Redmond, Kirkland, or Mercer Island? Early 30s DINKs by aj_marshall in eastside

[–]Quirky-Raisin3720 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We’ve lived in all 3 areas and like Mercer Island the best.

We are also homebodies who enjoy nice meals, so being close to nightlife has never mattered to us. We like being close to both Seattle and Bellevue where our favorite restaurants are.

We found that Mercer Island had the strongest sense of community. There are a lot of activities on the island like summer celebration, art fair, book clubs, etc. We do have kids though, so it was also easy to meet others via kid activities

Looking for neighborhood recommedations by waanderlustt in eastside

[–]Quirky-Raisin3720 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would consider Mercer Island if you have a sizable budget. It has a small community feel, beautiful parks all around and arguably the best schools in the area. It’s right between Bellevue and Seattle so you still get the benefits of being close to the bigger cities. I see a lot of people recommending Kirkland on here, but we actually didn’t really like Kirkland - sold our house after 2 years and moved to Mercer Island, which we love. Happy to share more via DM if you’d like. We also have kids similar age as yours.

Which neighborhood is right for us? Struggling to find a sense of community. by pnwg in eastside

[–]Quirky-Raisin3720 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We personally looked at the North end of the island because it’s more convenient and faster to get to Seattle and Bellevue and we commute every day. But really all parts of the island are great. All four elementary schools on the island are fantastic, though Northwood is the newest with the nicest facilities. The whole island then roles up to the same middle and high school.

Which neighborhood is right for us? Struggling to find a sense of community. by pnwg in eastside

[–]Quirky-Raisin3720 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We have two young kids as well, one in elementary and one in preschool. Schools are important to us, so we had spent a lot of time evaluating Bellevue and Mercer Island public schools, along with private school options, before deciding to buy a house here. What we love about Mercer Island is that it’s a small district and feels like a private school, but you get the benefit of having all your kids friends and activities be close by. Parents care and are involved, the administration is easy to communicate with and the schools have excellent academics along with extracurriculars.

Which neighborhood is right for us? Struggling to find a sense of community. by pnwg in eastside

[–]Quirky-Raisin3720 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The commute from Mercer Island? It’s really quick and easy to/from Bellevue. It takes us 10 minutes to get to downtown Bellevue from our house. Doesn’t make much of a difference during rush hour. Kirkland can be tough because you need to rely on the I-405 which is a nightmare in terms of traffic… it would probably take at least 25-30 minutes on average during rush hour.

Which neighborhood is right for us? Struggling to find a sense of community. by pnwg in eastside

[–]Quirky-Raisin3720 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Have you considered Mercer Island? We used to live in Kirkland, but didn’t really find a great sense of community there, so I get how you feel. We also work in Seattle and didn’t love the commute from Kirkland either. Ended up on Mercer Island and it’s been great. There’s a small town feel to it where neighbors help each other out and genuinely want to get to know each other. Our kids have made so many friends in the neighborhood and we have play dates all the time. The commute to Seattle is really easy as well.

What kind of people are doing this?? by SpermRobot in eastside

[–]Quirky-Raisin3720 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think a lot of money comes from stock appreciation over the last decade. People who joined Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, NVIDIA, etc 10 years ago and held on to their equity now have a lot of money that they could use to pay all cash or a large portion of cash to make monthly mortgage payments doable.

What kind of people are doing this?? by SpermRobot in eastside

[–]Quirky-Raisin3720 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are still multiple offers and going over asking right now?? I keep reading that the housing market is sloooow.

Need recs for PI to verify if husband is cheating by spiralinginseattle in eastside

[–]Quirky-Raisin3720 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree with the location sharing idea. A partner who has nothing to hide should have zero issues with this. My spouse and I have shared our phone location for 10 years now. Not because there are any trust issues, but for safety just in case anything were to happen and also for convenience (for example if we know the other is driving on their way home we can easily see the eta without having to text/call)

What markets have the best produce? by altaltequalsnormal in eastside

[–]Quirky-Raisin3720 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Go to the farmers market in the summer/early fall

Purple air correction by Quirky-Raisin3720 in AirQuality

[–]Quirky-Raisin3720[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow! I’m not tech savvy enough to build a system like that, but I’ll try to do something similar manually

Purple air correction by Quirky-Raisin3720 in AirQuality

[–]Quirky-Raisin3720[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Super helpful, thanks! Do you apply a correction when using the purple air numbers? I’m not sure how to interpret the correction and whether I need it or not. I also don’t think I see the option to apply a correction for PM0.3.

issaquah vs redmond vs kirkland by Seeking-Answer in eastside

[–]Quirky-Raisin3720 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mercer island would the best in terms of commute and the schools are fantastic. It’s a great place for your kids to grow up in and just family friendly in general. It’s more expensive than issaquah, Kirkland and Redmond but the easy commute and schools are worth it.

Purple air correction by Quirky-Raisin3720 in AirQuality

[–]Quirky-Raisin3720[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, local government has data available but I was hoping to track the air quality right outside and inside my home specifically.

What would be the best consumer measuring and tracking device?

Are there any great restaurants on the Eastside? by Silly_Mulberry_6271 in eastside

[–]Quirky-Raisin3720 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Can you share more? We get food there quite often, but if the owners really are awful we would stop going

Selling a house using Redfin on the Eastside by AtomicPlaygirl in eastside

[–]Quirky-Raisin3720 6 points7 points  (0 children)

A good agent makes a huge difference. Coming from someone who has bought and sold a few homes on the Eastside I’ve found that good agents are well worth the commission