My boyfriend and I are going to move to Seattle next Fall, and we are planning to live together. However, one of us is going to have to do the bridge commute to work if we want to live together. We will probably not have a car. I know that Microsoft has shuttles and the Scoop app so I'm willing to live a little farther from Redmond since the shuttles and the app are better than public transport. The most important factor would be commute time but we are also considering factors such as cost and how nice the area is and things to do in the area. We are both going to be new grads in our early 20s. I'm looking for opinions on what communities to live in and any insights from people who have lived in the Seattle area, as well as more information on the Microsoft shuttle commute times.
The Connectors (MSFT shuttles) are great, and the reverse commute makes a difference (vs. going with heavy traffic on 520 toward Seattle). What is your commute threshold? Belltown or Capitol Hill might be good options as the shuttle only takes like 30-45 minutes to get over to the Redmond campus. Expect mornings to be faster than PM.
Also, avoid Bellevue. It’s expensive and boring. If you must be on the east side, check out Kirkland.
Thanks for the info! Im hoping to have a 40 min commute max.
I will be renting in Bothell/Kirkland close to 405 route. Is there any shuttle from Bothell 405 route to Microsoft Redmond offices ?
Seattle, Bellevue, Eastgate, Mercer Island are all great options both of you having a reasonable commute.
Yea Seattle for sure. East side is boring.
I am in the same situation. We live in Cap Hill and works pretty well with the connectors. Might be annoying till you get a recurring reservation though.
ooo what's a recurring reservation?
Cap Hill connectors are usually always full. So, you need to be consistent for a few weeks in terms of % of trips you took to the number of trips booked. Once you have that, it will automatically book a slot for you in the connector you want to take everyday.
South of 98033 (north of 98004) is your best bet. Close to the intersection of 520 and 405, so none of you need to use 405 for commute (which has a lot of traffic). Your commute to MS is 7 minutes (and usually no traffic at all). His commute to down town Seattle is 20-25 minutes right on 520.
The commute is much longer than that, especially by bus. If driving it will cost a fortune for tolls + parking.
I’d say choose the eastside - easy to bus directly to downtown from the Eastside (255, runs all day and night, both ways). Highly recommend considering Kirkland. Also should be easy to find a Microsoft shuttle nearby; Redmond is not far at all from Kirkland.
morning commute from eastside to Seattle is generally better than the other way round. I would suggest live on the east side.
Bellevue