Seattle ATOTers - what neighborhoods would you recommend?

[Pollock]

I'm moving to Seattle in a couple months with my SO, and we're really excited! I'll be at the Microsoft campus in Redmond, and my SO will be working in Bellevue.

So, I was hoping for some advice on where to live! We considered living on the east side in Kirkland to optimize for commute, but I think we want to live in the city proper for a while first. I'll be commuting via bus or MS Connector, and my SO will be commuting at off-peak hours, so hopefully it's not terrible for her. I've read about a lot of the neighborhoods, and so far I know we're not interested in Capitol Hill, Belltown, U-District, or Magnolia.

Things to consider:
• We're both graduating and are tired of the "student ghetto" life
• We want a quieter neighborhood (tired of drunk people screaming at 2am)
• We have 2 cars, so it would be nice not to shell out tons for parking
• Being able to walk to grocery store, coffee shops, a couple of bars would be nice

So far it seems like Ballard, Fremont, Wallingford, or Phinney Ridge might be good fits (or maybe Queen Anne but $$$). Any thoughts?

 

[DaveSimmons]

If you change our mind about the Eastside, I live in downtown Bellevue myself and it's nice:
http://www.avaloncommunities.com/washington/bellevue-apartments/avalon-towers-bellevue/

I can walk to 2 grocery stores, a bunch of restaurants, shopping, and the bus transit center. You could sell one of the cars to save on parking, insurance and mainteance.

Bellevue is almost always quiet at night, though once a great while you will have a loud drunk after the bars close. It's very much the exception, and being a yuppie town we have a polite and effective police force.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

So far it seems like Ballard, Fremont, Wallingford, or Phinney Ridge might be good fits (or maybe Queen Anne but $$$). Any thoughts?

Any of those would be pretty good. My preference would be Ballard. I live in Greenwood, so it's a bit further north, but I can leave my car at home and hop one bus and be in Ballard. From there it's just a short jump over the bridge into Queen Anne and Belltown if you wanna go out somewhere else on the weekends.