Any former SF Area residents that can weigh in on Seattle area vs. Bay Area (particularly the East Bay)?

[Kevin98103]

Instead of Vallejo = Everett, I would say Richmond = Everett. I know absolutely no comparison in crime, but they are similarly gritty, industrial old seaport burbs, north of town. The first time I crossed the Tacoma Narrows bridge into Gig Harbor, it reminded me of going into San Rafael from the Richmond Bridge, and has since. Instead of San Quentin, there is a women's prison in Purdy, north of Gig Harbor. El Camino Real reminds me of North Aurora, it goes on and on...

[Woof]

If you want more information, Lizzie, there's a city vs city forum where the differences between the two areas have been hashed out a few times. https://www.city-data.com/forum/city-vs-city/

[eastbaylizzy]

Thanks for all of your responses so far, everyone! It’s really been a great help. I guess I should clarify a few things though.

1) I wasn’t that concerned about there being an Oakland of the Pacific Northwest.
From what I’ve heard, pretty much the entire state of Washington (at least statistically speaking) is much, much safer than the average place in California. I also used to live in Oakland, so while I would prefer to avoid a place with crime as much as possible, I don’t have any real fear I couldn’t survive. However, it does sound like your 84th & International are much like the 84th & International in Oakland. Since it’s just the two of us for now, we’re currently debating buying a house vs. buying a condo to rent out later. It sounds like I would definitely not want these people as tenants, if that’s what we choose. I’ll try to avoid that area as much as possible. Does that area have a specific name?

2) I currently live in Danville. (And for anyone who doesn’t know the area, it’s basically Desperate Housewives-ville.)
I’ve heard locals on other forums say some pretty nasty things about Bellevue being a suburban hell full of stuck up soccer moms, but that‘s EXACTLY what it‘s like where I currently am. If that’s the worst anyone could say about Bellevue though, it can’t be all that bad. Yeah, these women get pretty intense about their designer strollers & exotic dogs, but at least the area is well-known for being safe, quiet, & fairly well-off. As I don’t know the Seattle area at all, it sounds like a safe bet & a decent investment.

3) What’s the commute into Downtown like from these burbs?
I’ve heard going into Seattle from the east can be brutal & often ranks high on the list of traffic-inflicted metro areas. However, the commute from Danville to San Francisco is usually an hour+ with traffic & it sucks. Commuting to the Oakland Airport is also an hour+ & sucks. Commuting to Walnut Creek 5 miles away takes 25 minutes & sucks. I assume Bellevue & similar areas have less traffic congestion within the neighborhoods themselves, but what’s the commute into the city like, in general? Ideally, we’d like to be no more than 20 minutes away if possible. And is the commute from say Lynnwood or Shoreline quicker if it’s not on the east side?

Thanks again!

[Hemlock140]

Based on your latest post and coming from Danville, I would suggest Mercer Island. It's midway between Bellevue and Seattle, with a 10 minute commute, and if you don't want to drive there is a nice park & ride there for the bus.
The prices on Mercer vs Bellevue are like Danville vs Walnut Creek. Because of the schcools, mainly, the home prices have not dropped much in the bad economy.

When you commute in the bay area the stop and go traffic jams are 4-6 lanes in each direction. Here it's 2-3 lanes. Figure on the same amount of backup but just not as many cars. Off peak mornings it's a lot less traffic here, though it seems to last longer in the evening. The worst drive is 405,
the best is I90 so living along I90 is best. If you are at work by 7:30am it's smooth sailing all the way, but starts to get heavy going home between 3:30-4. Living on Mercer Island allows you to use the express lanes without having more than 1 person, as long as you get off at Island Crest Way, so you would almost never see a backup.

[vandygirl]

Originally Posted by eastbaylizzy

Thanks for all of your responses so far, everyone! It’s really been a great help. I guess I should clarify a few things though.

1) I wasn’t that concerned about there being an Oakland of the Pacific Northwest.
From what I’ve heard, pretty much the entire state of Washington (at least statistically speaking) is much, much safer than the average place in California. I also used to live in Oakland, so while I would prefer to avoid a place with crime as much as possible, I don’t have any real fear I couldn’t survive. However, it does sound like your 84th & International are much like the 84th & International in Oakland. Since it’s just the two of us for now, we’re currently debating buying a house vs. buying a condo to rent out later. It sounds like I would definitely not want these people as tenants, if that’s what we choose. I’ll try to avoid that area as much as possible. Does that area have a specific name?

2) I currently live in Danville. (And for anyone who doesn’t know the area, it’s basically Desperate Housewives-ville.)
I’ve heard locals on other forums say some pretty nasty things about Bellevue being a suburban hell full of stuck up soccer moms, but that‘s EXACTLY what it‘s like where I currently am. If that’s the worst anyone could say about Bellevue though, it can’t be all that bad. Yeah, these women get pretty intense about their designer strollers & exotic dogs, but at least the area is well-known for being safe, quiet, & fairly well-off. As I don’t know the Seattle area at all, it sounds like a safe bet & a decent investment.

3) What’s the commute into Downtown like from these burbs?
I’ve heard going into Seattle from the east can be brutal & often ranks high on the list of traffic-inflicted metro areas. However, the commute from Danville to San Francisco is usually an hour+ with traffic & it sucks. Commuting to the Oakland Airport is also an hour+ & sucks. Commuting to Walnut Creek 5 miles away takes 25 minutes & sucks. I assume Bellevue & similar areas have less traffic congestion within the neighborhoods themselves, but what’s the commute into the city like, in general? Ideally, we’d like to be no more than 20 minutes away if possible. And is the commute from say Lynnwood or Shoreline quicker if it’s not on the east side?

