Hello,
There is a possiblity we will be relocating to Seattle. We've moved 3 times in the last five years due to job changes so we've become pretty good at finding great neighborhoods for kids. I have three boys, 5, 7, and 9. I think my husband will have to work downtown. I've tried in vain to get the low down and real scoop on various neighborhoods but can't quite get a handle on it all. Can any of you Seattle pros help me out? We'd love a good neighborhood for kids with not too hairy a commute. I'd like a newer house, big yard, views. That's not asking too much is it? Thanks!

If you can afford it, Mercer Island is great for kids (and their parents). The public schools are tops in the state, there are nice parks, and lots of kid activities. The island is surrounded by a freshwater lake which is great for swimming, and the island has several beach parks.

The commute to downtown is very easy---I get to work in 12-15 minutes by car, a little longer by bus, and 45 minutes if I bicycle.

Lots of nice newer houses with yards, but at a price ($700K and up).

Mercer Island is great, but the pricing is actually more dramatic than enzian says. Tear down homes (built in the 50's, few if any updates) are running $700k. New homes start around $2mill. MI is considered one of most affluent neighborhoods in the area and is desirable for all the reasons mentioned in the other post.

West Bellevue is in the same price range, with new homes starting in the upper $1million range. Please note that these new homes are 4000 SF+ also.

Issaquah and areas east of the 405 freeway, but along the I-90 corridor are not so difficult to get to Seattle from. I-90 does not get as jammed as the other Seattle-eastside freeway. Schools in Issaquah, Bellevue and MI are amongst the top in the state/nation.

Areas of Seattle you might consider that are more family oriented include Greenwood, Ravenna, Ballard, Greenlake, Maple Leaf, Laurelhurts...all are north of downtown. Most of the families we know in those areas send their kids to private school. I'm not sure it's necessary, but the Seattle school district has had funding problems etc. As a very general comment, Seattle parcels of land will be smaller than what you'll find in the suburbs.

let us know if you have any additional/specific questions.

I definitely recommend coming out here to take a look to see what kind of feel you prefer your neighborhood to have, as it's so subjective.

Considering your family, you will want to live in a neighborhood with good schools (or schools as good as possible, considering that Seattle is having diffculty funding schools).

Friends of mine recently moved from West Seattle to Shoreline so their children would have better schools; they are happy they moved.

If I were in your position, I would research Seattle schools, and this may not be the best forum for that purpose.

A good website to check out various schools is www.greatschools.net. It will show how the schools did on state testing, as well as their demographics.

The further out you go from Seattle, you will tend to find the larger lots, etc at lower prices. Granted, that does not help the commute, but if you find something a bit out that you really like, you might compromise a bit.

The schools around Woodinville (Northshore district) are very good, and just north of there in Snohomish and Edmonds the schools are good. We lived up there, and we have many friends that love our old neighborhood so much that they won't move despite the husbands working in Renton and even Kent. We had an amazing view of Mt. Baker and the Olympics.

I do hope that you are able go visit before you have to get settled. As you know from moving often, it is the only way to really get a feel for what is out there.

The Seattle P-I does a good job profiling neighborhoods in their "neighbors" section-you can read profiles of about just about every neighborhood and suburb around:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/neighbors/

FYI-New construction+big yard, as you mentioned, is going to mean the 'burbs (and probably the 'burbs further out, as most of the towns closer to Seattle were developed between 1950-1980s). There is quite a bit of new construction in Seattle, as developers are tearing down older homes and cramming enormous, obnoxious new homes onto teeny lots, but you won't have a scrap of yard. If you do choose a suburb, be sure to check for close proximity to a bus line or park and ride-commuting from the suburbs to downtown can be wretched.

In the city, I know families that are very happy with Greenlake, Phinney Ridge, Woodland Park, Ballard, Ravenna, View Ridge, West Seattle, and Capitol Hill. But these families are generally living in nice, older homes (ie 3 bedroom Craftsman bungalows) with city-sized (3000-5000 sf) yards.

How much money do you have to spend? Also, how much of a commute is your husband willing to make? Moving to Seattle from anywhere but the most expensive areas of the country requires major compromises in housing expectations. Be prepared for sticker shock.
Lovesadventure is on the money re housing costs. Where are you moving from? Be prepared for sticker shock unless it's the Bay Area or NYC.

The schools are not all they are cracked up to be, in my opinion. You get a lot of kids from highly educated, wealthy backgrounds, and they test well. Find out how many kids in these "great" school districts are being tutored in math....LOTS.

Watch out for the maddog School Superintendent in Bellevue, where, like Lake Wobegon, "All Children are Above Average."
Watch out for extremely rapid growth in Issaquah.
Check out Redmond and the L. Washington School District (I don't know enough about it to criticize it.). Of course, if you go there, your hubby might be consigned to taking the 520 bridge in to work, which is some sort of nightmare.
Oh and the views. I'd guess that will add $100,000 for Lake Washington; maybe more for Puget Sound; and $80,000 for Lake Sammamish. Is this about right, lovesadventure, or am I being conservative? Of course there are other views of hills that are nice. It's a tough move!
#39;(

Oops. Sorry for the repeat in the first paragraph. I missed going to the top in editing

A newer house with big yard and views will not come cheaply *anywhere* near downtown Seattle.

It really depends your price range for a home and how far your husband is willing to commute to live there.

I can't think of any of the close-in Seattle neighborhoods that you'll find those things for under a million. Seriously ... since nice 2 bedroom condos go for 1/2 mil.

