Author Topic: Moving from Europe to Seattle  (Read 10462 times)

bigotuda

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Moving from Europe to Seattle
« on: March 08, 2015, 02:37:19 PM »
Hi! I have never been active in the forums but my husband and I have been lurking for years now. We're facing a big challenge and would really value your input.

Through my husband's job, we're going to relocate to Seattle from Europe in about 3 months. We've never been in Seattle before so we have a lot of questions. We have a 1 year old son.

We have friends who have moved there before us and we have lived abroad before (in Europe though), so we are not scared of the whole "moving far away" thing.

My husband's company is located in the center of Seattle (South Lake Union). Ideally I would like him to walk/take a bus to work. Where should we live? Lower Queen Anne sounds good but we don't have any references. Do you have other suggestions? Our acquaintances are either families living in the suburbs (not for us) or DINK couples who go out a lot (not for us), so we need extra mustachian advice. I will look for a job once we've settled and will try to look for something near his workplace.

We have been looking online for prices and the normal price for a 1 bedroom apartment seems to be around 1800$. Would it make us look bad if we looked for a 1-bedroom even if we have a kid? Would it make a landlord reject us? We currently live in a 2-bedrooms apartment but our son sleeps with us and we will probably cosleep for a while, so I don't see why we should rent an apartment bigger than we need (at those prices!).

One last question, for now, how should we look for an apartment? Craiglist? Stroll around the neighborhood and call if we see "for rent" signs? The first month we get an apartment arranged by the company.

Thank you in advance for your help!

gordon_eu

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #1 on: March 08, 2015, 03:40:54 PM »
Such an adventure, bigotuda! Hope some seahawks will help you out! :)

Sayyadina

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #2 on: March 08, 2015, 03:47:00 PM »
We just moved to Seattle from Victoria, BC in the last week, so I have some idea what you're going through! I'm at Microsoft, though, so from what I've heard our relocation package is a little more comprehesive than your husband's will be (I have a pretty good idea what large tech company is south of Lake Union!).

We also have temporary housing, and for the past month or so I've been scanning around http://www.padmapper.com/ to get a sense of housing. It aggregates a bunch of different rental sites, and has some cool features like "only show me places that are in a 30 minute walk to work". We've picked out a couple areas that we've specifically asked our relocation specialist aboutt for more information. One of the interesting things she told us is that it usually only takes a couple days to get a place (in Canada, we usually move at the 1st of the month, but that's not true here) with a background/credit check. I would be surprised if they care about how your family prefers to live, but I'm not too sure since we have no kids.

Living in the west side of Seattle can be expensive. My friends here highly recommend the Capitol Hill area, but the prices are similar to what you've seen (and I definitely don't want to cross that bridge on the commute).

Be aware that unless you are from Germany, you will have to do a full written and driving test to get a license here. We're lucky, being from BC, but the only foreign licenses that Washington State accepts are BC, Canada and Germany. I have no idea why.

If you have any other, more specific, questions, please feel free to reach out! We are literally going through all of the moving things right now and I would be happy to share anything else we learn.

Paul der Krake

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #3 on: March 08, 2015, 03:54:24 PM »
We have been looking online for prices and the normal price for a 1 bedroom apartment seems to be around 1800$. Would it make us look bad if we looked for a 1-bedroom even if we have a kid? Would it make a landlord reject us? We currently live in a 2-bedrooms apartment but our son sleeps with us and we will probably cosleep for a while, so I don't see why we should rent an apartment bigger than we need (at those prices!).
In most situations, you are allowed to have a maximum of (n * 2) + 1 occupants, where n is the number of bedrooms. Any landlord worth his salt should know better than to ask about your family situation or any of the 7 protected classes in federal housing law, so no worries there.

thef0x

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #4 on: March 08, 2015, 03:56:13 PM »
I would def go 1BR.

Queen Anne is a great neighborhood for young families but it is expensive.  OTOH you can walk to anything fun and can get creative about cool free adventures. 

It's a little hard to get to and from via public transport.  Easy to get downtown though!

CHEAP would be Beacon Hill but you'd have to commute for longer. 

Expensive would be Capitol Hill :)  BUT if you're lucky like me you can get a 1BR for $900 :)  A steal given where I live.

Have fun!  I'm pretty new here but it seems like there are a lot of Seattle MMM folks.  Pretty neat :)

Have you considered a house-swap? 

octavius

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #5 on: March 08, 2015, 04:04:12 PM »
Hi bigotuda,

I'm actually new to this forum as well, and was just about to post my own question about saving, when I saw your post, and since I live in Seattle I thought I'd offer some ideas.

