Relocating to Bellevue - HELP! (Seattle, Redmond: renting, condo, home)

[ahldouglas]

Hello Good People of Washington,

My husband and I are relocating to Bellevue, WA from Colorado next week (eek!). We have rented a condo there as his job is about 2mi from where we'll be living. I have had two extremely promising interviews - one is actually in Bellevue (about 2mi in the opposite direction of where my husband will be at) and the other is at Seattle Pacific University. I checked MapQuest and from our place to SPU, it's about 14mi.

We have spent our entire marriage in a small, isolated, rural town in Colorado. This is going to be quite the change for us! I have a few questions that I'm hoping you all can help me with - thanks in advance!

Firstly, my 18y/o cousin will be moving with us. She has no idea what she wants to do with her life at this point so we are giving her room/board in exchange for nannying our three-and-four-year-old kids. She's probably going to have to get some part-time, evening waitressing job for extra cash (and she's fine with that). But I don't want it to be "all work and no play" for her. Does anyone have some suggestions on ways to get her involved with other teenagers her age so she has a social life? I don't want her to be miserable.

Secondly, assuming I am offered both jobs that I've interviewed for... the one at SPU pays about $12k/yr more than the other job; however, while it's only 14mi, in rush hour traffic, I'm guessing that's... about an hour drive time? I don't particularly relish the idea of spending two hours on the road commuting every day on top of an eight-hour work day, even though the money is better and they offer a tuition discount for when I am ready to start my Master's degree. Both are something I would enjoy doing so that's not a factor. Would you recommend living AND working in Bellevue given the opportunity, even if it means about $1,000/mth less when it comes to pay?

Thirdly, we are a young family. I know Seattle has a ton of things to offer and I'm sure we'll eventually get to exploring that area and participating in some of what it has to offer. With that being said, we loved the pristine condition of Bellevue, the better schools they offer, the smaller population (roughly 125,000 people seems easier to deal with than about half a million, especially since the I-5 expressway makes me incredibly nervous). We actually found more affordable housing in a nice neighborhood, etc. Basically, we just felt that Bellevue was a better fit for our family. However, can anyone give me some ideas on things we can do with our young children? We will have weekends free and we don't want to be stuck at home. We don't want to spend a fortune on activities, but we also want to be out DOING things... that is not something we've had the opportunity to do in our tiny town and we want to make the most of it.

Thank you for your time in reading this post and giving me feedback. Anything and everything will be helpful as we make our transition to the PNW... please don't feel limited to sharing answers regarding what I specifically asked about only.

-Amber

[Inkpoe]

Check out your local resources like Recreation and Events - Family, Youth & Teens Services (Official City of Bellevue Website) , ParentMap - Seattle Activities for Kids, Parenting Articles and Resources for Families, the library. My daughter has always loved the park behind Crossroads mall. There is a small library in the Crossroads mall that's always busy, plus there's lots of chess checkerboard (and a big size one) in that part of the mall. The weather should still be nice, so the orca is probably still sprouting water. Actually you've got loads of parks around.

As for the job... That depends on your tolerance for the traffic, depending on where you are that's 45 mins to an hour. The benefit sounds nice, could your niece get the family discount if she wants an education? (Or she could go to Bellevue College, take a class threes and meet people there).

[Blackhawk4440]

The Eastside in general is far better for raising families. Inkpoe had a good suggestion about the library; I've seen the Bellevue Library has a resource section for family activities.

I would keep the kids out of Seattle proper, though. Most kids over here just end up selling pot on the streets.

[Jalhop]

Originally Posted by ahldouglas

Would you recommend living AND working in Bellevue given the opportunity, even if it means about $1,000/mth less when it comes to pay?

Definitely, all else being equal (which may not be your case considering the tuition factor). One bridge across the lake is already tolled, the other (I-90) probably will be eventually. So after deducting taxes and tolls and gas and wear/tear on the vehicle, it's not much difference in money. Factor in extra commute time (esp. for a parent of young kids) and there's no question which choice is better. A 2-mile commute is a dream for many people here. Bellevue is a nice place to both live and work; you made a good choice to live there.

None of the adults in your scenario should have a problem finding stuff to do. You can find several months of stuff to do with kids, online, like with "seattle things to do with kids". There's no reason not to include Seattle in weekend outings, it's safe and close enough. One place that comes to mind is the KidsQuest Children's Museum in Bellevue.

[Hemlock140]

The trouble with SPU is that you have to either take 520 and go through what we lovingly (not) call the "Mercer Mess" or take I90 and I5 north through the city, or I90 to 99 and eventually the new tunnel. There is just no easy way to get there from Bellevue without nasty traffic that will wear you don, not just the hour to go 14 miles but the frustration. I agree with the suggestions on Crossroads, great place for anyone, kids to elderly to hang out with a lot of events all year. At age 18 she may be getting a little old for Bellevue Square but it's a high end mall that teens like to hang out in.

[Ira500]

I'm with everybody else. If you have a chance to both work and live in Bellevue, it's just not worth it to take a job at SPU for an extra thousand a month. Time is money, or something like that. Sure, tons of people work in Seattle and live in Bellevue. You'd adapt to the commute. But getting home from work in 5-10 minutes? Around here, that's everybody's dream.

[mkarch]

Don't worry about driving on I-5, it's basically impassable at this point due to congestion.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

The trouble with SPU is that you have to either take 520 and go through what we lovingly (not) call the "Mercer Mess" or take I90 and I5 north through the city, or I90 to 99 and eventually the new tunnel. There is just no easy way to get there from Bellevue without nasty traffic that will wear you don, not just the hour to go 14 miles but the frustration. I agree with the suggestions on Crossroads, great place for anyone, kids to elderly to hang out with a lot of events all year. At age 18 she may be getting a little old for Bellevue Square but it's a high end mall that teens like to hang out in.

If I-5 makes her nervous, the "520 Shuffle" will scare her to death (merging into the fast lane, then crossing four lanes to get to the next exit). Better might be to go to SPU via Fremont. She should check into the availability of carpools - she won't be the only one making that commute.

[GraceKrispy]

If you were working downtown or in the U district and willing to commute via bus, I'd say go for the city job (I do those commutes regularly on the bus without problem). But SPU's location vs Bellevue's location... I completely agree that it likely won't be worth the extra hassle.

Our family loves Bellevue. We also came from a much smaller area, so this seems like a banquet of possibilities to us. The Crossroads area, with park is fabulous, Bellevue Square is fun for teens (and window shopping for those of us who are "poor"), and summers are great with free nighttime movies offered in Crossroads, downtown Bellevue, and Marymoor Park in Redmond. There are great parks and walking trails all over this area, and we used to live really close to the swimming area on Lake Sammamish and it was a favorite activity in the summer.

We also sprung for memberships to the Aquariaum and Zoo, and go when we can (commuting via bus). The aquarium membership is a set fee for families, but the zoo membership is per individual, so would likely not be super expensive with small children. There is a great museum in Seattle Center as well. The children's museum in the Factoria mall mentioned earlier looks like a fun place. There is also one in Seattle Center. When we moved back, my kids were mostly too old to indulge, so I don't have firsthand experience I also agree with the library. There are always activities going on there, and we love the libraries here!