Newer house + view + good schools + okay commute = Issaquah Highlands. Cost = moderate to high. Variables on all of the above can get you closer in, or lower cost, but rarely both.

One good thing about local real estate companies is that they allow open access to the local multiple listing services (presuming you want to buy and not rent.) Try windermere.com or johnlscott.com and browse. I think both sites, but certainly Windermere's, allow you to specify the age of the homes listed as well as price, size, location etc., so you can see what you might be able to afford.

If your husband is willing to carpool or use public transportation, there really isn't any area that's awful for commuting. It's the SOVs that get hammered on the freeways.

Gardyloo's Issaquah Highlands suggestion is a good one. . . IF they can't afford Mercer Island, which has way the best commute of all the places mentioned. My boss lives in the Highlands, and occasionally gets to work late because she got stuck in traffic---usually getting to I-90.

I think lovesadventure's quote for MI is pretty high---$2 mil buys a new house on the water. Nicely-kept 8-10 year old homes in good neighborhoods, without a water view, are nowhere near that much.)

It would be nice to know what price range memmom is considering. . .

THanks so much for all the tips everyone. I'll make good use of them all. We definitely will go out to Seattle before buying but I wanted some direction for initial searches on the internet beforehand. I did check out the great schools site already which was helpful but since our kids are in Montessori school and becuase of the constant moving we're not averse to private schools. We are living in Alabama right now so I totally get the sticker shock thing. Not to worry though, I'm originally from Hawaii so I knew what to expect. I love the idea of Mercer Island if we could find something great in the 800K's. How about living on Bainbridge or the other islands? Thanks again!

You've received some great info. I thought I would add these websites -- interesting to read,and they offer a really good insider's perspective of the city.
http://www.seattlest.com/

http://www.seattleweekly.com/

Water views...I think it's more of a percentage than a $ amount.

I grew up with a family of architects/custom home builders, so I'm fairly embedded/in tune with the lcoal market (mainly eastside). $800k on MI will buy you an older home, but may give you enough living SF and a larger parcel (15k SF). That said, many parts of MI have a lot of slope to them, so large parcel does not necessarily equal big yard. MI has it's more desirable parts as well as less. I think the island population is around 20,000, so while contained, not exactly small.

The new homes my mom's company is building on MI now are around 4000SF plus, and no a single one is listed for less than $2.15. BTW, she has yet to carry one for more than 2 months after completion in the past 16 years. They are luxury homes, but I don't think any builders are putting ceramic tile counters in the new construction on the island. Oh, and $2mill might buy the waterfront land on the water, but you're definitly not paying for any built improvements at that price.

Issaquah Highlands is why I suggested you visit before deciding on a location. We have friends up there and lots of people love it. For me, it's too Truman Show. It's a VERY planned community. But I keep on hearing about all the new amenities up there. The friends we have who've moved up there have done so because they want new construction, and it is more affordable up there.

Snoqualmie Ridge is about another 10 minutes east, again, right off of I-90, and another planned community. Not as big as the Highlands though.

Forgot to add that real estate in the area has been an excellent investment as of the last few years. Many areas (including Mercer Island) are experiencing 10-20% appreciation each year.

So even if you do think you might move again in a couple of years, if things continue as they have, you'll likely not take a loss.

Oh, and my current favorite website to look at local real estate, if you know the neighborhood you're interested in is www.redfin.com. You can see available properties by looking at an aerial image as well as dictating price/rooms etc.

I was actually wondering if you might consider Bainbridge Island. That is where I first moved, with children roughly the ages of yours, when I moved here. The schools are very good, and the housing is considerably less expensive, because the ferry commute puts some people off. I actually loved it---a very relaxing way to get to work, if you can walk to work downtown from the ferry terminal. If you have to put a car on the ferry every day, it's a different thing, however.

Bainbridge has a very nice "community" feeling, something that I really liked.

lovesadventure---I must apologize--you are right about the MI prices. I just checked for what is available under $800K and there's nothing. $800K to $900K gets a much older home than I imagined (but some look quite nice and may have been updated inside). We've lived there 3 years, and I had no idea homes had appreciated that much in the intervening time.

Bainbridge is a fine idea to consider, especially if your husband's office is close enough to walk to from the ferry dock on the Seattle side. Takes a bit of time but certainly a pleasant way to commute imo.

Hello - I am a Bainbridge Islander and love it. There are great neighborhoods for kids - good schools (variety of public and private) - beautiful views - amazing parks. I lived here growing up in the 70's / early 80's and returned after having my first child in 2001. The real estate (just like all Seattle area homes) can be spendy - I would recommend checking out www.windermere.com (user friendly site) and looking in the 98110 zip. The ferry can be a deal breaker though - it adds about an hour on to any commute - by the time you've riden to / driven to the ferry - located parking - walked on - done the 35 minute sail - it can be frustrating and very time consuming. Also - it is very expensive and may become much more so in the near future (they've talked about raising fares 20%). If you husband works right downtown the ferry may not be a problem - but it can be a tremendously long commute if you work outside of the city and have to deal with traffic once in Seattle. Do not mean to discourage - but it is easy to underestimate how much of a strain the ferry can be on family life. Wishing you all the best.

Thanks again everyone. A couple questions. At 6:30 or 7 am how long a commute to the city from Issaquah Highlands? West Bellevue? Also, those areas that lovesadventure mentioned, Greenwood, Ravenna, Ballard, Greenlake, Maple Leaf, Laurelhurts - are those more like urban suburban living? Older homes, closer to town? Finally, how about Shoreline. Thanks a million!