Queen Anne is a nice area, fairly urban, upscale, with a lot of apartments, condos, houses, small parks, nice views, restaurants, coffee shops, grocery stores, etc.  It is probably on the more expensive end of the scale, due to its location. I'd say yes, he could walk to work from there, depending on how far he is willing to walk and which part of QA you live in.

You also mentioned the bus, and that opens up a lot more options. Seattle has fairly good bus service for many parts of the city, and a number of buses pass through the South Lake Union area from other parts of the city.  If you check out this map, there are many neighborhoods north of Lake Union (Wallingford, Ballard, Ravenna, Green Lake, Maple Leaf, Roosevelt), that are probably within a 30 minute bus ride (or bike commute) to/from South Lake Union.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Seattle,+WA/@47.6626181,-122.3475788,13z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x5490102c93e83355:0x102565466944d59a

I'd say all of those might be good options if you want to find a slightly less expensive apartment.  There is also Magnolia, which is west of Queen Anne, and there is the East Lake neighborhood on the east side of Lake Union. If you like urban life and high rise apartments, there will probably also be many options around South Lake Union and in Belltown.

I haven't rented an apartment in many years, sounds like it can be competitive now (I live in a house in North Seattle).

If it were me, and if you have the time, I'd try AirBnB and rent a few places for a few days in different parts of town, to see how you like them.  I'm actually doing this very thing right now in San Diego -- as I'd like to relocate here one day :)

Cheers and good luck
« Last Edit: March 08, 2015, 04:07:02 PM by octavius »

Squashy

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #6 on: March 08, 2015, 06:11:17 PM »
North of Lake Union things can be slightly cheaper. I live in Roosevelt in a 2BR under $1600, for example, though rents are climbing quickly here too. Craigslist and Padmapper are both good resources. If you don't know the city at all, check out a place like https://www.walkscore.com to get a sense for how walkable neighborhoods are.

I've found the Seattle bus to be ok but not amazing. During peak traffic hours they can be very very delayed. You might want to look into the metro rideshare programs if you end up living a bit further from work:
http://metro.kingcounty.gov/tops/van-car/van-car.html
Some companies will even cover this as part of benefits.

Best of luck with the move and apartment hunting!

Exflyboy

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #7 on: March 08, 2015, 06:54:06 PM »
Does you Hubby's company not provide accomodation?

I moved from the UK to Corvallis Oregon back in 97.. Best thing I ever did..:)

Good luck with the move.

Ricky

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #8 on: March 08, 2015, 07:23:52 PM »
I'm guessing Amazon?

I've only visited Seattle briefly but I made a point to check out many neighborhoods while I was there.

Why not just live in SLU? It was probably my favorite spot in Seattle. There's lots of new construction and of course beautiful views of the lake and surrounding houses.

I can understand you wanting to live in Queen Anne. It's much more residential with a general older/family vibe (if not a little pretentious), but still close to the action. As others have said, it's definitely not cheap! Then again, LQA may be slightly cheaper than it's Northern sister.

Belltown is affordable and is definitely the younger type of neighborhood. I really don't know why it's so relatively cheap given it's proximity to everything. If you're looking for a deal, it's probably there.

Capitol Hill is either very residential or very hipster, not a lot of in between. And expensive. I'd avoid it, personally. I stayed there during my time and it was nice, but I just wouldn't want to be there long term. It's the loudest at night.

I really like Hotpads.com - I don't think it's owned by, but is in cahoots with Zillow so it's my favorite of all of the apartment hunting sites.
« Last Edit: March 08, 2015, 07:30:09 PM by Ricky »

ryanthequark

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #9 on: March 08, 2015, 07:27:13 PM »
I currently live in the U District, and I concur with the other posters: both craigslist and padmapper can be good search options; rental rates are quickly rising all over the city.

However I currently pay $450/month for a one bedroom apartment two blocks north of the university (where I'm finishing my doctorate), with great views of the Cascades.

Why so cheap? Because I work as the housing manager here. It takes me a few hours a month (this varies by season, of course: more time during rental season), and my responsibilities are mild: there are only 12 people living in this house, and the landlord doesn't ask me to do maintenance (he has a guy for that).

Given where your husband is likely to be working (I have an idea where that is, too) he probably won't have time to work as a building manager. But if you're going to look for work anyway, why not you? The hours are flexible, which is nice. The reduction in rent is tax free, so all of it goes straight to your bottom line. And many of the larger places offer completely free accommodations, so you may not have to pay anything at all.

