If you just got a job offer from companies like Amazon, Meta, Google, or Boeing and have to relocate to Seattle but aren’t sure where to live, let me help you.
In this post, I’ll tell you all the reasons why you should consider moving to the East Side or Snohomish County instead of living in Seattle downtown.
First, let me explain to you what we consider the East Side of Seattle.
We use Lake Washington to track, so the East Side of Seattle is where Kirkland, Bellevue, and Redmon are located, or in other words, where you’re going to find the companies Google, Meta, and Microsoft.
Living In The East Side
For those working at Google building in Kirkland, you might want to consider cities like Bothell or Woodinville. To commute to these cities, you’re going to use roads like Hwy 405 and Woodinville Dr 522, having a 30-minute drive.
Bothell is known for being home to the University of Washington Bothell campus, where all the crows fly around and roost overnight.
In Woodinville, you’ll be in the wine capital of the area, with places you can go to do wine tasting or places like Chateau St. Michelle which often offers live music concerts. This city has been receiving a lot of improvements lately.
But if you have the schedule, towns like Alderwood Manor, Martha Lake, or Mill Creek in Snohomish County are the better choices and are only going to add 5 to 10 minutes into this drive on a Monday morning.
Let me tell you a little bit more about these towns.
Alderwood Manor is where you’re going to find all the shopping, since is where Alderwood Mall is located, offering tons of stores like Nordstrom and Macy’s, and dining places like PF Chaing’s and Claim Jumper.
Martha Lake has two lakes nearby and a wide variety of homes, while Mill Creek is more of a planted community with lots of sidewalks and golf clubs.
At Bellevue, you have Rd 520, Hwy 405, and 90 to commute, but depending on which neighborhood you live in, it can take 20 minutes to get to the actual road to commute to Seattle.
Here, you have areas like Yarrow Point, Hunts Point, Clyde Hill, and Medina, which can be super expensive when it comes to finding a home since is an area where most wealthy choose to live.
Bellevue in general is an expensive area, offering very high-end malls like Bellevue Square and other commercial areas with fancy stories. You also have Overlake Medical Center, a non-profit healthcare system.
To commute in Redmond, you have to use Rd 520, but living in the city is also a great choice, especially with downtown under construction and the roads getting improvements.
Around there, you’ve got a place called Bridal Trails, with large lots to choose from and places where you can do horseriding.
Commuting To Seattle Using The Bridges
Whether you choose a place on the East Side, the commute to Seattle will be mainly through the Rd 520 bridge and the Hwy 90 bridge.
At the Rd 520 bridge, you’ll have traffic that fluctuates based on the time of the day, while the Hwy 90 bridge has more lineage and tends to not get as crowded.
Other options to commute without using the bridges are through Rd 405, but it can take way longer to arrive than using the bridges.
OneHome Portal
To help you out even more, you can use our custom portal to help you check all the home options in the greater area of Seattle.
There, you can see the available homes throughout the area and personalize your preferences, whether you want a home within 30 minutes from downtown or the average price you’re looking for the places nearby you want to have, the school districts, and things the home must have, like how many beds and baths.
You can also make a simulation of how much your monthly housing costs would be, for example, change the interest rates and the home insurance to check the estimated monthly cost.
Very intuitive, this portal can help you keep track of homes that got your attention by marking them as “liked” or the homes you don’t want to see by marking them as “dislike”, or choosing some homes to compare them.
Living In Snohomish County
Now, let’s discuss more about the areas in Snohomish County you should consider if you’re going to work in Seattle or the East Side.
First, we have Bothell as a great option, a city that boasts nightlife and things to do.
Residents often go to the Sammamish River for kayaking, and the city offers tons of dining options, has the Bothell Landing Park that’s simply gorgeous, and so much more. Bothell is also pretty well located, right in a major intersection of Rd 522 and Hwy 405, and it takes less than 30 minutes to arrive in downtown Seattle or Kirkland, Bellevue, and Redmond.
Next, we have Snohomish, with awesome antique places and that typical small-town feeling.
Is a town with local food places from sandwich shops to fine dining restaurants like Fred’s Rivertown Alehouse, Toto Mexico; antique shops, an Aquatic Center, and a farmer’s market during summer, besides all sorts of rivers and creeks.
Snohomish is the perfect spot for those seeking a slower pace of life, walkable streets, and a very tight-knit community. The town has really old Victorian-style homes and gives you access to Rd 9 and I-2.
Last, we have Lake Stevens, with a lot of shopping options nearby.
This quiet and beautiful town is highly recommended for those working in Everett since you can jump right into I-2 and arrive there in no time without having to worry about traffic. Is also a town with a very good school district that many families consider when relocating.
The greater Seattle area has a lot of places to choose from if you don’t want to live inside the downtown craziness but need to be around for work.
My OneHome Portal is a tool that was planned to help you through the process of finding and buying a home, and I hope it can help you make your relocating an easy task.
So, if you need to relocate, make sure to check the OneHome Portal and consider moving to Snohomish County and its tons of amazing living options.
Either way, my team and I would love to be your real estate agency of choice and help you like we’ve helped over 500 people buy & sell their houses in Snohomish County. All you have to do is contact us at
Tel: 425-366-9353
Have more questions or want to learn more about this area? Then make sure to download my Snohomish County neighborhood guide by clicking here. It includes 50 years of local experience information that you won’t find online.
You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel to get new videos about living in Snohomish County and stay updated with everything from home marketing to personal opinions about this amazing area I call home.