Why Living "Close" To the Job Doesn't Always Work in WA (Seattle: rentals, house)

[DallasYankee]

Practically everyone (except our relocation specialist who steered us to far off Puyallup, because of the lack of super competitive rentals there) told us to live as close to the job as physically possible.
Since the job is situated in Renton, we wisely relocated less than three months later to nearby S Renton (still some 20-25 minutes away) where we found everything else a long "a**** drive"(my husband's words, LOL!) - good medical practitioners ( ART - skilled chiropractors, massage therapists, PTs, dry needling-enabled acupuncturists, etc.), better eateries, nicer shopping centers, more varied grocery stores like Trader Joe's, Grocery Bargain Outlet, Fred Meyer, even Costco and quality gyms like the Coal Creek and Sammamish YMCAs some 25 -45 minutes away.
And when we realized the Lake Desire lakeview house was also costing us nearly 1k a month to heat with "dirty" oil fuel at least 9 months of the year, it became apparent our lower cost rental was no gem after all.
The air ducts were filthy from both the heating oil and the many culminative years of forest fire smoke causing us to get pneumonia (me) and bronchitis (my husband) before we paid ourselves for a comprehensive cleaning.
About this time, my husband began working exclusively from home, removing the need to be as close to the job site.
So, the moral of the story should be, rent somewhere suburban, not rural and rundown without satisfactory amenities because when you have to spend 2 hours a day just going to the gym, etc. outside of work time, you are definitely going to burn out faster and resent your life more than if you were able to live somewhere you actually liked living because more than half oof your life is spent away from your desk.
Fortunately, our lease ends just as we found a better fit for us (a true 3100 sq. ft. rambler all on one level) in lovely little Issaquah.
If he does have to report to the Renton office in person, there are back roads, so there will be no need to be so far from everything else.

[MechAndy]

If we had to live near my wife’s work we would be in the heart of Silicon Valley.
Thankfully we manage to get by in our little rundown rural spot.

[mayfair]

Agree with this. many places near work are a huge compromise to live in.

[Hemlock140]

Interesting topic. We are hybrid now but when in the office 2 days a week, I commute from Sammamish to the Belltown area of Seattle. At 5:30am it's 35 minutes, then 2:30pm about 45. All of my direct reports live in Seattle, 2 in Ballard, one in Greenwood, and one in Ravenna. Most days it actually takes them longer to get to the office and back, due to the congestion getting from one part of Seattle to another. Of course because they are all in the 28-35 group, they like being in the city.

We drive from home through Issaquah to Renton often, whether to go to the nearest Dutch Bros. coffee, one of my doctors, my wife's favorite sewing machine store, or to Saars Grocery on Sunset before it closed up. We always go on 900, a very nice scenic and fun, winding drive, but at normal commute times it can be totally backed up in either direction. There are people using it to commute to Boeing, and people from the south working at Costco Corporate, and even Microsoft Issaquah, Redmond or Bellevue. They have learned that as bad as it gets it's still better than 405 from Renton to Bellevue. We have lived here 30 years and that stretch has been under construction almost every year during that time.

[jabogitlu]

At 5:30 AM it takes longer than 35 minutes to get from Ballard to Belltown? Something about that doesn't add up. At 5:30 AM I can get to Everett from my place in central Seattle in 35 minutes...

[MtnSurfer]

There are many factors or layers one needs to consider when selecting a community to live in/near. Being close to work is very important.... until its not. If you suddenly get to work remotely, then who cares, right? There are general guidelines one follows while taking into consideration all their other specific requirements, preferences, etc...

This can vary wildly from one person/family to the next. But when you look at the roads and freeways during rush hour in the greater Seattle area, its obvious that there are far too many people stuck in nightmarish traffic. So, avoiding that entire mess or minimizing it is a worthy goal. That has to be weighed against other special needs one has like childcare on the other side of town, one's favorite locations for exercise, hiking, gym, shopping, special medical treatments, kid's soccer practice, etc... Plus, if you work in a ghetto or less than desirable area, you certainly don't want to live there regardless.

Once I went fully remote, that whole rush hour traffic mess became a rear view mirror issue. It was fantastic! But before that, I lived relatively close to work after many earlier years of nightmare commutes while living in L.A. Some folks have to learn the hard way! Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, wasted countless hours I'll never get back and refuse to repeat.

Your new place is not that much further than your old one. It looks like only ~ 12 miles from Renton. Heck, some ride bikes that far or even walk/hike. So, you're still not that far away. Did you consider Issaquah to begin with knowing your other strong preferences beforehand? I mean 12 vs. 7 miles is really a pretty minor difference given everything else mentioned. It's not like you moved to a further away location like Olympia or anything. Although you probably could now if you wanted to which is the beauty of fulltime remote work.

Derek

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

At 5:30 AM it takes longer than 35 minutes to get from Ballard to Belltown? Something about that doesn't add up. At 5:30 AM I can get to Everett from my place in central Seattle in 35 minutes...

If you are close to the freeway, that works, same for me. We are located over 20 minutes to I5, at any of the N entrances but their homes are not close to I5 either. The tunnel is useless since we are located right under the middle of it. They would take 20 minutes+ in the wrong direction to get to the entrance by Royal Brougham. They all take Elliot Ave W/15th through Interlake to Ballard, then those beyond go up Market. If there are faster ways I guess they haven't found them.

[CrazyDonkey]

It's a simple equation: live closer and pay more (for less) or live farther away and pay less (for more). Of course, the more time spent on the road, the less time you have to enjoy being home. It's a Devil's Bargain, at best, bred out of a paucity of choices.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

It's a simple equation: live closer and pay more (for less) or live farther away and pay less (for more). Of course, the more time spent on the road, the less time you have to enjoy being home. It's a Devil's Bargain, at best, bred out of a paucity of choices.

Yes, it is. Until better mass transit is developed, Seattle companies need to provide more remote work or at minimum hybrid options to employees. Just looking at those freeways during rush hour and its obviously stupid overcrowded. It begs the question that there must be a better way... and this isn't it!

Derek

[jabogitlu]

We had a better way, exhibited in 2020 through 2022. But we reverted back to the old way to try to save our single-use office district.