Sammamish? (Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond: middle-class, house, neighborhoods)

[Moon Waffle]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking into a job with Microsoft right now (Redmond main campus) and am curious about Sammamish and life in this area in general. I've got a couple of little pre-school aged kids and am looking for a family-friendly community within a reasonable commute time of MS (30 minutes or less one-way is reasonable to me). From my limited knowledge, Redmond doesn't seem like a good fit for what we're looking for. Maybe Sammamish is?

FYI, about 5 years ago I used to live in Maple Valley and loved the area. So we're looking for something similar to that, generally speaking, but closer to Redmond. It doesn't have to be as "remote" as MV used to be. What we liked most about MV was that there were tons of families and lots of kids.

[gallo]

Sammamish is a nice town. However, it is very much like Redmond, and it is expensive. I would assume there is a fair amount of families with kids there, and I have heard the schools there are very good. Judging from what you wrote, if you don’t like Redmond, I am not sure that Sammamish might be what you are looking for.

FYI for anyone wondering, pretty much all of the Eastside suburbs (i.e., Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Sammamish, Issaquah, etc.) are very similar.

So much, it can be a little eerie thinking about it, LOL.

[Seattleborn]

We love Snoqualmie Ridge. It has tons of families. Everyone has kids. Three of my neighbors work at Microsoft. It's a 30 minute commute for my hubby downtown. He leaves @ 6 am. It takes him 40 minutes home. He leaves between 5-6 pm. It's 22 mins to Bellevue.

Check it out. snoqualmieridge.com

zip code 98065

[scirocco22]

I didn't catch it ...what don't you like about Redmond, Moon Waffle? I lived there for a very long time so I'm just curious.

[Moon Waffle]

Maybe it's just a bad first impression but it seemed as though the place was very....yuppie-ish. By that I mean there was lots of money, very few families with young kids, and a bit of snobbery. Maybe it was just the neighborhoods we saw. I don't want to raise my kids in a place like that.

Is this how Redmond is, or am I all wet here?

[scirocco22]

Eh, I think you were just looking in the wrong places. Yes, there are yuppie areas but there are also many neighborhoods where people are raising families. I lived in a middle-class family neighborhood where my neighbors just raved about the elementary school in the area. This was just a few miles away from the Microsoft campus.

Remember, Redmond is relatively big geographically so you'll find all kinds of demographics there in different parts of the city.

Let me know if you need details on specific areas or sections of Redmond.

However, if you want to live in Sammamish, or similar areas, that's ok too. It's just as I always keep saying, my recommendation is to try to live as close to work as possible. The more time you spend commuting, the less time you spend with your family.

[sunsprit]

MoonWaffle ... my son and his wife (who both work at MSoft) just went through the same choices you're facing.

They originally bought out in Snoqualmie Ridge ... which had lots of youngsters there, but was very stifling for them. The finally realized that they were spending a couple of hours per day on the road to go home to a place that was just far away ... but not different than the east side communities closer to work.

They looked at Sammamish, but it wasn't any better ... just more expensive.

The incremental difference in daily commuting cost for the two of them was enough to buy a modest house in north east Bellevue, and they have the same community issues (lots of money, snobbery, conspicuous consumption, etc) that they had in Snoqualmie. Only without all the daily hassles of the commute. They're closer to shopping, and just as close to the recreational things they want to do. The schools are good ... which is a concern as they start a family now.

[jwb123]

No, you really are kind of right on about what you are thinking about Redmond - but really, it's either that in the suburbs, Seattle - or south which is less desirable for MANY reasons.

That's not to say you won't find a great neighbor or something in Redmond, Kirkland, Bellevue, Issaquah - but the vast majority will have money (you need it to live in these suburbs where the home prices are starting at $500k and go up up up).

I think 6-8 years ago - when things were less expensive, there were more families, with younger children... but those younger children are now 6-8 yrs older and it's harder for the just starting out families to afford these areas. (Again, not to say that there AREN'T families with young children there - but I do think demographics have changed a bit).

For example, Education Hill - the area of Redmond I am most familiar with... my neice and nephew have lived there since they were 1 and 3, and they had lots of young children on thier street. Now they are 17 and 14, and they have lots of teenagers on their street....

[scirocco22]

I didn't have big money ...far from it.

[jwb123]

When did you move though? And when did you buy in?

At a starting price of 500k, really probably more like 600k for a home... if you are in Redmond, buying today... you need money.