Shoreline (Seattle, Bellevue: apartment, rentals, condo)

[scm17ca]

What can anyone tell me about Shoreline, as far as a good place to live? I know it's about a 30 minute commute to Seattle, but after ending up in a place we didn't like initially, I am looking for rentals, again. We are thinking Ballard or Shoreline...any personal experiences? I have one child in elementary, one in high school. The house is near North City. Thanks!!!

[PBC19]

Originally Posted by brookmole

What can anyone tell me about Shoreline, as far as a good place to live? I know it's about a 30 minute commute to Seattle, but after ending up in a place we didn't like initially, I am looking for rentals, again. We are thinking Ballard or Shoreline...any personal experiences? I have one child in elementary, one in high school. The house is near North City. Thanks!!!

My kids are not school age yet, but I have a friend who is a foster mom of several children with special needs and she moved to Shoreline recently because she was very impressed with their school district. I dont know details, but I know she likes the schools. I dont know about Ballard schools. Both areas are pretty safe - IMO, nothing is horribly scary in this area - but I would stay away from living right off of hwy 99 if you do pick Shoreline. If rentals are a little cheaper, it's for a reason. Rents and housing can be very expensive, so cost may be a big factor. Ballard is a little closer to Seattle so it may be more expensive but I dont know since I dont live there. Good luck!

[sean98125]

Access to I-5 is generally much easier from Shoreline than Ballard. Ballard is 20 minutes from everywhere. Because east-west traffic is so choked in Seattle, it takes 20 minutes to get to the freeway or to downtown or to the U district. Ballard is also getting increasingly crowded, with single family homes and smaller apartment buildings being replaced with townhouses and large apartment and condo complexes. The increase in people in Ballard will only make it harder to get to I-5 since the roads connecting Ballard to I-5 are pretty well at their limit during commute times.

When you say "The house is near North City", is that the house you are looking to rent or the house you live in now that you don't like?

North City has more modest, smaller homes to the south and west and nicer, larger homes to the north and east. The shopping area in North City has a nice, recently-remodeled Safeway and a decent selection of other shops and services. (The Safeway will soon have a low-priced Safeway gas station.) It's also easy to get from North City to Alderwood or Northgate if you have to go shopping.

Hamlin Park is one of the areas better kept secrets, in my opinion. My daughter and I go there a few times a month to go for a walk in the woods and we're still discovering new corners of the park we hadn't seen before. There is also a great park at 155th & 10th that has a playground, athletic fields and a good sized skateboard park.

Another advantage of living in the North City area is being close to the Crest and it's $3.00 movies. You'll also be close to the new 14-screen theater being built at Northgate.

I know that the Shoreline schools are typically better than the Seattle Schools, but I don't think they are up to Bellevue's standards.

[Treefriend]

Originally Posted by brookmole

What can anyone tell me about Shoreline, as far as a good place to live? I know it's about a 30 minute commute to Seattle, but after ending up in a place we didn't like initially, I am looking for rentals, again. We are thinking Ballard or Shoreline...any personal experiences? I have one child in elementary, one in high school. The house is near North City. Thanks!!!

I lived on 152nd in Shoreline for a while. My only complaint about it is, it's
hard to get anywhere ffrom there.
That said, they are working hard to improve Shoreline, and have done a lot
of good things. Commute to Seattle could be 20 minutes or it could be 45 to an hour ddepending on the time.
Usually you can find a window between the rushes and cruise right in.
Also, there are a few busses that will take you downtown.

I also posted this semi tongue in cheek review of Shoreline last week...
Seattle Rage :: View topic - Something for everyone in Shoreline!!!