New England or Seattle? (Bellevue, Redmond: houses, neighborhoods, buy)

[Guineas]

My wife and I are both physicians and are looking to settle down in a new area to raise kids. We're currently in the Midwest, and feel like it's time for a change now that we have some leads and offers. We've narrowed down to probably Seattle (U-W) or somewhere in New England, most likely Providence (Brown) or Worcester (UMass). Wife has relatives in New Hampshire.

A good environment for the kids to grow up is important to us, as well as activities outdoors and trees, trees, trees.

How bad is SAD in Seattle?

Any good neighborhoods or suburbs around UW Medical Center within 30 minute commute? Is the traffic bad from East Side to UW during rush hour? Would it be too inconvenient? We are hoping to spend under $600k, 2000ish sq ft.

We didn't notice a lot of Main Streets in some of the towns around Seattle. Lynnwood looked disappointingly like Generic Strip Mall USA, is this typical around Seattle? Bellevue is different right?

Seattle still feels a lot more tempting than Providence (which is really kind of run down except for the Brown/College Hill area). But it's one thing to visit Seattle for a couple of days and another to live there for at least a decade, especially since when we visited Seattle it was blue skies and amazingly crisp. Housing stock seems infinitely better than anything in the same price range as New England. Just generally newer with more logical floor plans. Prices have also really come down in the last couple of years in the PNW, while New England is still pretty inflated.

Don't really care about friendly people or not since we're comparing with New England.

What am I missing? There must be a catch....

I've heard stories of houses in Seattle area that are dumps in one lot and amazingly kept in another right across the street, are there some suburbs or neighborhoods that are more cohesive? or is this generally the way it is there?

[GoBlueInSeattle]

Originally Posted by Guineas

My wife and I are both physicians and are looking to settle down in a new area to raise kids. We're currently in the Midwest, and feel like it's time for a change now that we have some leads and offers. We've narrowed down to probably Seattle (U-W) or somewhere in New England, most likely Providence (Brown) or Worcester (UMass). Wife has relatives in New Hampshire.

Why Providence or Worcester, but not Boston/Cambridge? The medical/healthcare/bio-med industry in New England in centered there (and quite frankly, the country, or at least on par with the San Francisco bio-med industry). And its far more urbane than Worcester or Providence will ever be.

[skihikeclimb]

Originally Posted by Guineas

My wife and I are both physicians and are looking to settle down in a new area to raise kids. We're currently in the Midwest, and feel like it's time for a change now that we have some leads and offers. We've narrowed down to probably Seattle (U-W) or somewhere in New England, most likely Providence (Brown) or Worcester (UMass). Wife has relatives in New Hampshire.

A good environment for the kids to grow up is important to us, as well as activities outdoors and trees, trees, trees.

How bad is SAD in Seattle?

Any good neighborhoods or suburbs around UW Medical Center within 30 minute commute? Is the traffic bad from East Side to UW during rush hour? Would it be too inconvenient? We are hoping to spend under $600k, 2000ish sq ft.

We didn't notice a lot of Main Streets in some of the towns around Seattle. Lynnwood looked disappointingly like Generic Strip Mall USA, is this typical around Seattle? Bellevue is different right?

Seattle still feels a lot more tempting than Providence (which is really kind of run down except for the Brown/College Hill area). But it's one thing to visit Seattle for a couple of days and another to live there for at least a decade, especially since when we visited Seattle it was blue skies and amazingly crisp. Housing stock seems infinitely better than anything in the same price range as New England. Just generally newer with more logical floor plans. Prices have also really come down in the last couple of years in the PNW, while New England is still pretty inflated.

Don't really care about friendly people or not since we're comparing with New England.

What am I missing? There must be a catch....

I've heard stories of houses in Seattle area that are dumps in one lot and amazingly kept in another right across the street, are there some suburbs or neighborhoods that are more cohesive? or is this generally the way it is there?

Bellevue is pretty good and so is most of the east side. If you like trees and outdoors you should stick to Seattle.

[silverstar23]

The UMASS Trauma Center in Worcester is a level up from any Boston hospital. In fact, Boston hospitals actually air lift people to Worcester.

[Ira500]

Some nice neighborhoods fairly close to the UW Medical Center on the Seattle side include View Ridge, Laurelhurst, Ravenna/Bryant, North Capitol Hill, and Montlake. All of them have some of the best schools in Seattle. Lots of trees, and an easy commute. Commuting from Bellevue via SR 520 is generally painful and slow. They will be instituting a toll on the bridge starting the end of this month, and that may shift some of the traffic to I-90, but will also cost quite a bit to cross it.
The Seattle area, especially the eastside, is much newer than New England, so there's a lot of places without that old fashioned downtown feel. Bellevue has a downtown. It's pretty upscale, pretty glitzy.
Kirkland has a downtown with a nice feel, Redmond has a small downtown area, but even those places and Bellevue too are more stripmallish than Main Streetish. But just about anywhere on the eastside has great schools, where in Seattle the very good schools are limited to just a few neighborhoods, including the ones I mentioned.
If I were in your shoes I'd pick Seattle over New England. It's greener, cleaner, and safer. And if you didn't do it, you might regret it later.

[Jimrob1]

I live in Oregon but originally I am from a suburb of Providence on the Mass side. I am familiar with both Providence and Worcester as well as much of New England. This is my view from having read your Thread. I didn't get any feel nor did I sense , that you really have much interest in the areas of New England that you mentioned. You seem to feel more attraction to Seattle, than anything you mentioned concerning New England. I think unless your work brought you so much satisfaction, that it made the move worthwhile in that sense. Then why bother with New England. Of course I don't know you or your personality and could be completely wrong. However I just didn't see anything that said you really would like to move to New England.