Thanks again!

I think you'll find that there is no intersection in the PNW that rivals 84th and International in Oakland. Shootings on the street at night, impromptu side shows, look-outs in plastic chairs on the street, used prophylactics on the ground, etc. are rare in this region. I don't say that to disparage Oakland. Not all of Oakland is like that. Many areas are safe and charming. It is a town with a ton of character and grit, but its toughest neighborhoods are really tough.

Keep in mind that streets and highways are narrower here because there is so much water that there is not as much land to build on. A trip that would take 10 minutes driving in straight lines in your average flat city might take 25 minutes here just because you have to drive around all the lakes, up hills, cross a couple of bridges and sometimes merge onto two lane roads in heavily populated neighborhoods.

[Kevin98103]

1) Vandygirl pretty well summed this up but the worst intersection in Seattle historically is Boren & Yesler. Tacoma's version would be Hilltop, which can get pretty bad, but not on par with Oakland. Crime in Seattle has strangely been going down since the recession, some of it back to 1950s levels.

2) I like the Mercer Island idea too, but if you want Desperate Housewives-ville, yes Bellevue is that and so is Redmond, Kirkland, Bothel & Woodinville, you would probably like most of the east side including Issaquah. But commuting to DT Seattle would be easier from Shoreline or Lynnwood. Unless you just don't want to live in Seattle, you would probably also like Madrona, Magnolia, and anywhere within a mile of the water north to Edmonds. I say within a mile because the real estate/people change, but also because you'll have a milder Winter than any of the above and if it's cloudy you have a better chance of having a sunny day being so close to the Sound.

[cotomwed]

My family just moved here from Berkeley 2 months ago, so I'll give you a newbie's perspective. We're living in Bellevue (renting to see what feels like the best fit) for now.

Thoughts: Downtown Bellevue reminds me of Walnut Creek (a lot). BUT, we live a mere 3 miles east (very close to the Crossroads mall) and it has a whole different feel. It's much more diverse (it's all relative--it's still way more white up here) and not nearly the amount of status cars, etc. Just as an fyi.

Kirkland (at least the downtown area) reminds me a bit of Rockridge in Oakland. Independent stores/restaurants/walkable.

"Everyone" told me that we'd love Queen Anne in Seattle coming from Berkeley, and I suspect we would, but are opting to stay on the Eastside as we value a short commute (my husband works in Bellevue).

We're really happy up here (at least thus far). Outside of rush hour, the worst traffic I've seen is at a Starbucks drive through. More seriously, when it isn't rush hour 405 and 90 don't have anything on 80/580 with regard to traffic. And proximity to the outdoors is a huge bonus for us.

Hope that helps! You're welcome to contact me if you have other questions that I might be able to answer.

[Ultrarunner]

Contrary to what many have said... I think Oakland's Montclair District and much of Piedmont (A city entirely within the city of Oakland) do remind me of parts of Washington... the heavily tree lined streets, neatly kept homes, many with great bay and skyline views to watch the sunset.

As far a crime...

I wouldn't go so far as to say there is no problems in WA...

There definitely is a Meth sub-culture and it is growing.

Also... several of my Bay Area friends that moved to WA have had real problems with theft and break-ins living on the Peninsula.... it is very beautiful and somewhat remote... making it an ideal target of thieves.

I live in East Oakland and Olympia WA... My first home was on Havenscourt and my second on 65th ave and then to 92nd ave...

As for a direct western WA comparison I would say Ross in Marin and Boulder Creek near Santa Cruz fit the bill...

[casacaudill]

We live in the Temescal district of Oakland and Seattle is one of the areas we're considering a move to in the next two years. My ideal location would be Bainbridge Island because, quite frankly, I'm sick of living on top of my neighbors in an area that is supposed to be hip and amazing (just ask The New York Times - they did a whole feature on the neighborhood a couple of months ago) but is really just overrun with Oakland/Berkeley gang/drug violence.

[NewtoSD?]

After my last trip to Seattle, I've now been there 35+ times. I'm a bay area native that worked in Oakland for 2.5 years. Here's my take:

Seattle, and the eastside in particular, is nothing like the bay area. If you are looking for the bay, I would suggest moving to a different part of it. Seattle and its outlying regions are whiter, less open ("reserved" is the word I here in the positive tone to describe this, and "passive aggressive" in the negative tone), slower, and more nature centric. The traffic in or around Seattle is not remotely comparable to bay area traffic. I've purposely driven in all high density traffic areas during peak times, so I can personally attest to this fact. These are some of the subtle but obvious differences between the two metro areas.

I stayed in Kirkland on my recent trip. Since it was sunny, I got a great view of the demographics of the area. Tons of people were out to enjoy the weather and the water, and yes it does feel somewhat wealthy and suburban. But I'm with you. Soccer moms or kids with Ryan Seacrest haircuts don't pose a threat to one's safety, so I'll take suburbia any day if I'm close enough to enjoy the urban aspects of a city. Kirkland had tons of little boutique stores, a great waterfront and views, and all in all is pretty amazing.

To sum it up, Seattle metor is a completely different area than the bay area. The culteral norms, weather, industry, and architecture are different. LOL, isn't this the reason one moves 800 miles away though, to experience something different? I wouldn't go hoping, expecting, or worrying that any part will be like where you are from.