advice for location and school (Seattle, Bellevue: real estate, rentals, condo)

[pedar]

Hi,


i understand this is a common concern among newcomers and found many threads already created regarding this topic. however, having read through a few i could not find specific answer to my questions so decided to create my own, sorry if this duplicates something discussed somewhere else.


our family, wife, (almost) 5 yo daughter and i, are going to move from Sydney Australia to Seattle this January as i received an appealing job offer from one of the tech companies in Seattle. here in NSW schools start in Feb and as my daughter turns to five in Feb, we enrolled her for kindergarten but that plan's been changed with our move. Now, my understanding is because she was not 5 yo on last September we cannot enroll her for kindergarten in Seattle which means she has to wait another 6 months which means she will be a year behind her peers when we go back to Australia in a few years. beside, in some of the threads here i've read that finding a spot in day care could be a challenge. my wife will initially be staying at home and can take care of my daughter, however, since we are from a non-English speaking background we think it's really important for her to attend some sorts of school / daycare. she's been to daycare since age 1 and has an acceptable level of social / language skills and we don't want to interrupt her learning process. she's already started complaining about losing her friends when we discussed the move with her so we think new daycare / school would help her with transitioning. any hints, pointers or advice would be highly appreciated. which neighborhoods with good schooling reputation give us a higher chance of securing a daycare spot? we also don't want to add too much to commuting time which is the subject of my second question.



i don't drive and commute only with public transport, but also as a result of excessive running i got a soft tissue problem in my feet which is under treatment so right now i don't want to put too much pressure on it by standing long time in a crowded public transport, 15-20 minutes each way should be fine but i think anything above 30 minutes every day or most of the days can cause me problem. any suggestions on house hunting strategies which can help me with this would be priceless. we think about 2.5-3k rentals.


Many thanks in advance and sorry it's become too long

[arcleo]

Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, and Sammamish tend to have good schools. I don't have much experience with locations/schools inside Seattle city.

Within Seattle city, North Seattle tends to be safer than South Seattle in general.

[pedar]

thanks for the reply, just forgot to mention the office i'll be working from is located in second avenue.

[maddieinoz]

G'Day! We are moving from Melbourne to Seattle next year and I am about to post, but stumbled upon your post. I am originally from Seattle. We have school-aged children as well, and we are really unsure ourselves about how to manage the school year as the United States is in the northern hemisphere. I have friends who live in Beacon Hill and easily commute to the CBD with kinders near their house that they were very happy about. Keep in mind, kinder is often only half day in Seattle. They are nature based. How long will you be in Seattle for? If you are planning on returning to Sydney, it may benefit to stay near a good kinder/ easy commute for you?

[pedar]

thank you for your reply, maddieinoz. my current contract is for two years but i wouldn't mind extending it by another two years if everything go as good as it now sounds. but yeah currently planning for the next tow years.

[CrazyDonkey]

Second Avenue where? Downtown, Belltown, Pioneer Square?

Seattle Public Schools has a Preschool program which your daughter should be eligible for.

https://www.seattleschools.org/cms/O...ageId=33649617

Consider living near a light rail station. For instance:

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_ren...23_rect/15_zm/

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_ren...23_rect/15_zm/

[pedar]

thanks CrazyDonkey. it's Downtown. i did not realise Second Avenue spans across multiple zones. so from what you're saying i can assume there is a good chance of finding sitting spots on light rail trains even during the peak hours?



that seattleschools.org page does not load on my computer for some reason. i'm still confused because i thought because my daughter did not have full 5 years on September 2018, she's not eligible for preschool this year. have to check that page once it loads.

[Blondebaerde]

One of my best pals is from Oz, University of New South Wales Class of '99 or so. He sure liked Sydney. Business pal here took a job there, for Atlassian, recently at an executive level. Only way it can be afforded. I was mildly jealous, I'm not quite that bold and feel Seattle is gold handcuffs for moving elsewhere IF one is holding real estate long-term.

