Reviews & Comments
Redmond, WA
Just outside Redmond -
11/15/2008Actually, I live outside Redmond Proper in the 98053 zip code. I am a Seattle native who has lived in Hawaii and California. Since I am a retired boomer, I thought I'd add what I think of my little niche neighborhood.
*** "I live in Trilogy (over 50-ish) community. It's beautiful and I like having a clubhouse and like the ability to walk to the grocery store and restaurants (though I usually drive like a REAL American). Pros: We have trees, ponds, and walking trails (actually, they are horse trails). We can drive into Seattle in about 20 minutes, unless it's rush hour. People are friendly. Our area and the multi-age housing (family houses) nearby are an oasis of new development surrounded by farms. The green space is zoned to remain farmland, so the 98053 area is almost rural. Half of the people in our neighborhood have a child who works at Microsoft (down into Redmond Proper and up a hill). My neighbors have come from all over the country to be near kids and grandchildren. We have a lot of clubs, like bridge, pottery, Mah Jhong, Red Hat, Travel Club, Trilogy for Kids (a charity for children) and we have a gym (which I never use...haha). This is a really safe place. The cons: The whole area including the family/all-age housing is brand new and uniform and it's a planned community like Irvine CA, so the houses all look about the same. I moved here from downtown Seattle and I feel like I'm out in the sticks (which can be good or bad depending on the day.) We have no diversity...I like to be around truly "artsy" types...and I have finally found a group of artists but it took a while. You have to have a car, well, actually I sold my car and we are down to one, because a car is the only reasonable way to get to most restaurants and museums. It is cloudy much of the time (duh) and most of us need to go on a cruise to Mexico once or twice during the winter. The good thing is that neighbors have keys and we watch each other's houses and water each other's houseplants. Redmond, in general, is a good place for kids (grandkids) to grow up." ***
And, I really need to say that the traffic is nothing, though it can back up during rush hour (plan accordingly). I've lived in Orange County and LA County. I suppose that our traffic is bad if you are from Kansas.
Union Hill-Novelty Hill, WA
Outside Redmond Proper -
11/15/2008I live in Trilogy (over 50-ish) community. It's beautiful and I like having
a clubhouse and like the ability to walk to the grocery store and restaurants (though I usually drive like a REAL American). Pros: We have trees, ponds, and walking trails (actually, they are horse trails). We can drive into Seattle in about 20 minutes, unless it's rush hour. People are friendly. Our area and the multi-age housing (family houses) nearby are an oasis of new development surrounded by farms. The green space is zoned to remain farmland, so the 98053 area is almost rural. Half of the people in our neighborhood have a child who works at Microsoft (down into Redmond Proper and up a hill). My neighbors have come from all over the country to be near kids and grandchildren. We have a lot of clubs, like bridge, pottery, Mah Jhong, Red Hat, Travel Club, Trilogy for Kids (a charity for children) and we have a gym (which I never use...haha). This is a really safe place. The cons: The whole area including the family/all-age housing is brand new and uniform and it's a planned community like Irvine CA, so the houses all look about the same. I moved here from downtown Seattle and I feel like I'm out in the sticks (which can be good or bad depending on the day.) We have no diversity...I like to be around truly "artsy" types...and I have finally found a group of artists but it took a while. You have to have a car, well, actually I sold my car and we are down to one, because a car is the only reasonable way to get to most restaurants and museums. It is cloudy much of the time (duh) and most of us need to go to Hawaii or on a cruise to Mexico once or twice during the winter. The good thing is that neighbors have keys and we watch each other's houses and water each other's houseplants. Redmond, in general, is a good place for kids (grandkids) to grow up.