SummitPost.org

hey everyone,

I will be moving to the Seattle area from Denver shortly and I am looking for some suggestions for good places to live. I am looking for a commute of no longer than 30 minutes (driving. If I can take a train or bus I would be willing to have a much longer commute) to Everett. I would like a location that I can access trails on the week day evenings and reasonable travel times (2hrs ish) to the Olympics and Cascades for climbing, skiing, and mountaineering on the weekends. Also, I do not want to live in Seattle proper.

thanks for the help!

I live in Lynnwood which is North of Seattle. Though out most of the year the weather is not so beautiful. Here's an article to give you an idea:
http://www.kplu.org/post/8-simple-rules ... -rain-back

If working in Everett, I would suggest Monroe or Snohomish. Both have a rural feel but with quick access to Everett and great access to all things outdoor; short drive to the Index Town walls (AWESOME trad climbing and genuine big wall aid routes), fantastic granite domes of Darrington, the Darrington area peaks, (Pilchuck, Three Fingers, Whitehorse, Glacier Peak), Wild Sky Wilderness (Gunn Peak, Mt Index, Merchent Peak), ~ 1 hour drive to Steven's Pass for skiing, ~ 1.5 hour drive to Leavenworth for dry rock climbing, the Enchantments and Stuart Range for fine all season alpine climbing and alpine rock. Both Snohomish and Monoroe are considerably cheaper than the Seattle Metropolitan area, like half the cost for housing. You will also be close to the incomparable North Cascades. From Snohomish or Monroe you can shoot up HWY 9 to HWY 530 to HWY 20 and be in the North Cascades inside 2 hours.

Olympics will be a much longer commute from any where in the Seattle-Everett area because you will have to deal will ferries and wait lines and the such. Cascades have so much more to offer than the Olympics. In the 40 years I have lived in the Seattle area I have visited it exactly three times. And that was to go to the beach. I keep meaning to climb Olympus, but then I think of the hassel of a long drive, waiting for the ferry and I end up in the Cascades.

The Cascades are the way to go in these parts. Especially the North Cascades.

Thanks for all of the suggestions so far! I was visiting my future workplace just a couple of days ago and was able to spend some time in Mukilteo and Seattle. I really liked Mukilteo but I just wasn't sure how far it was to drive to climbing etc. I definitely don't want to live in a suburb. Edmonds was alright, but it is still too urban for me.

Any thoughts on Mukilteo?

thanks

Mukilricho... I mean Mukilteo. I've gone to school for years in that city and have traveled though it many dozens of times. From what I understand it's a little more expensive to live there (I could be wrong on that). From some spots of the city you get a nice view of the Olympics and can see distant Cascade Peaks. The crime rate was on the safe side (last I heard). Better than Lynnhood.

It's a little more distance to get to the mountains (a couple of miles, depends on what side of town). I gotta admit though that Mount Vernon has a decent location for access to the mountains. Can't say much on how it's like to live there.

What if I was willing to stretch a commute to 45 minutes. Do any other options open up?

Part of this depends on what exactly your looking for. When you say trails during weekday evenings are we talking full on mountains? A quick work out? There are some trails in the area, but non of them have more than 550 feet of elevation gain (to my my knowledge). You mentioned Edmonds was too urban for you... Sounds like you might like to live either to the North of Everett or East of Everett...

I used to live in Puyallup, and couldn't believe the friendliness of the folks living there. Whenever I thought of my neighbors, I thought of this poem ..

"Well I saw Godzilla,
Eating up Tukwila ..
Then he went down and ate Renton for dessert.
He couldn't stand the aroma,
Of the north side of Tacoma;
So he gobbled up Puyallup with a burp.

Now some folks saw him hurrying,
down the south side of Burien;
they all yelled out "OH NO!"
He wandered into Sea-Tac,
and ordered himself a Big Mac ..
and said "better make that an an Ellensburger to go."

'Course he took a big bite of Bothell,
and said "ugh, that tastes awful!"
so then he went and ate north Enumclaw ..
He drank up Lake Chelan,
and then he piddled on Spokane;
and fertilized half of Yakima ..."

I'll bet you are working for Boeing, or one of the major suppliers for Boeing. Right? Close enough. If in Everett proper then what I am about to suggest is even better yet.

While no trails nearby, Denver is king in that regard with runners/bikers trails everywhere, I would suggest the rural area of Lake Stevens. Commute time to everett itself during rush hour is approx 15min, Boeing itself will be about 20min. Housing is VERY affordable. A lot of Everett naval base folks live in Lake Stevens because it is cheap. Same with Marysville. Pretty much anything north of the Skykomish river is cheaper if you are going to work in Everett.

If you go to work early, then there won't be any traffic worth mentioning. Going home, I-5 North/South after 3pm is a parking lot no matter where you live.

The other area that IMO is better and cheaper than Lynwood is Bothell. If you are going to live in suburbia anyways...

I used to work at Boeing Plant and lived in Issaquah. My average commute to work was 45min and going home 55min. I could have taken the bus.

Most everywhere will have bus service.

Most everywhere DOES NOT have trail systems like the suburbs of Denver. A few do, but those are newer mega projects which will be more expensive. Only place that actually has a lot of trails that I am aware of are Parks, and the Issaquah Alps.

If you live in Lake Stevens/Arlington, you can probably just ride the roads without any worries though it is getting more built up and populated.

Thanks everyone for all of the great suggestions!

I currently live in Golden, Co (town west of Denver) so I guess I am really spoiled in terms of easy access. I can be climbing trad within 25 minutes, sport climbing in 5min, and mountain biking out of my back door. I am assuming that you can sea kayak out of Mukilteo? Maybe that would be a good substitute for after work activities.