New England is special to me and I like what it has to offer. The people, the cultures and the homeyness of the region. However its not for everyone and I understand that. Nor is the Northwest.

So I would continue to do your research. As you mentioned visiting and living somewhere can be different experiences. So plan accordingly. Since you want a change maybe offer yourself a few more choices. If other choices end up taking a back seat to Seattle or New England then you will know where to head.

Best of Luck to you and your wife.

[civic94]

I live in seattle now, and used to live in boston. I know both of the areas and the suburbs, seattle is much cheaper. If you buy a home, most of the time in the MA area the homes are more older, and even if you buy a home that is the same age in both areas, your cost to heat the home will cost 3x more in MA than in seattle, since its colder, and most homes use oil. in seattle area, most homes just use electric, and electric is cheaper here. also in summers, you might use the a/c in seattle 2 days per year, while in boston you might use it for 2 months.


for me I want to move back to boston, I like the culture, and the weather there more than here. its overcast in seattle 9 months out of the year, and it gets to some people, like myself. traffic is about the same on both sides. Boston area is much more dense, but a better subeay system. In seattle area, its less dense but there is no subway system that is good enough yet, so your options are to drive in traffic, or take a bus while being stuck in the same freeway. you will breathe better air in seattle, more trees, less population density. Visit both places in the winter and the bottom line, its up to you. I your from the midwest, it should be a bit more colder there, so if you hate it, you will hate boston. At least visit seattle during the winter. I do have quite a few friends in seattle that have the overcast problem, once summer comes, they are better off. It feels like everything is black and white, and moody. a lack of sunlight really can get to people.

When i'm in boston, even if its super cold, If i drive in a car, with heat, and see sunlight, im good. it keeps my energy up, eyes open. seattle area, if you want sunlight you have to travel over the mountains (over the pass) for sunlight or just go on a vacation.

[dubfan]

Originally Posted by Guineas

A good environment for the kids to grow up is important to us, as well as activities outdoors and trees, trees, trees.

How bad is SAD in Seattle?

Any good neighborhoods or suburbs around UW Medical Center within 30 minute commute? Is the traffic bad from East Side to UW during rush hour? Would it be too inconvenient? We are hoping to spend under $600k, 2000ish sq ft.

We didn't notice a lot of Main Streets in some of the towns around Seattle. Lynnwood looked disappointingly like Generic Strip Mall USA, is this typical around Seattle? Bellevue is different right?

Seattle still feels a lot more tempting than Providence (which is really kind of run down except for the Brown/College Hill area). But it's one thing to visit Seattle for a couple of days and another to live there for at least a decade, especially since when we visited Seattle it was blue skies and amazingly crisp. Housing stock seems infinitely better than anything in the same price range as New England. Just generally newer with more logical floor plans. Prices have also really come down in the last couple of years in the PNW, while New England is still pretty inflated.

Don't really care about friendly people or not since we're comparing with New England.

What am I missing? There must be a catch....

I've heard stories of houses in Seattle area that are dumps in one lot and amazingly kept in another right across the street, are there some suburbs or neighborhoods that are more cohesive? or is this generally the way it is there?

If you like outdoor activities and lots of trees, there aren't many better places to live than western Washington. That includes the Seattle area. One thing that strikes many newcomers to this area is how lush it is.

My own opinions about the legitimacy of Seasonal Affective Disorder notwithstanding, some people do claim to exhibit symptoms of depression during the winter. I have not personally experienced this. I find myself just as depressed during the winter as I am during the summer. That's just one anecdote, and as a physician I am sure you have a good grasp on what that is worth. It all depends on how well you can cope with weather patterns that generally result in cloudy skies during winter, as well as the fact that the sun sets earlier than most other places during winter in the lower 48 states. Keep in mind that our summers are dry, mostly sunny and warm without oppressive humidity, and the days are longer in the summer.

The Pacific Northwest was mostly built out after the advent of the automobile, so the stereotypical "Main Street USA" urban layout is rare. Some neighborhoods in Seattle come close to this. Downtown Edmonds is another place that comes to mind. You are likely to pay a premium to live in these sorts of areas.

Seattle doesn't have any areas that really compare to the worst parts of Boston or Providence. Seattle residents like to make a big deal out of places like White Center and Rainier Valley but it's really a quaint attempt to make Seattle seem tougher than it really is.

The catch is that Seattle is a traffic nightmare. Chronic mismanagement of public transit and poor zoning practices have led to a reliance on private automobiles for transport. This is complicated by the complex topography of the area. If you don't want to sit in traffic for 30+ minutes every day, you would do best to live as close as possible to your workplace. Property taxes are also quite high, making up for Washington's lack of income tax.

[spacecadet610]

I spent 8 years in Providence, RI for undergrad and med school. Now I've been in Seattle for last couple years.

I am much happier in Seattle than any place I lived in New England. It really depends what's important to you and what you're looking for in a city.

Summers in Seattle are the best I've ever experienced, perfect weather allowing you to take advantage of tons of outdoor activities. Sure, in the winter it's a bit gloomy and rainy. I much prefer it to bone-chilling winter snow. I don't have any issue with SAD.

[Blindtom]

I would think that most people on this board would prefer Seattle, as I do. Ask the same question on a New England board, and you will probably get different answers.