I personally know of one building downtown that's going to be looking for a new building manager in August. And another two buildings in the U District that may/may not be available. PM me if you'd like me to put you in touch.

octavius

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #10 on: March 08, 2015, 07:42:21 PM »

One more thought about commuting alternatives... if your husband can kayak, and if you lived near the shore on the north side of Lake Union... he could kayak to work.  I'd say that would qualify him for honorable mention in the web site's badassity department. 

Cressida

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #11 on: March 08, 2015, 08:16:51 PM »
Bus service to South Lake Union is not great. The commuter buses go downtown, so he'd have to get off downtown and then walk or take the streetcar to work. The non-commuter buses (i.e. milk runs) take forever, especially in the evenings. Either way, it's going to eat up a lot of time. I'd recommend looking for a place close enough to walk. I'm not familiar with the rental market, though, so I don't know which of the closer neighborhoods would be best.

octavius

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #12 on: March 08, 2015, 08:29:00 PM »
The #66 Express will take you from 65th and Roosevelt to Eastlake and Mercer in 18 minutes in morning rush hour. It isn'a a milk run and it doesn't go through downtown. 

  66 DOWNTOWN SEATTLE EXPRESS
  Leaving at 7:38a
  Stop # 16440     Roosevelt Way Ne & Ne 65th St (SB)
  Arriving at 7:56a
  Stop # 9300     Eastlake Ave E & Mercer St (SB)

The return trip, in rush hour, is 24 minutes

  66 NORTHGATE EXPRESS
  Leaving at 6:21p
  Stop # 9400     Eastlake Ave E & Mercer St (NB)
  Arriving at 6:45p
  Stop # 23560     12th Ave Ne & Ne 65th St (NB)

Walking is great, but not everybody wants to live in SLU or on QA, just describing some options to the OP.

This metro bus website is very handy  http://m.tripplanner.kingcounty.gov/hiwire

Though, as MMM would say, cycling there would be great, and would keep him in better shape. 
« Last Edit: March 08, 2015, 11:19:31 PM by octavius »

Amesenator

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #13 on: March 08, 2015, 10:31:23 PM »
Hi there, the housing recommendations offered are right on, so I'll not duplicate those points, but simply mention a resource that might be helpful to you and your little one. Seattle Central Community College, on Capitol Hill, has for many years run an outstanding cooperative early childhood nursery school program. It attracts a very engaged group of parents and would provide you and your little one a great access point for making friends/connections: http://www.parentchildcenterseattle.org/Classes.htm.

Good luck with the move!

Thedudeabides

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #14 on: March 08, 2015, 11:02:46 PM »
Great points above.

In addition to the neighborhoods mentioned earlier in the thread, there are also some neighborhoods located South of downtown. Beacon Hill was previously mentioned and is on the Link light rail line. The Link light rail line terminates downtown and it's an easy walk and/or street car ride to SLU. Columbia City is also on the light rail line and is a charming neighborhood.

Good luck with the move!

seattlecyclone

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #15 on: March 08, 2015, 11:14:56 PM »
We have been looking online for prices and the normal price for a 1 bedroom apartment seems to be around 1800$. Would it make us look bad if we looked for a 1-bedroom even if we have a kid? Would it make a landlord reject us? We currently live in a 2-bedrooms apartment but our son sleeps with us and we will probably cosleep for a while, so I don't see why we should rent an apartment bigger than we need (at those prices!).
In most situations, you are allowed to have a maximum of (n * 2) + 1 occupants, where n is the number of bedrooms. Any landlord worth his salt should know better than to ask about your family situation or any of the 7 protected classes in federal housing law, so no worries there.

In Seattle there is no legal limit to how many related people can live in a one-bedroom apartment.

Anything within walking distance of Amazon headquarters is going to be quite expensive though. If you're willing to tolerate a 20-30 minute bus ride, you can get a bigger place for less money. Check out this bus map of Seattle for some ideas. As others have said, many bus routes will make you transfer downtown to get to SLU. Some routes that go reasonably close to there include 40 (goes right through SLU) 26, 28, 66, 70, 5, 16, and E. In addition to the 66X that octavius mentioned earlier, the 26 and 28 also have express versions during commute hours that run pretty quickly. Living close to one of these routes will make the bus commute pretty manageable. Try to stay south of 85th St if you can afford it; your commute will be shorter and your neighborhood is likely to be more walkable.

It's nice that you will have temporary housing for a month. That will give you some time to look around neighborhoods a bit before you commit to living somewhere for a year or more.

