Woodinville??? (Seattle, Redmond, Snohomish: house, to buy, school district)

[mamma mia]

My husband just accepted a job with MS, however he's going to commute from CT to Redmond one week a month. We have up to 18 months to decide if we want to move out there. I've been reading the posted threads about places to live (learned a lot, thank you) but not much is said about Woodinville. When someone asks about the towns surrounding Redmond, Woodinville is very rarely mentioned as a place to look at. Why is that?
I also saw that one of the elementary schools will be closing this year and that district enrollment has been steadily declining over the years and will see another decrease of 600 students in the next 2-3 years. Does anyone know anything about this? Are families unhappy with the school system and sending their kids to private schools? Or are people moving out of town for some reason?
Any thoughts/insights will be much appreciated!!!
Thanks!

[scirocco22]

The last part of this article may explain some of it but the city Woodinville still seems busy and vibrant the last time I was there.

[vnodak]

Woodenville is nice and I would not hesitate to buy a house there. My only objection is King county and that is why I live in Snohomish county.

[jwb123]

What's the objection to King County. Having lived in both, I preferred King County.

[jwb123]

Wow, that article is shocking! I complain and complain about the ridiculously high property taxes in Austin, and how good I had it in that regard in the Seattle area - but we don't have school problems like this here in Round Rock... and all overcrowding is being managed pretty well and worked on, so maybe there really is a positive side to the, again, RIDICULOUSLY high property taxes....

[allforcats]

Originally Posted by vnodak

My only objection is King county and that is why I live in Snohomish county.

What is your objection to King County?

[swsha4]

Originally Posted by Jenbar

Wow, that article is shocking! I complain and complain about the ridiculously high property taxes in Austin, and how good I had it in that regard in the Seattle area - but we don't have school problems like this here in Round Rock... and all overcrowding is being managed pretty well and worked on, so maybe there really is a positive side to the, again, RIDICULOUSLY high property taxes....

Yeah, but you're stuck in Texas!

[Bakergirl]

Most parts of Woodinville are in the Northshore school district which is actually very good. Some of the elementary schools in the northern part of the district are overcrowded because of all the new housing developments. It's a highly sought after district. They want to close Woodin Elementary to save money. It's true enrollment is down in some areas. The older families are staying put and the younger families aren't moving in. I like Woodinville.

[allforcats]

Originally Posted by mamma mia

... not much is said about Woodinville. When someone asks about the towns surrounding Redmond, Woodinville is very rarely mentioned as a place to look at. Why is that?

To answer your question, I think we don't often mention Woodinville because most prospective Microsoft employees are asking for short commute times to MS. Depending on location in Woodinville, a commute to the main MS campus could be 45 minutes, even more. But it's a delightful place to live with many different kinds of housing options from older to new. Used to be a sort of hippie area outside of Seattle, back in the mists of history. Now it's very eclectic and suburban with touches of rural at the edges.

[mamma mia]

Thank you all. Would you generally say that all of the good schools are facing overcrowding right now? I'm talking in the Northshore and Lake Washington districts? If you had up to about $575,000 and would like a house built in the past 15 years (and a close commute to MS - 30 minutes), what town would you choose? Again, schools need to be good.