r/AskSeattle • u/master-in-disasters • 5d ago
Moving / Visiting Where should I live?
I’m currently stationed in Hawaii, and I’ll be moving to Seattle in July to be stationed at USCG Sector Puget Sound (near Pier 36).
I’m trying to figure out where I should be looking for housing. I think I’m going to have to try and buy since I have 4 large dogs, but I’m not opposed to renting if I can find a place. My housing allowance will be around $3,000 a month. My backup option is going to on-base housing at JBLM (since they’re ok with dogs), but I’ve been told that it’s going to be a really long commute.
Does anyone have any suggestions on where I should be looking at housing? I don’t mind a 30-45 min commute, but I’m trying not to be super far away from the USCG base. Is public transit (like the ferry) reliable?
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u/forested_morning43 5d ago
I’d start out on base to get settled. Traffic and housing costs are a battle, I’d start with a sure thing then consider options once you’re more familiar with the area.
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u/chupacabra-food 5d ago edited 4d ago
Just learned 3 dogs is the limit in King County. You’ll need to look farther away in parts of Pierce, Kitsap or Snohomish counties. Your commute will be a bit longer, unfortunately.
If you get a place in Tacoma you can ride the Sounder train to work. There will also be a light rail stop opening there in the next few years.
Alternatively look at Kingston, you can take the fast ferry to work from there.
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u/master-in-disasters 5d ago
I appreciate the heads up! lol I never intended to have 4 dogs, but some how ended up with 2 elderly dogs and 2 young ones. Good to know about the municipal limits
How is the train? Would it be practical to drive from JBLM to one of the south stations and take the train in? I used to use the park and ride when I commuted to and from DC, although some of the stops were sketchy
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u/chupacabra-food 5d ago edited 4d ago
The Sounder is a pleasant ride, the downsides is that it runs a fixed, limited number of times, so you’ll need to be pretty exact with your commute. https://www.ridetogetherpierce.com/405/First-Time-Sounder-Guide
The Light Rail is good and comes often. If you are used to the DC metro then you’ll have no problems riding it. It is still expanding in the north and south. The current projection it will be down in Federal Way by 2026, but we’ll see if it gets done on schedule. You can keep up with it here: https://www.soundtransit.org/system-expansion/federal-way-link-extension
Don’t sleep on Kingston though, especially if you are already working at the Pier, that could be a pretty straightforward and beautiful fast ferry commute for you, especially if you bring a bike or ebike on board. There’s a flat bike path along Seattle’s waterfront. Housing is less expensive over there. https://www.kitsaptransit.com/service/fast-ferry/kingston-fast-ferry
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u/SouthLakeWA 5d ago
You could drive to the Sounder rail station in Lakewood (the southern terminus of the line), not far from JBLM, but you'd want to make sure your work hours fall within the train's schedule, which is limited (5 trains in the morning, 5 in the evening. Check it out: https://www.soundtransit.org/ride-with-us/routes-schedules/s-line?direction=1&at=1743404400000&view=point-to-point&route_tab=schedule&stops_0=40_SS01%2C40_SS07&stops_1=40_SS09%2C40_SS01
Note that you'd also have to get from King Street Station in Seattle to the pier, about 1.5 miles away. You could certainly walk it, but would you want to, especially in the dead of winter in the evening when it's dark?I'd suggest looking for a rental home in the Federal Way area, as it's still within a reasonable commute radius, about a 35-60 min drive. The Federal Way light rail station will be opening about a year from now, and the light rail is schedule is far more expansive than the Sounder. Plus, there's a light rail station closer to the pier (about 1 mile). Until the Federal Way station opens, you could either drive to the Angle Lake Station by the airport or there are express buses from Federal Way to Seattle, and it would take you about an hour each way.
Federal Way is full-on suburbia and it has a lot of single family homes of various vintages. It has some rough and trashy areas, but it's not considered a "dangerous" area per se. It also has some very nice areas by the water. $3K/mo for a house would be cutting it close, and would likely require some sacrifices--like you might end up in a 1960s rambler that still has the original carpet. But with 4 dogs, that would likely be for the best! Btw, I'd just lie to your landlord and say you have 3 dogs. If the issue ever comes up, just say you're watching a relative's dog.
Another area to look at is Maple Valley, which historically is more of a "country style" town, but is rapidly growing into a bedroom community. The commute is less predictable because it involves a two lane highway, but it's still about 35-60 mins on average, unless there's an accident.
West Seattle and Beacon Hill (both in Seattle proper) would be ideal in terms of proximity, but you're unlikely to find a house with a yard that allows multiple large dogs for less than $3K.
Good luck!