Do check out the floating homes on Lake Union if you were intrigued by the kayaking idea. :-)

Cressida

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #16 on: March 08, 2015, 11:37:31 PM »
The #66 Express will take you from 65th and Roosevelt to Eastlake and Mercer in 18 minutes in morning rush hour. It isn'a a milk run and it doesn't go through downtown. 

  66 DOWNTOWN SEATTLE EXPRESS
  Leaving at 7:38a
  Stop # 16440     Roosevelt Way Ne & Ne 65th St (SB)
  Arriving at 7:56a
  Stop # 9300     Eastlake Ave E & Mercer St (SB)

The return trip, in rush hour, is 24 minutes

  66 NORTHGATE EXPRESS
  Leaving at 6:21p
  Stop # 9400     Eastlake Ave E & Mercer St (NB)
  Arriving at 6:45p
  Stop # 23560     12th Ave Ne & Ne 65th St (NB)

Walking is great, but not everybody wants to live in SLU or on QA, just describing some options to the OP.

This metro bus website is very handy  http://m.tripplanner.kingcounty.gov/hiwire

Though, as MMM would say, cycling there would be great, and would keep him in better shape.

The problem is that buses leaving SLU don't leave on time and are unpredictable and late and don't follow the schedule even after departing. I know this because I have many hours of experience with them. To say that "the return trip is 24 minutes" might be accurate according to the printed schedule but is a fantasy in real life.

ShortInSeattle

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #17 on: March 09, 2015, 01:26:16 AM »
Seattle isn't huge, so if you'd like to be close to work I recommend surveying the area on foot. Take a few weekends, walk around, and wander right into the leasing offices and ask to see available units in your price range.  Because you want to be close, start with south lake union, belltown, queen anne, and capitol hill.  Then push out further only if needed.

Seattle is a great place to live, and downtown is very walkable. There are great parks and cheap entertainment abounds. Welcome to our fair city!

http://www.seattlerentals.com/ is a pretty good site for downtown core rentals.

SIS

bigotuda

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #18 on: March 09, 2015, 01:54:28 PM »
Wow! Thanks a lot for your replies!

He is definitely not kayaking to Amazon :-)

I still need to study all your answers, but at least we have something to start with! Thank your for all the links and resources.

Also thank you for the cooperative early childhood nursery school program suggestion. I have been looking into it and will post more questions in the mini mustache category.

We have been renting for many years now and we were both surprised that landlords don't care/can't ask how you plan to live or how many people will live in an apartment! Unless we end up in a cheaper neighborhood (which we will study given your advice), we will go for a 1-BR.

We will let you know how it goes!


PawPrint3520

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #19 on: March 12, 2015, 09:46:07 AM »
While living in SLU or downtown is convenient for your DH, I don't think it would be very convenient for the person who does the grocery shopping or runs the errands. We rent a 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment in Ballard for $1755 (inc. parking, W/S/G). We are within a couple of blocks of a library branch, two grocery stores, schools, a post office, and several parks. The Burke-Gilman trail (bike commuting) is nearby. We're able to walk just about everywhere we need to go so we seldom use the car. My DH gets a free bus pass from his company, and I have a discounted pass. Bus commuting, however, is kind of spendy at $3.50 a ride during peak hours so that's something to consider if your DH isn't into bike commuting and Amazon doesn't offer free bus passes (they should!). Lots of things to think about. . .

seattlecyclone

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #20 on: March 12, 2015, 10:56:41 AM »
While living in SLU or downtown is convenient for your DH, I don't think it would be very convenient for the person who does the grocery shopping or runs the errands. We rent a 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment in Ballard for $1755 (inc. parking, W/S/G). We are within a couple of blocks of a library branch, two grocery stores, schools, a post office, and several parks. The Burke-Gilman trail (bike commuting) is nearby. We're able to walk just about everywhere we need to go so we seldom use the car. My DH gets a free bus pass from his company, and I have a discounted pass. Bus commuting, however, is kind of spendy at $3.50 a ride during peak hours so that's something to consider if your DH isn't into bike commuting and Amazon doesn't offer free bus passes (they should!). Lots of things to think about. . .

I'm not sure where you got that $3.50 number from. Most buses in the city are operated by King County Metro and they charge $2.75 during peak hours and $2.50 off-peak (there was just a 25¢ price increase this month). Sound Transit operates some express buses; only those that cross county lines (i.e. buses to Everett or Tacoma) cost $3.50. Their in-county routes cost $2.50 all day long.

