Considering moving the family to Seattle (neighborhood, schools, camp)

[homesinseattle]

Kamiak High School in Mukilteo (just south of Everett) is very highly rated.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

Kamiak High School in Mukilteo (just south of Everett) is very highly rated.

Yes, and the real estate is priced to match. This one looks interesting:

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Mukilteo/4...5/home/2792874 (6/ES, 6/MS, 10/HS)

3 bedrooms, but 3,276sf. Billiards room and gym room could be turned into an extra bedroom and/or office. Or two of the kids could bunk up.

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

Yes, and the real estate is priced to match. This one looks interesting:

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Mukilteo/4...5/home/2792874 (6/ES, 6/MS, 10/HS)

3 bedrooms, but 3,276sf. Billiards room and gym room could be turned into an extra bedroom and/or office. Or two of the kids could bunk up.

Agreed, though if you compare prices there to Bellevue, Kirkland or Seattle, it looks like a pretty good deal. Mukilteo also has the commuter rail to Seattle and added bonus of being able to hop on a ferry boat to Whidbey Island.

[mayfair]

Mukilteo schools are preferable to Everett for most people who have a choice and can afford it.

[Gaylord_Focker]

Originally Posted by Thx-1138

No sir, I haven't been following it, but isn't there a thread set on it here?


Maybe I saw it at another forum.


And I haven't watched local news in more than 20 years. (I like my classic movies and TV, they don't make them like they used to.)


Back on weather, there are benefits to our amount of precipitation...





Clouds give us cooler summers and mild winters, I would feel naked around here without them.


But, for all we get, you never hear about floods and other problems the rest of the country gets on a routine basis now. No hurricanes, tornadoes, no inch of ice breaking the trees, no prolonged power outages...


We get power outages, usually they last minutes to a few hours and we might get one a year... In 30 years I've been here the longest was about 12 hours and that happened one time, usually an hour or two.


Thx

great photo. Where is this?

[Gaylord_Focker]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

On the first property I linked (North Everett), the schools were ranked at 7/ES, 6/MS, and 6/HS. It is important to note that GS rankings are largely based on test scores, which are highly correlated with family-income. Yes, rankings below 5 should raise red flags, but 7 (for ES) and 6 (for MS/HS) should, at most be reasons to investigate further.

For the Lake Stevens (Everett area) property I linked, the schools are 7/ES, 6/MS, and 8/HS.

Agree on greatschools being a source but not the ultimate source. What are your thoughts on west seattle schools? I understand lake Stevens, Mv, etc have great schools but they are way out there and kind of boring.

[JOinGA]

Anyone looking for a neighborhood based on schools should be sure to check the Seattle City Schools construction page. There are schools that are scheduled to be rebuilt, which means bussing the kids to an alternate location for 2 years during construction. This may be a positive, having a brand new school serve your area, or a negative, having your child spend time on a bus to a temporary location for 2 years. It also raises the possibility of redistricting as the capacity of certain schools increases. There are some schools in Seattle that are very overcrowded and the property is maxed out with portables. At some point, something will have to change in these areas. Just something to think about...

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by Gaylord_Focker

Agree on greatschools being a source but not the ultimate source. What are your thoughts on west seattle schools? I understand lake Stevens, Mv, etc have great schools but they are way out there and kind of boring.

The other areas I mentioned give you more house for less money (and a fenced yard). West Seattle (and the general Seattle area) give you less house for more money (and a pocket garden). If you can get outside of the Seattle commute halo, or at least on the edge of it, you can get a good deal more for your money.

Sealth HS is a "4" at GS, while West Seattle HS is a "5". Madison MS is a "7", but a "9" for test scores for all students, but is in an expensive area (North Admiral/Alki).

[lifexponential]

Originally Posted by OneKC

We have three kids and have begun eyeing the West Coast as a more suitable place to live. We spent a week in Seattle last summer and absolutely loved it. We have friends there that love it, although they said "don't move here, its getting too crowded and is crazy expensive".

But we have grown sick and tired of Midwestern winters. We would also like to take advantage of the outdoors - forests for hiking, and I personally would love to just drive an hour to ski rather than 12 hours to Colorado to ski. It also seems like being near a booming city like Seattle might be good for our kids rather than staying in "flyover country".

I work from home so I could keep my job, and my wife is in health care and could probably get a job pretty easily (probably with a pay bump according to the salaries we have seen online). We know it is crazy expensive, but if it is possible, we would like to strongly consider it.

My questions are:
1. What neighborhoods would you recommend for families? We would send our kids to public school. Our total household income is around $160k/year.
2. Like seriously, how crazy expensive is it? Aside from housing, is everything going to cost more?
3. We are moving away due to weather, but will we regret soggy Seattle winters?
4. We mentioned we were considering moving and the oldest kid (11) was pretty against it. Any advice on helping kids transition with a move? We feel this may be the ideal time as he begins middle school next year and the other two are still pretty young.
5. Alternatively, we might consider Olympia as well since it is more affordable and might be better for my career anyway if I ever leave my job. Thoughts on Olympia? Is it too "small town" (despite being from Kansas, both of us are accustomed to larger metro areas of a million or more)

Thanks for your help! Maybe we'll be neighbors someday?

Do yourself a favor and don't move here. It's a hell hole being swallowed up by liberal miss management.

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by lifexponential

Do yourself a favor and don't move here. It's a hell hole being swallowed up by liberal miss management.

Hey life, where do you live? We and many people I know live in great little quiet neighborhoods, really mellow friendly places. Come by, I’ll meet you out at a local pub and buy you a beer. I keep saying this, yes there are some problem areas around town but most cities have that. Can’t you just say “these parts of town are tough” without making a broad based statement about the whole area?