things (the mall complex has a library, 2 groceries, movie theater, electronics, kids' stuff, the post office, and of course food), and 2 parks.

We just moved in May and now live about 5 blocks from Microsoft. I think you could bike to campus in maybe 10 minutes.

The whole area is generally pretty safe. Public transit is also clean & safe here, so if there's a bus nearby you might find it worthwhile to use. I bus to my office in Seattle and it's easier and cheaper than driving. The commute is generally trying no matter where you're going, but you're definitely better off living on the Eastside if that's where work is. Avoid crossing the lake for work (and it's worse to live in Seattle and work on the Eastside than the other way around).

[simplehome]

Originally Posted by kattykay

I am glad to hear the area in general is nice. I have also researched other areas you mentioned like bellevue, crossroads, kirkland, lake hills. Any areas to def avoid?

The goal would be for DH to bike, walk or bus and me have the car during the day. Glad to know that is really possible. We are DEF not interested in any kind of commute over 30 mins which obviously limits us, but time is worth the smaller square footage.

I have heard of this "seattle freeze" you talked about - where people are polite, but don't really want to hang out or anything. You get spoiled in the south by friendly people and open neighborly relationships. If we come, maybe I'll just start our own "let's get over it and be friends" club Are the mom clubs or LLL meetings very active?

Our DD will be 1 this winter, but we would be looking for preschools in a couple years - i am glad that won't be an issue.

Any more thoughts/info/opinions are appreciated. Should we get an offer I will be bugging you to death for even more info. Thanks again!

I live in the Lake Hills area, which is adjacent to Crossroads. I'm only about 2-2.5 miles from Crossroads, so we manage to walk there once a week or more during the summer. This neighborhood is pretty mellow, but people just don't seem to come out of their houses much! It is a neighborhood in transition---very safe, but lots of homes that haven't been updated since they were built in the 50's, and lots that have been made over. It doesn't feel as pristine as the Avondale area, but that's what I like about it. I can be close to Microsoft, but still maintain some diversity around me (rather than feeling quite so suburban).

The real reason I'm replying is the commuting issue: we know loads of people who bike commute daily from the far end of Avondale, and it is a really easy commute. If you want any bike commuting tips for the area, I'd be happy to hook your DH up with my DH, who is also a Microsoftie and bike/bus commutes. His office is in downtown Seattle at the moment, not main campus, but he's done the main campus commute for enough years to tell you about the intersections to avoid if you value your life. :

Anyway, I hope you come to the area! We moved here 7+ years ago and LOVE it, but I agree that it is like pulling teeth to make and keep friends here. I'll join your club, because I'm still in the market for friends! Good luck!

[ChetMC]

Confirm

Originally Posted by simplehome

I'm only about 2-2.5 miles from Crossroads, so we manage to walk there once a week or more during the summer. This neighborhood is pretty mellow, but people just don't seem to come out of their houses much!

I can confirm this. DH and I think it's extremely weird. There are neighbourhoods that we walk through around crossroads with more people outside, but the people on our street do not come out of their houses. Six foot privacy fences are standard. We walk to Idylwood Park in Redmond once or twice a week and we still don't see many people out around.

This is the thread that I started when we were looking into our move here :

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...274&highlight=

I'm not sure how useful it will be to you. When I posted it we were hoping to live in Seattle proper (which proved to be unrealistic because of the commute), and there is some info in the thread about being Canadian in the US... but it might be worth a quick read as there was also talk about the eastside.

I hope all of this isn't making the area sound like it's entirely without soul. On the weekend they have live entertainment at Crossroads mall. People (mostly seniors) get up and dance. They have an amazing food court with lots of ethnic food, people relaxing and hanging out, and I find the people there pretty friendly. The parks and playgrounds are all busy. Idylwood Park in Redmond is always busy when we're there.

[Tigerchild]

I live off of Avondale (actually between Avondale and 202). It's a great area. It's true that Avondale right now is really backed up because of a huge construction project that they have going on even during commute hours, but there are ways to get around it that will shave probably 15 minutes off your time.

I love this area. It's getting a little too crowded/developed for my tastes, but you can't tell from our house.

The Crossroads neighborhood, while very nice in its own way, is actually very different from the area you're talking about in the original post.

[Kirsten]

Originally Posted by TiredX2

Do you use Smith Brothers? How much is their organic milk? We had a guy come by the other day but he only had the prices for conventional

Yep, Smith Brothers - otherwise known as Mr. Moo. Ours is based out of Carnation I believe. I don't have a bill right nearby but I think it is $2.50 per half gallon for organic. I didn't know they even carried non-organic milk - was it them or someone else you talked to?