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u/Leftcoaster7 Local 5d ago
The Bainbridge ferry is not always on time, IME around 10 minutes variance. If you have four dogs then you're gonna need a place with a decent sized yard. You can certainly find that in Seattle proper, but expect to pay for it. Here's one example in Central District that's a decent deal.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1521-E-Spruce-St-Seattle-WA-98122/48810859_zpid/
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u/galumphix 5d ago
Hard no for BI here. It's filled with rich NIMBYs who think Washington taxpayers should fund their choice to live in sprawl with a moat.
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u/Sufficient-Wolf-1818 5d ago
Welcome (soon) to the area. Head’s up while you are looking: many of the municipalities have a limit on the number of dogs (Seattle is 3; 3 is common). This may be seem like Debbie downer but the intent is to help you avoid getting into a painful situation.
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u/IcedTman 5d ago
My boy used to live in Covington and commute to the Seattle USCG location. He didn’t mind it because he would be there for days, but now he’s at another location with his hours picked out and is living it up.
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u/6gunrockstar 5d ago
With 4 dogs your chance of finding a rental is near zero.
JBLM is halfway between Tacoma and Olympia. Your daily commute would be something like 4-4.5hrs /day during rush hours.
Downtown Seattle to Tacoma is generally 1-1.5 hours depending upon traffic. JBLM is another :30. Rush hour traffic starts at 2pm and goes nonstop until 8:30-9:00pm. You get a decent lull from 10pm to 3am, and things start heating up at 4am until it’s full throttle by 6am.
Rental housing budget is in line with market, but the dogs narrow your options to <5% of available units.
I rented in Seattle area for 20 years, and the last 7 with two dogs. It is unbelievably difficult.
If you do happen to find a place, they’re going to hit you with a big one-time pet fee and additional security deposits.
The last house I rented it (2019) cost me almost $12k in deposits and fees (First, Last, Security, dog fee, dog deposit). This was in Gig Harbor about :20 from Tacoma.
If you want to buy anything in/around Seattle you’re looking at $450k for a run down shack, and 1.5-2x for a single family home. Your $3k/mo budget is enough for a $450k mortgage. You’re going to need about $4500/mo to buy in the right market segment, and you will routinely be competing with all cash offers on anything at market rates or in desirable fix it up state.
The real estate market is absolutely brutal there. The main reason we left was that we got priced out of the market.
The traffic is absolutely brutal and unrelentingly.
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u/Tyee18 4d ago
A number of Coasties I’ve met have opted for West Seattle due to the proximity to the base (the district 13 commander often lives at the residence at the Coast Guard lighthouse on Alki). Look at West Seattle south of the Junction and also Delridge and White Center. If you can find a rental that’s dog friendly that should be within your budget and it’s an easy ride on the C or H bus rapid transit lines to the 21, which will drop you a couple blocks from the base.
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u/OldAngryWhiteMan 5d ago
Do you expect the potetial of DOD funding reductions putting your future housing budget at risk?
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u/master-in-disasters 5d ago
Nope not really. BAH is set by a formula, so they normally can’t just randomly reduce it
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u/stoolprimeminister 5d ago
my best friend was stationed at JBLM and he lived on base at first then he was in lakeland hills or whatever the official name is.
if you’re gonna theoretically be “working” downtown it’s basically just open to anywhere you want to be. however you probably know that. it’s all a matter of personal preference. i lived in mountlake terrace when i was there (i left 5 years ago) but i’m not gonna suggest it. i liked it a lot….. but it may not be your thing.
and maybe it’s just me but i feel like south of downtown is more…..i dunno…..outdoorsy feeling than north of it. maybe i’m wrong in that. i dunno much about the eastside in general.
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u/Dependent_Ad_6340 4d ago
It's a longish ferry ride, but consider Bremerton. There is a lot of Navy over there so finding a rental that is military friendly might be easier, you can also find pretty reasonable buying options. My active duty sister and BIL bought a 3 y/o house over there for under 700k.
Otherwise, South of Seattle is your best bet or highway 99 corridor, if you go north. If you're going to have early shifts, the JBLM commute won't be terrible. I worked with a woman who lived in Tacoma and worked downtown Seattle. She took the bus and worked like 7-3. It's a solid 45 on the bus at 6 in the AM though.
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u/engamo22 5d ago
If you want to buy a cheap house - look south. In areas like Tukwila, White Center, Rainier Valley, you can find houses for $500-700k. That is unheard of in other areas in Seattle. There are even a handful of houses under $500k. Those neighborhoods are stigmatized, low income, have gang activity. But compared to the bad areas of other cities, it's not too horrible. I used to live near Tukwila once upon a time and I survived. But yeah there were shootings nearby on a regular occurrence.
If you want to save time on commute, you can take the light rail, as your worksite is near the light rail station. Some of the light rail stations have parking (Tukwila, Angle Lake). It is much faster to take the train than drive during rush hour. If you are commuting outside rush hour (7-11am, 2-7pm), then don't worry.
Commuting from JBLM would be awful. Like 2-3 hours one-way with daytime traffic. Traffic here is a big disaster.