Sammamish; commute, quality of life, Anyone? (Seattle, Redmond: renting, how much, neighborhood)

[investtt]

Hi, I posted this a while ago but nobody responded. I'm looking at renting in Sammamish for a few years, then possibly buying a few years down the road. I like the well-educated, country-club resort type of environment. Coming from New England, I'm sick of horrible planning/fast pace and look forward to masterplanned communities of the West! Anyways, I would like to know about traffic in Sammamish and getting in/out of the area. Is it a relaxing place to live in your opinion? (I hate stress!) This sounds dorky: but I'm really a perfectionist, and need to make sure that I pick the best spot regardless of price. From my research, Sammamish seems like a good fit. Any recommendations of better cities (not closer to the city)?

[41Willys]

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[Seattleborn]

I think Sammamish is a nice place to live. I don't know how stress free it is though.

[jwb123]

Ok, I really like Sammamish as a community - but your post has me really curious. What about Sammamish makes you feel like it's perfect? A perfectionist that hates stress??

1. It's not a master planned community.
2. No country club that I can think of in the area.
3. Really hard to get in and out of. No direct access to any freeways - sandwhiched in between a couple of communities.

Perhaps check out Redmond, and more specifically, Redmond Ridge?

Are you single? Maybe even downtown Seattle... or areas such as Madison Park, or Windermere.

All of the Seattle area is plagued with improper planning (the area has had large large growth since mid-90's) and is all about high pace, rat race living. I don't consider living in Seattle similar to "resort style" stress free living.

[VeronikaW]

I like Sammamish, it's very pretty. It doesn't feel master-planned to me, but parts of it feel ritzy.

I live in the Issaqauh Highlands, that's a master-planned community. It's close to Sammamish, but it's right by the freeway (but up a hill, so it's not sitting on it), and there's a giant park n ride that is great for commuting into the city (and Microsoft just set up a bus there, too).

V. =)

[investtt]

Originally Posted by Jenbar

Ok, I really like Sammamish as a community - but your post has me really curious. What about Sammamish makes you feel like it's perfect? A perfectionist that hates stress??

1. It's not a master planned community.
2. No country club that I can think of in the area.
3. Really hard to get in and out of. No direct access to any freeways - sandwhiched in between a couple of communities.

Perhaps check out Redmond, and more specifically, Redmond Ridge?

Are you single? Maybe even downtown Seattle... or areas such as Madison Park, or Windermere.

All of the Seattle area is plagued with improper planning (the area has had large large growth since mid-90's) and is all about high pace, rat race living. I don't consider living in Seattle similar to "resort style" stress free living.

Well, I don't care how long of a drive it is to get in/out. I prefer isolation. I'm personally more concerned with road congestion. Samammish seems perfect, because although it's suburbia, it's has one of the lowest densities in the urban Seattle area.

I was also checking out the Snoqualmie Ridge development. To me, that seems more "country-like." Kind of curious though, because the actual town of Snoqualmie doesn't seem to ranked high in terms of education and income.

[LordBalfor]

That's because the original residents are more "country folks" with generally lower income and less likelyhood of university level education. It is a small country town that is in the process of becoming a suburb. The new Snoqualmie Ridge residents will have both higher education levels and greater income than the locals (overall).

Ken

[jwb123]

I'm personally more concerned with road congestion

You are going to have congestion anywhere in the Seattle area, and suburbs. It will be up to you to personally decide how much is too much, and how much is acceptable. Will you never leave your suburb or will you be commuting to Seattle on a daily basis? Are you a homebody or do you like to get out and about? We don't know these sorts of details - so these are some of the things you will need to ask yourself.

As for Sammamish in particular - I don't get how it could be considered one of the less dense areas. It's smaller. It's essentially just a tiny neighborhood without major shopping. It borders a lake, Redmond and Issaquah... so I think that the "less dense" is relative perhaps to the other communities surrounding it - but I don't think you will feel isolated living there. You are still looking at small lots (unless you are spending over $700k), and lots of people coming in and out. It's wooded, but not like living in the country.

[Seattleborn]

Try: Sahalee Country Club or The Plateau Club. Both of these are in Sammamish.

[jwb123]

Oh, I forgot all about Sahalee. Tiger Woods played there before!