Is Edmonds a nice place to live? (Seattle, Bellevue: condos, townhomes)

[stevieray]

We are moving to the north Seattle area and we see lots of nice homes on-line in the Edmonds area. What we can't see is; are the schools good? neighborhoods safe? What's traffic like? Is there a lot of activities close by? Are the beaches on the coast nice and safe to walk on? Nobody seems to talk about Edmonds on these threads. Is it just not as nice as the other popular areas like Woodinville, Bellevue, Redmond, etc. Can anyone help me with this. Thanks.

[Ira500]

Edmonds is mostly very nice, the school district is considered pretty good,and there are beaches to walk on,including an off leash dog beach. You're right, it's not as prestigious as Woodinville or Bellevue and the school district isn't quite on par with them, but it's still considered pretty good...Edmonds is pretty, safe, and nice,but some parts of rte 99 Aurora Ave have an Edmonds address, an area much less nice than the rest of Edmonds...Also the nearby Shoreline area has a really good school district.

[Botev1912]

http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/3208/img4997fd0.jpg (broken link)

[redrum]

I think part of the reason you don't hear much about Edmonds is that it's pretty much built out, so it hasn't had the explosion of new developments (and new residents) other suburbs like Everett, Lynnwood, and Bothell have experienced the last 5-7 years. That's also kept population growth and traffic pretty stable. Traffic is good; Edmonds is tucked away so there's really no reason to drive through it unless it's your destination, and aside from ferry traffic there's not much else consistently driving traffic into the area.

[allforcats]

I like Edmonds. It's quiet and sweet and a little old-fashioned, and as such seems to me to be a place one could be contented. It has some nice little restaurants and cafes, and the lovely view across Puget Sound.

It's a bit of a jaunt to downtown Seattle, and even more to Redmond, Bellevue and Renton which are locations of high employment, so that may be why you don't see many threads about Edmonds because people are looking to live closer to those employment areas.

You asked "Are there a lot of activities close by?" What kind of activities do you mean? If you have a car, everything is available.

[Ira500]

..And you can take the Sounder Commuter Train into downtown Seattle...taking the train makes it more fun.

[Deep_Vee]

I’ve lived in Edmonds for 11 years...and love it.

First, a little clarification about Edmonds. I think it can actually be defined as 2 different communities.

There is the “Bowl”, which includes the quaint small-townish downtown and business district, the Ferry Terminal, and the amazing view homes and condos that many folks think of as “Edmonds” proper. This is the area that allows you to walk to the water, enjoy the restaurants, etc. It’s a fantastic area that I wish I could afford to live in…but bring you wallet. I would guess all of the pictures posted previously on this thread belong to this part of Edmonds.

The second part is the rest of Edmonds, where a lot of the homes you see listed at more affordable prices ($300-$500,000) are. This is the area that runs along Lynnwood from Shoreline to Mukilteo, basically between HWY99 and the water. There are many very nice neighborhoods in this area, as well as a few older neighborhoods that might be due for a little rehabilitation. Really, this is no different than any other area, including parts of Redmond, Kirkland, and even Woodinville. Whatever homes you find, just drive through the surrounding streets and you’ll get a good feel for that particular neighborhood. Keep in mind, any of the “lesser” neighborhoods I’m referring to are more just pockets of older homes that could use some repair, I wouldn’t classify any parts of Edmonds as “bad”. But, I separate this from the Bowl because you can have an Edmonds address, and be much closer to Lynnwood or Mukilteo, possibly 5-10 miles from the quaint downtown Edmonds.

Traffic and transportation in the area are on par with any other Seattle suburb. The surface streets can be congested, and depending on how far you are from Transit or the Freeway, it can take quite a while to get anywhere. There are plenty of transit options for commuting to Downtown Seattle, but as others have mentioned, getting to the Eastside will be a long haul. As for commute times, the bus from the Edmonds Park and Ride to Downtown Seattle is 40+ minutes each way (depending on how far you have to stay on the bus in Seattle). Driving saves 10+ minutes, if you can afford parking… The train takes at least as long as the bus.

I’ve never had any concern about safety anywhere in Edmonds, especially downtown near the water. It’s a quiet neighborhood that you wouldn’t be afraid of walking at night…anywhere.

As someone else mentioned, Edmonds is a mature area, so there aren’t a ton of new housing developments. Most new developments are either a small group of 4-5 near million dollar homes, or townhomes and “detached” townhomes crammed together on a former large lot. When shopping for a home last year, my wife and I ran into a problem staying in the area because we wanted a newer home, and it seems like 90% of the homes that could be considered “affordable” are either 1950’s ramblers or 1960’s and 70’s Split levels. In order to stay in the area, we had to settle on a townhome, and we are glad we did, as the neighborhood is worth it to us.

Good luck with your research.

[robertpolyglot]

Yes and No.

The downtown part, or the area that affords views of the Sound perched from a hillside above, are nice.

The other parts which have more of a Lynnwood or Shoreline personality can be kind of vapid.

If I lived in Seattle, which I once did, I would live exactly in the direction I lived before - on the Eastside.

Now, if your job would make living on the Eastside a hassle, then there are other choices....such as Edmonds...or Mukilteo...or even Mill Creek.

[robertpolyglot]

Hey Botev1912, all taken on the same sunny day, it seems. What about the other 10 months of the year?