mid-20yo moving to Seattle 2013 (Bellevue, Mercer Island: homes, unemployment, neighborhoods)

[michaelrkahn]

Hi, I'm a mid-20yo high school English teacher from la and have been teaching in the dc area for 2 years (3 by the time I'm ready to move next summer). I currently live in a young, northern Virginia neighborhood that's walking distance to 50+bars/restaurants and a subway into dc (Clarendon if any of you are familiar with it). I love this type of neighborhood, but the glut of young government folks and consultants makes the lifestyle too fast and pretentious for me. Plus, the cost of living is unreasonable. Before leaving la I was seriously considering Seattle and I think it is where I should've gone. So, I have 3 questions:
1) What neighborhood should I be looking to live in through my 20s in Seattle? I want to be in a younger neighborhood that's walking distance to a lot of good, local restaurants/bars where parking isn't an issue. I'd be looking for a studio or 1br of no more than $1000/month or 2br of no more than $1800/month.
2) What school district should I look into for work? I teach in a silver ribbon school (top 1000) and while I don't need a school of this caliber, I'm looking for a district with motivated students and community support.
3) I'm looking to buy in the next 5years. What suburbs of Seattle fulfill the following criteria for a starter home on a $300,000 budget: 3br 2 ba 1200-1800 sf, not town home, 20 minute drive to downtown Seattle, good school district
Any guidance anyone can give would be appreciated.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by michaelrkahn

Hi, I'm a mid-20yo high school English teacher from la and have been teaching in the dc area for 2 years (3 by the time I'm ready to move next summer). I currently live in a young, northern Virginia neighborhood that's walking distance to 50+bars/restaurants and a subway into dc (Clarendon if any of you are familiar with it). I love this type of neighborhood, but the glut of young government folks and consultants makes the lifestyle too fast and pretentious for me. Plus, the cost of living is unreasonable. Before leaving la I was seriously considering Seattle and I think it is where I should've gone. So, I have 3 questions:
1) What neighborhood should I be looking to live in through my 20s in Seattle? I want to be in a younger neighborhood that's walking distance to a lot of good, local restaurants/bars where parking isn't an issue. I'd be looking for a studio or 1br of no more than $1000/month or 2br of no more than $1800/month.
2) What school district should I look into for work? I teach in a silver ribbon school (top 1000) and while I don't need a school of this caliber, I'm looking for a district with motivated students and community support.
3) I'm looking to buy in the next 5years. What suburbs of Seattle fulfill the following criteria for a starter home on a $300,000 budget: 3br 2 ba 1200-1800 sf, not town home, 20 minute drive to downtown Seattle, good school district
Any guidance anyone can give would be appreciated.

Not to be a debbie downer... but competition for teacher jobs is pretty severe. So to answer your questions, assuming you did get a teaching job:

1.) Been answered many many times on this forum, please do your research.

2.) The Eastside suburbs and the school district there are very good with motivated students and great community support. Seattle Public Schools have very good support in the north suburbs, but intra-politics ruin the entire district. So that's something you'll have to decide which is more important: great school district with guaranteed quality... or a very big school district with lots of politics, mixed results and some very passionated parents.

3.) With all that? Nowhere. You'll have to sacrifice something.

If you sacrifice the 20 min drive to DT Seattle (but keep the rest of the wish list), then the closest would be Maple Valley-- which is 30 miles SE of DT Seattle and at a very good time (overnight/ bare traffic) about 45 mins drive. Keep in mind, we do have traffic and while we're not as bad as NOVA... we definitely are pushing it in terms of affordability (the further away from DT, the cheaper it is, good schools are a premium).

If you are willing to sacrifice good school district, then you can actually live in Seattle proper. Odds are better in the southern part: Beacon Hill area, Georgetown. The area fits what you're looking for number one, but the more south you go, the less walkability. But since you're talking about 5 years from now, it's actually pretty hard to answer this question because anything can change. Beacon Hill and southern neighbors (Columbia City), given its affordability and closeness to Seattle could very well be the next "boomtown"-- it has a lot of old homes, charm, diversity. Schools overall could use a bit of work, though.

To live in Seattle proper, have good schools around, accessibility/short commute... look to the northern neighborhoods-- but you're definitely paying the high price.

[Hemlock140]

I agree with Inkpoe. Teachers in this whole state, like many other states, fear for their jobs and many expect layoff notices and hope to be re-hired before the fall. Our economy and unemployment picture has improved greatly and is better than most areas, but the state is still very much in a struggle with the budget and heading into a second session to make more cuts.

Affordable homes, good schools, and 20 minutes from Seattle really doesn't exist. Those homes within 20 minutes with good schools are limited to the highest priced areas such as Bellevue and Mercer Island. Where I live even farther east from Seattle the schools are great, but the teachers cannot afford to live here unless they have a spouse with a great job. I would expect that you'd find our teacher pay significantly less than in the DC area, starting about $30k and only at $52k after 10 years.