Relocating to Seattle from Los Angeles (Bellevue, Kent: spring break, apartment, rental)

[Ms_Lydia]

Hello Everyone:

All suggestions are welcomed...... the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

The move is on!!! My daughter who is 14, and I, a divorced black female, an Admin. Asst. in the Property Management industry are relocating to the Seattle area this June after her graduation. I am really undecided about my choices and would like your opinions. I'm getting down to the wire. I'm up in the air with the Shoreline,Renton and Kent areas. Also, what's the public transportation like in these areas? We are coming down for spring break to do more looking around.

I am looking for a family friendly, activities driven place so I can keep my daughter busy, you know what they say about an idle mind Anyway, good school district, moderate rent for a 2bdrm apt., diverse culture and a place where mommy can make some money .

Thanks a bunch!!!!!!!!

[the dufferz]

Usually I recommend stating with where you will be working. If you will make that choice after you find a place to live, the here is my take.

Renton/Kent. A lot home rental properties and probably more opportunities for employment within your industry.

That said, Kent would be better than Renton for safety and overall living conditions. For either cities, the farther east you go, the better for living and schools.

As for shoreline, pretty similar living conditions but I see a lot less rental properties for work opportunities. Living there, as long as you stay away from Hwy 99 would be probably nicer than most of Renton and Kent, but for all three areas, there will be neighborhoods that are nice, and some are really bad.

My kids do not attend school in these areas, so hopefully others on the forum will give you ideas about schools and other activities.

[eagleheart]

Ms Lydia,

I also moved to Washington from L.A., where I had lived for 13 years. Horrendous. Yuk- don't like seeing the air I breathe. Anyway, I moved to Bellingham because I had a waiting job (construction) and a ready place to live. Since then, I moved to Birch Bay and it is heaven. You have to like lots of rain, though and have transportation as there is no decent bus service here, yet. Bellingham bus service is much better and home/rental prices are much better than Seattle.

Of course, if you are set on Seattle, you have lots of comparing to do, as situations vary widely from area to area. Some comments were made about how expensive Bellevue is. Yet, my girlfriend's daughter works for Nordstrum's corporate and she found the least expensive apartment in Bellevue and great bus service to work.

With all the rental business in Seattle, you should have no trouble finding a job in that field. You might even start your own business. Your daughter will have NO problem finding something to do - though the same dangers exist on the streets in Seattle as in Los Angeles.

Karl