I am not too fond of suburbia or living in the city, so Lake Stevens, and Monroe sound like great ideas. What is Issaquah like?

sgriffy wrote:
I am not too fond of suburbia or living in the city, so Lake Stevens, and Monroe sound like great ideas. What is Issaquah like?

I live in Issaquah. The commute to Everett would be soul crushing. Soul. Crushing. The Puget Sound region has some of the worst traffic in the US. You should aim ot limit your commute as much as possible. The access to trails in Issaquah, however, is outstanding (The Issaquah Alps). World class atheletes Scott Jurek, Uli Stedli, Chad Kellogg, Phill Ershler all train here. Sport climbing in North Bend (Twin Peaks was filmed there) is a 20 minute drive away. Lift serviced, back country, and ski mountaineering at Snoqualmie Pass is between 45 and 60 minutes away depending upon road conditions. Great hiking all along I-90. Alpine rock in the summer, and genuine mixed winter alpine climbing and also some limited waterfall climbing at Snoqualmie Pass. Leavenworth, the Enchantments, and the Stuart Range all offer rock climbing and alpine climbing to rival, or IMNSHO, crush anything that Denver has to offer, within a 2 hours drive. Bus access to Seattle is cake, a 20 minute bus ride away with three different buses to choose from. A combination of buses and trains might be able to get you to Everett VIA Seattle, but expect to spend greater than two hours (probably closer to three) of everday commuting, whether by mass transit or car.

Additionally, Issaquah is a magical place where everybody has a little bit of money and expends a great deal effort to look like they have a lot of money. Imagine the very worst of suburbia: 3 class BMWs, C class Mercedes, A4 Audis all parked in front of the cheapest condos that could be had and people with huge entitlement complexes. There is a small, but hardcore group of outdoor enthuisasts here too.

I think your best bet for easy commutes to Everett and good access to the mountains is going to be Monroe or Snohomish and envrions. Snohomish has Lord Hill Park which is also popular with trail runners and hikers. Living in Monroe would be close enough to climb at Index (world class trad climbing and big wall aid routes) after work in the summers.

Mustn't forget the factory outlet not far away, EB.

Now that they redid the Hwy 2 and I-5 interchange, living in Monroe or Snohomish is doable, though its still bumper to bumper all the way across the Snohomish valley. I had co workers who lived in Monroe /Snohomish who's commute was just as long as mine in Issaquah because of this. In either case, 45min commute is killer no matter where with no traffic. If you can't get your butt out of bed then said commute turns from 45min to an hour from Issaquah. There is straight commuter bus service between Issaquah--> Bellevue--> Everett Boeing plant and will take approx 1 hour. I knew several guys take FOLDING bikes(27lbs) to 1) get to the bus line from wherever(capital hill Seattle), and 2) ride from end of bus line to work either at Boeing plant, or several of the major suppliers right next to Boeing. Besides then they had their own bike to go between the Plant and engineering etc. If you are one of those who have to be in the Plant often, owning your own bike to "commute" between buildings will save you an assload of time. I calculated that I walked 10 miles in a day at maximum and 4 miles on average via using a pedometer. All depends on what your job is of course. As soon as I looked at those numbers I brought a junk bike to work and was ever so thankful.

Golden Colorado, yup, trails everywhere and middle/edge of suburbia. So, how many laps have you done on Bastille crack? =) I have rental property in the Highlands to the S. of 470. So, go down and fix them up and then play at the reservoirs/creeks. Sorry CO doesn't have any rivers, but their creeks are fun to float down like the Platte "river". The Colorado "river" is a joke even under "spring flood". It is smaller than the Yakima by a WIDE margin under normal flow and not even close when at flood. The water is warm though!

Bothell has St. Edwards park for good trail running/bike running. There is a trail along the Samammish slough in the Bothel area as well. Its smack dab in suburbia though.

ExcitableBoy wrote:

sgriffy wrote:
I am not too fond of suburbia or living in the city, so Lake Stevens, and Monroe sound like great ideas. What is Issaquah like?

I live in Issaquah. The commute to Everett would be soul crushing. Soul. Crushing. The Puget Sound region has some of the worst traffic in the US. You should aim ot limit your commute as much as possible. The access to trails in Issaquah, however, is outstanding (The Issaquah Alps).

Living in Monroe would be close enough to climb at Index (world class trad climbing and big wall aid routes) after work in the summers.

Uh, EB, Index isn't world class trad when compared to CO. Don't even try to go there! Its not even in screaming distance let alone shouting. Granite, No moss, great weather year round except summer and thunderstorms where you can't "blow out of work early in CO and climb because of them." Now Index combined with Static Point, Darrington, leavenworth, Peshatin Penacles etc has quite a few nice routes with fairly easy access for blow out of work at 2PM, drive, hike, climb, ITS DARK, hike, drive, eat , sleep.

I live in Issaquah as well. I live along the N. Fork Issaquah creek in swamp, no people ville. On grand ridge before the highlands existed, before Klahanie existed, back when there was an airport in Issaquah. We had AWESOME biking trails then. Now its replaced by all these lame ass WTA hiker boredom trails. Have you seen this travesty of wasted human man work hours on the 600 foot long "bridge" which will rot as it doesn't have proper foundation and is "built" on logs laying in mud in the N. Fork creek head waters on grand ridge? Jeez, who wasted their time? Why I never waste my time volunteering for WTA or donating money. I just upkeep the trails as I hike them. Carry clipers, and a hand saw along with trenching attachment stick on end of ice axe and viola do my goody too shoes for the day.