Looking for somewhere between Vancouver bc and issaquah wa (Bellevue: buying a house, transfer)

[chrismac]

Hi all ,
My gf works in Vancouver bc but only has to be there two days a week ( housing is outrageously expensive there) and i work in issaquah . We are looking to buy a house that would hopefully fit both our commutes where would you recommend ? Family friendly and affordability and not too rural but somewhere we could have a nice yard ?

[Hemlock140]

Pre-Covid we used to drive up to Vancouver several times a year, on a good day it's 3 hours from Issaquah. With your work schedules I would suggest being closer to Issaquah, and avoid a long 5 day commute. Older parts of Issaquah are affordable compared to Bellevue, Mercer Island or Sammamish, but if Issaquah prices are too high you would have to go an hour away to find lower prices. Doing that you might as well go north, and be closer to B.C, so that would be Everett/Marysville/Arlington.

[flyingsaucermom]

Personally I like up near Snohomish.

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

With your work schedules I would suggest being closer to Issaquah, and avoid a long 5 day commute. Older parts of Issaquah are affordable compared to Bellevue, Mercer Island or Sammamish, but if Issaquah prices are too high you would have to go an hour away to find lower prices. Doing that you might as well go north, and be closer to B.C, so that would be Everett/Marysville/Arlington.

Closer south would be better. Traffic from Marysville (and often as far north as Arlington now) through Everett is so bad. A commute to Issaquah during prime commute times would be horrible. If you get up and go very early it would be possible but no fun.

[Arcos]

The minimum reasonable time horizon to own a house is 5 years. Much better if you hold for at least 10 years. Is the 2 day/week job going to hold for the next 5-10 years?

What if you buy the house in a particular location and the job changes… or you or your gf have to turn down a better, more local job because of where you bought a house?

Without knowing the specifics of your situation, would it be easier to change the job than try to find a house convenient to two locations that just aren’t convenient to each other? Get to where the two lives are geographically closer and then make the major decision of buying a house?

[ScottStielow]

Originally Posted by mayfair

Closer south would be better. Traffic from Marysville (and often as far north as Arlington now) through Everett is so bad. A commute to Issaquah during prime commute times would be horrible. If you get up and go very early it would be possible but no fun.

This would be okay if you wanted to commute to Issaquah to work and back.
Just a suggestion.
Best of luck.

[chrismac]

Hi all thanks for your input. Shes actually a Canadian citizen but eventually ill be sponsoring her . I must admit i fear that daily commute but the upside is housing prices are so much more affordable . Issaquah and the eastside in general is just too expensive .

[rantiquity]

Mount Vernon.

[mayfair]

I beg differ with Mt. Vernon or Arlington being tolerable daily commutes to Issaquah. If you have a family and want to see them or have any balance in your life, this would not be a reasonable commute.

[rantiquity]

Originally Posted by mayfair

I beg differ with Mt. Vernon or Arlington being tolerable daily commutes to Issaquah. If you have a family and want to see them or have any balance in your life, this would not be a reasonable commute.

As a former employee of Boeing who lived in the Renton/Kent areas for 34 years and was often transferred to the Everett plant/Paine Field on assignment I beg to differ. The highway exit from I-90 onto I-405 is more congested going south than going north.... in fact when you reach I-5 its mostly wide open. But it is still 72 miles from Issaquah to Mount Vernon and the distance from Vancouver to Mount Vernon is 80 miles. So as you can see Mount Vernon is about the half way point.

I wouldn't want to make this commute in any In any event, even for love.