Amazon offered free bus passes when I worked there a few years ago. I doubt they've stopped since I left. Even if I had to pay full price for my bus pass, it's a lot cheaper than owning another car.

SeattleStache

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #21 on: March 12, 2015, 11:39:27 AM »
I also work at a "large tech company" in SLU and live on First Hill. It's a mile walk to work and close to Capitol Hill and downtown. I love my commute!  I think apartments are slightly more affordable on First Hill than on Capitol Hill and it is a bit further from the bars so it is quieter as well. It is really easy to live car-free there which I appreciate.  There's Zipcars, traditional car rental companies, buses, and Car2Gos everywhere.  There's lots of young kids in my building and neighborhood.  I just noticed a Kindercare on my way to work yesterday so that could be convenient if needed as well.  Good luck!

SailorGirl

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #22 on: March 12, 2015, 11:57:01 AM »
Check out Bainbridge Island. Rents are probably similar and there's that pesky ferry thing, but if you live downtown you wouldn't need a car for shopping and hubby can walk/bike/bus to work in Seattle.

bacchi

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #23 on: March 12, 2015, 12:00:52 PM »
We have been renting for many years now and we were both surprised that landlords don't care/can't ask how you plan to live or how many people will live in an apartment! Unless we end up in a cheaper neighborhood (which we will study given your advice), we will go for a 1-BR.

That's not strictly true. While asking about your familial status* is illegal, a landlord can ask how many will be in the rental. A landlord can also set a maximum limit per bedroom.**

That said, you shouldn't have any problem getting a 1-BR.

*Familial status only means the presence of children. It doesn't mean whether you're married, which isn't a federal protected class.

**Seattle may have more stringent rental laws than the federal laws. See http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/can-i-limit-the-occupants-rental.html

zoltani

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #24 on: March 12, 2015, 12:24:40 PM »
If I were you I would look for a place south of I-90. You will find MUCH cheaper rent there. Around the area there are also lots of cheap ethnic grocery stores. It is more diverse than north of I-90. There is a light rail that will atke you directly downtown, or to the airport, which is convenient. You have the beautiful seward park nearby and lots of close access to beaches on the lake. Lake washington blvd closes to vehicle traffic on certain weekends during the summer so it is fun to walk or bike on at that time, visiting all the different parks, stopping for a picnic. 

Personally I would not live in SLU, it is very bland, and everything there is shiny new. Might be your thing, but for me it just feels like it has no soul.


Thedudeabides

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #25 on: March 12, 2015, 11:32:58 PM »
@zoltani +1

The other advantage to the light rail is that it is not impacted by car traffic. The commute would be much more predictable.

PowerMustache

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Re: Moving from Europe to Seattle
« Reply #26 on: March 13, 2015, 12:41:23 AM »
The #66 Express will take you from 65th and Roosevelt to Eastlake and Mercer in 18 minutes in morning rush hour. It isn'a a milk run and it doesn't go through downtown. 

  66 DOWNTOWN SEATTLE EXPRESS
  Leaving at 7:38a
  Stop # 16440     Roosevelt Way Ne & Ne 65th St (SB)
  Arriving at 7:56a
  Stop # 9300     Eastlake Ave E & Mercer St (SB)

The return trip, in rush hour, is 24 minutes

  66 NORTHGATE EXPRESS
  Leaving at 6:21p
  Stop # 9400     Eastlake Ave E & Mercer St (NB)
  Arriving at 6:45p
  Stop # 23560     12th Ave Ne & Ne 65th St (NB)

Walking is great, but not everybody wants to live in SLU or on QA, just describing some options to the OP.

This metro bus website is very handy  http://m.tripplanner.kingcounty.gov/hiwire

Though, as MMM would say, cycling there would be great, and would keep him in better shape.

The problem is that buses leaving SLU don't leave on time and are unpredictable and late and don't follow the schedule even after departing. I know this because I have many hours of experience with them. To say that "the return trip is 24 minutes" might be accurate according to the printed schedule but is a fantasy in real life.

+1

I have heard many second-hand accounts that the bus from the University area to SLU is TERRIBLE, unpredictable and long, during rush hour.  However, it is a fantastic <30 minute bike ride, highly recommended.

I second taking a look near I-90, like Mt. Baker neighborhood. Great value there. You'll probably save the most $$ going a little farther north to Maple Leaf or Greenwood or Northgate. Ballard is also just the best.  All are manageable by bike commute and much cheaper than very close to SLU. If you NEED to be within walking distance, I'd suggest Belltown.