Thinking about relocating to seattle with large family, looking for best school system within an hour commute of downtow (Bellevue: to rent)

[smith+5]

Help..I have been given only a week to decide if I should relocate from new england to Seattle. I have 4 children of elementary school age and am a stay at home mom. My husbands salary is only 70k. I am looking to rent a home until I get to know the area, and where I would like to settle. My questions are; Is his salary enough to expect a decent quality of life there.We are willing to commute an hour from any direction. What are the best area schools. Being under such a time crunch any advice would be great...Best regards...Jennifer

[VeronikaW]

With 4 children, $70K is not very much money to survive on out here. Issaquah has really good school districts, but it's pricey (we pay $1700/month for a 3 bedroom town home that we rent). There are parts of Renton (which is less expensive) that are still in the Issaquah school district. That might be an option.

I'm a recent transplant, so I can't help much. Sorry!

V. =)

[Ira500]

Those parts of Renton in the Issaquah district, Edmonds, and Maple Valley are just a few of the relatively lower priced areas with decent school districts.

[jwb123]

We left the area when we were priced out, in late 2006. 3 children on a salary of slightly over $100k.

The best schools are in the Lake Washington district, which is on the Eastside. Mainly Redmond. Issaquah is good, so is North Shore (Bothell, Kirkland). Bellevue has some highly acclaimed schools. Truth is, all of these districts are higher end...

You will be struggling on $70k... and unless you move with significant equity money, it will be hard to buy a home with that.

Do you really want to live with your husband commuting an hour each way? My husband did that for the last two years that we lived there - and we realistically only lived slightly over 20 miles from his place of employment. (Mill Creek/Bothell to Redmond) An hour commute time doesn't take you very far out - and I can't tell you how his quality of life has increased no longer having to sit in that..... it was a major stressor to his life.... and by trickle down, ours.

[vnodak]

Personally I would think twice. That is not much money for 6 people and you would have to probably commute longer than an hour to be able to afford a place and then their is the schools. Sorry.

[Nell Plotts]

Bainbridge Island has excellant schools, but for the life of me I don't see $70,000/yr income adequate for a family of 5 in this area.

[Prple]

I would look at Snoqualmie/North Bend. The traffic on I-90 isn't bad and it usually only takes around 30 minutes each way. Schools are supposed to be pretty good. Very family friendly area, lots of trails, parks, etc.

You might also want to consider living somewhere near the Sounder Commuter Rail. Sound Transit

Check out this post:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/seatt...n-seattle.html

[Prple]

Most of the areas with excellent schools, (excluding Olympia and Bellingham) are very expensive.

Puyallup is pretty far out, and the schools are good/okay, but it is very affordable. I know a lot of people who commute from Puyallup to Seattle with the Sounder. I would guess that it takes at least an hour each way, door to door. The traffic in Puyallup is horrible. It is probably a lot more conservative than what you are used to on the east coast. Thought it was worth mentioning.

Here are some tools that I like using:

Washington State Report Card

Here is some informaiton on the schools that I suggested for your price range. There is an area that allows you to read parent reviews as well. You can also use this link to look up other schools.

Snoqualmie schools - Snoqualmie public schools - Snoqualmie school ratings - Best Snoqualmie schools
North Bend schools - North Bend public schools - North Bend school ratings - Best North Bend schools
Puyallup schools - Puyallup public schools - Puyallup school ratings - Best Puyallup schools

Good luck with your decision!