If you're coming here, you'll need a sense of humor to live in "the Provinces" of the USA. It's quaint, cute, and funny until you realize natives believe it and can influence your life negatively if you don't play ball. Always mildly surprised that it takes Australians awhile to acclimate, there is a non-trivial cultural struggle and it's cold and wet here half the year or more. Yet if you have skills, here is the place to get rich and that's a fact, if you can find a way to get ahead of the 8-Ball anymore. Here some of us sit, fat and happy (literally). My pal has married two American women in twenty years (almost), another decade he can work on a three-fer I figure. He works as a principal dev for a household name social media that has major presence here, too.

You didn't say what company. It's not a state secret as that matters in terms of our mediocre mass transit. If you "don't drive" you'll be seriously hobbled on Eastside, which you can find out more about with more precision questioning on this forum.

I believe your constraints are, in-order:

1. Daycare (various)
2. Proximity to transit hub, closer the better. 15-20 minutes won't get you 15-20 blocks, so try again with that one.

3. Cost: "I think" those are typical rental prices these days for something half-decent.

You can probably take it from here, get out a map physically and virtually, compare/contrast with transit times. Hope you have a couple monitors, I'd pull up a couple screens of data and start measuring based on the constraints.

You'll work something out, I'm pretty sure, based on the above.

If from an specific Ex-Pat nationality or community, they often have resources too. Even Americans huddle together "overseas" (that's a joke: all nationalities do, at least initially).

[CrazyDonkey]

Try this: https://www.seattleschools.org/cms/o...pageId=9084716

If still doesn't work, try a different browser.

Preschool = Pre-K. 3 and 4 year olds as of last September. She should be able to go straight in.

Seattle Preschool Program

In collaboration with the City of Seattle, the Seattle Preschool Program offers high-quality, affordable preschool to all of Seattle's 3- and 4-year-olds. Students engage in a full time, research-based curriculum taught by certificated staff in a positive school climate and early childhood learning environment.

• Certificated Teaching Staff (1 General Education Teacher)
• Instructional & Classroom Assistants
• HighScope Preschool Curriculum
• 20 students per classroom (10:1 student/teacher ratio)
• 6 hours per day, 5 days per week from September through June
• School Meals available to purchase or through the Free and Reduced Lunch program
• Before and After Care available at select sites
• Tuition is determined on a sliding scale for all SPP students

Link Light Rail from the Othello Station is 20 minutes to the University Station (3rd & University Ave), although I think you'd have a good chance of finding a seat. Even quicker from the Columbia City, Mount Baker, and Beacon Hill Stations.

The two properties I linked are less than half a block from the Othello Station. Trains run every six minutes M-F. So minimal walking for you, to or from the Stations. Within a block and a half: Park/Playground, Safeway supermarket (and pharmacy), banks, United Parcel Service, shops, restaurants. #36 trolleybus takes you to Beacon Hill, Little Saigon, International District/Chinatown, Pioneer Square. #50 bus takes you to Seward Park and Genesee Park on Lake Washington. No need for a car.

[flyingsaucermom]

Well, I recommend Seattle, but if for whatever reason you become interested in the Eastside I want to put out there that I just listed our 4 bedroom Issaquah condo for $2700 last night. Includes water, sewer and internet. We might be flexible with price too... just depends how much interest we get this first week...

Issaquah Highlands is a very, VERY family-friendly and diverse neighborhood full of upper middle class tech workers (Amazon, Microsoft, but also Boeing, Starbucks, T-Mobile and Costco) ... Indian, Chinese and Latin clubs host events throughout the year. I know a couple families from Australia in our neighborhood too.

Our particular unit is about a 15 minute walk to the Issaquah Highlands Park and Ride. About a 15-20 minute walk to grocery stores, restaurants and movie theater. Lakeside Montessori and Ashland Park and playground are 3-4 minute walk from the condo.

[url]https://lakesidemontessori.com/[/url]

You can message me if interested and I'll give you the link to the unit.