Moving to Bellevue / Finding rental place

Hi all!

I’m going to move to WA very soon and the campus I’ll have to commute to everyday is around the Microsoft HQ (Bellevue). I’m doing apartment hunting right now and have a question.

Would living in Seattle and drive to campus everyday worth it? Seems like the traffic is bad, but if it’s 40 mins then it might not be too bad for me.

I found an interesting apartment around the Highland park. Is that a good area? Is there any area I should be avoiding?

I’m 26M and will be moving there by myself (my gf will visit occasionally). I love hanging out with people and be in a community. What’s the best way to do it in Bellevue?