What are the best towns to live in near the Seattle area?

My husband and I are looking at moving to the Seattle area within the next year or so. We both love Seattle but want to look at the surrounding cities to live in. There are so many great job opportunities in Seattle but we're not sure we want to live in the city.



What are the best towns to live in near Seattle? Which ones have the best housing accommodations? I'm impressed with Bremerton but it seems somewhat far away from the city. Ideally, we'd like to work in Seattle but live elsewhere. Are there any suggestions?What are the best towns to live in near the Seattle area?
I would suggest that you look at renting a place for the next 9 months - year,

and in that time you will get used to the area

and more importantly, know where you will be working....



Depending the hours that you will work,

- the 405 gets very blocked up in traditional to/from work hours

- the 520 bridge is getting daily tolls on it from Dec (been delayed and delayed)

this will make the problems worse.. more going to the I-90, and other going higher/via 5 to avoid them (they are not cheap, are complicated/hourly changes and the queues are bad enough now)



a lot depends on where you will work..

It may be worth looking at being very close to work, and spending your travel time on the weekend going interesting places, that a whole lot more in traffic jams.



10 miles each way to work = 100 miles (10 journeys) to say nothing of the time OR

2 miles (even walking ?) to work...and

100 miles on the weekend on empty roads, a much pleasanter experience...



Whatever happens, getting to live 'anywhere' in the area is surely going to be more useful than other peoples ideas of living in Kirkland, Tacoma, Redmond or even redmond and where "they" need to work.



As you say in one sense you know the area, but as you are recognising,

it is not always the same when you live there....



But only you know what things 'you' find important in your lives..

If you were to list some things you do today/where you live now..

perhaps someone can suggest area's where you could maintain your way of life...



The other side of the coin is, it is a chance to make a change... so why not see where the new adventure takes you ...



Whatever you decide, enjoy.
I would stay away from Bremerton, it's quite a drive/ferry to Seattle and doesn't have a good reputation. Edmonds is nice and about 10 miles from downtown Seattle, there is also the Eastside with Kirkland, Redmond, and Bellevue. Bothell is nice, I lived there for about a year. Be prepared for quite a lengthy commute time-wise.What are the best towns to live in near the Seattle area?
i dont know
Seattle is competitive. Meaning you need to have experience and education to make a name for yourself here. The people are by nature a bit aloof. Not because we're snotty but because we're well educated and have high standards. Our music scene is legendary - not just a single genre, but all forms of music are celebrated in the city. Our economy is largely reliant on the success of software firms and aerospace - both of which have been hit hard by the recession. It rains here - a lot. If you want sun 9 months out of the year, reconsider moving here. While Seattle is by no means a homogenous society, it's not as racially diverse as the east coast. You can find just about any variety of food you can imagine within the city limits and even more if you travel out to the suburbs. Housing is expensive and competitive. While you can raise a family in the city, most of us with kids end up moving outside the city limits where property for the kids and dogs to play in is more affordable.
Mukilteo is a really cute place and the nice thing about it is you can hop on the Sounder train and commute to and from Seattle very easily. I live in neighboring Everett... I don't recommend Everett. It's kind of low-class. I'll be glad when my daughter finishes high school so I can move out. People don't consider Lynnwood to be really nice, either. It seems like Lynnwood and Everett all off a major highway and you get a lot of car sales, pawn shops, etc. It's just not attractive if you want to live there.



I agree with the poster that Edmonds is a nice town. Snohomish is, too. Mill Creek is down at the bottom of Everett and people seem to like it a lot.



If you want quaint, cute areas to live with waterfronts and shopping, I'd head North of Seattle. The problem with Bremerton is that the ferry is expensive and makes for a long trip every day. I like to take it once in a while but if I had to do that twice a day every day, it would get old fast (and expensive.)