Relocating to Washington
 

Hello everyone. This is not really a travel question but a relocation one, so my apologies in advance. But I'm hoping some Washington experts on this site will be able to help us.

We are considering relocating to Washington (Seattle/Bellevue area) in a few months and looking for suggestions on towns that would meet our needs. Great school districts and low crime are the primary concerns for us. We are not big about proximity to cultural opportunities - a quiet suburban town is great for us. It would also be nice if we could get decent single family homes for under $300K (though we're willing to stretch further if need be). My job will be in either Seattle or Kirland and I'm willing to commute up to 45mins each way.

Any and all feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much in advance.

spc

You will want to stay east of Lake Washington if your job is in Kirkland and north or south of Seattle if you have to commute there. The public school districts east of Lake Washington are generally pretty good. South of Seattle the housing prices are much lower, but the school districts are average to below average. You can find standardized test scores here http://reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us. North of Seattle you might find a school district that meets your needs and it may be possible to find a home for $300K.

Your best bets for public school districts east of Lake Washington are Northshore, Lake Washington and Mercer Island. You can't touch Mercer Island for you desired price. Lake Washington SD covers Kirkland and Redmond. Chances of finding housing are slim. You have a slight chance of finding a home for $300K in Northshore SD, communities of Bothell, Woodinville, Kenmore.

I don't know much about the schools in Snoqualmie and North Bend, but that might meet your description otherwise. Don't get that far out if you have to commute to Seattle. If commuting to Seattle, generally avoiding the bridge commutes will turn out to be wise. You might want to locate within access to the commuter rail line if you are commuting to Seattle. Check the WASL test scores on that website above for an indication of school district performance in those areas. Be selective. Good luck and prepare for housing sticker shock.

We did this several years ago and I've never regretted it. I suggest you come for a visit and contact a real estate agent in an office on the Eastside and have them take you around and show you the options. If you're working in Kirkland, communting from Kenmore may not be a problem and that might be an affordable area.

Where are you moving FROM? We moved from LA and the real estate prices here made me feel like I was in a candy shop, but it all depends n what you're used to. Other expenses were equal, if not higher, but the quality of living is well worth it.

sgorces, artlover, thanks so much for your very helpful responses. Yes, I think I'll make a trip out there and look around with a real estate agent.
We are moving from NJ so the home prices aren't really that shocking (in fact they are lower). However, we don't want to be spending a disproportionate amount of our income on housing because we do need to keep enough money aside for our retirement and our daughter's college. So we're hoping not to exceed $300K.

I looked at a couple of communities north of Seattle - Edmonds and Lynnwood, that have homes in our budget. How good/safe/family friendly are these areas? They appear to be only 15-17 miles from both Seattle and Kirkland so can I expect my commute to be under 45 mins?

And finally about the weather :-) Does it *really* rain all the time? And is it overcast even when it's not raining? I have heard several people say it's very depressing while so many others say it's fine with them. I'm just curious to know what you think.

Thanks a bunch once again.

spc

November through March is pretty solidly gray. It can really bother some people, but I'd take it any day over the cold, snowy winters other parts of the country get. Ex-Californians complain about it constantly (yet few move back) while I've noticed that people from other parts of the country, especially the midwest, don't let it bother them. Spring can be cool and wet (with some nice days, too), which also can drive people nuts. Summer is dry, sunny and beautiful, leading people to complain about the lack of rain and their dead brown lawns.

Will you be finding out which city you'll be working in before you have to buy a house? If you are working in Seattle, it would be a good idea to find a place with proximity to buses (this shouldn't be too hard, since there are park and rides, and there is good bus service to downtown Seattle on both the King County Metro buses and Sound Transit). Traffic on I-405, which is what you would take between Lynnwood/Edmonds and Kirkland, is terrible, but it might just fall within your 45 minute limit. I'm not sure about the availability of bus service between those places.
One resource that might help: This page has a "travel times" link and traffic maps that might help you figure out how long your commute will be. You could make a point of looking at it at 7:30-9 AM or 3-7 PM.
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/seattle/

I forgot to say: Both Edmonds and Lynnwood should be perfectly safe (I can't actually think of any town in the Seattle area that I would warn people away from because of crime). Edmonds has some very nice parts, especially near their very cute waterfront downtown area. Lynnwood is the butt of a lot of jokes-it is known for its big mall and hundreds of strip malls. In the last few years as housing prices have gone up in the region I have known some people that found perfectly nice houses in Lynnwood, but you might want to check the city website and find out about parks or other amenities your family would like-I'm not sure how much Lynnwood has to offer besides shopping at chain stores.

Will you know which job you have before you purchase your home? That would really be helpful.

As mentioned Lynnwood gets made fun of alot I'm afraid, it's kind of strip mall ugly. But it is directly on I-5 for getting into Seattle.

I would look into Issaquah and North Bend, and that area. It's very pretty and you would be coming west over I-90 to get to Seattle or traveling north on I-405 to get to Kirkland.

As to the weather, sure it is gray and drizzly in the winter. But rarely freezing or snow. Gorgeous long fall, spring, summers.

Let's see... right now there is a light breeze, it's sunny, expected to be ~82 degrees today. Hey I should log of the net and go somewhere! Ciao...

BTW welcome to the Puget Sound area it really is lovely here.

We lived near Edmonds and Lynnwood, and just moved away last year. Inlaws have been there forever. Edmonds is very nice, and has good schools. Lynnwood has nice areas, but it also has the strip mall effect going like the other posters mentioned. The schools in Lynnwood are not bad, but Edmonds are better. Finding a home in a nice area of either town for around $300K will be very tough! I can personally vouch for the Windermere Real Estate office in Lynnwood, if you want a realtor for that area.

Weatherwise, today I felt as if I died and went to heaven--it was so gorgeous. Yes, it does rain a lot here, but as an ex-Californian and midWesterner, I wouldn't want to live anyplace else (except maybe Spain or Italy or France, but that's another story.)

I think Edmunds is a great community--don't know much about Lynnwood, but the commute might be quite challenging. That's why I think you should come here and check it out. I brought my husband here for the first time in August and he kept saying to me, "Why did you ever leave this place?" (I had gone to Univ. of Wash. for a year as an undergrad).

To me the only downside about living here is that the flight to Europe is painfully long. Otherwise, I think it's the best place in the U.S. to live.

Edmonds would be a good place for a commute to Seattle because there's a commuter rail station right there. Prices will be pretty high though. I would not get too high-centered on Edmonds if you end up having to get to Kirkland. The problem there is you really have no alternate routes to I 405 and you would end up regretting that most every commute. Again, if commuting to Kirkland, live east of an imaginary line drawn north and south through Lake Washington. Similarly, stay west of that line if commuting to Seattle. The reason for this advice is simple. There are bascially only four routes between the east and west sides of Lake Washington, the two bridges and around the north or south end of the lake. AND, they are all congested.

Wow! That's a ton of really useful feedback and information from everyone. Thank you so much!

I don't know yet whether my work location will be Seattle or Kirkland but I'll try to nail that down soon. But it looks like we'll definitely have to pay over $300K for the house. Oh well, I guess if it's a good area and has good schools it should be worth it.

We're going to make a trip out there soon (our first to the Pacific NW) and we're really looking forward to it. We'll get in touch with the Windermere Real Estate office as has been suggested.

Bye now and thanks again everyone. Enjoy that nice weather. :-)

spc