Moving to Seattle area (possibly)? (Bellevue, Renton: big house, to buy, law school)

[PrincessB]

Hi my husband's boss wants him to interview for a job in Bellevue. We are looking for nice areas to live around there. Can you recommend any? The area has to have little crime, good schools (we have 2 teenage kids), and nice housing and it can't be too far from Bellevue. We have been looking at Mercer Island. But I do have a question about Mercer Island also, do most kids there go to public or private school? Thanks for any help!

[allforcats]

Bellevue itself is one of our constant recommendations for people who plan to work on the east side of Lake Washington. Bellevue is beautiful, calm, relatively crime-free, loaded with shopping resources, and has one of the most-often praised public school system in the state; many people feel the Bellevue school system IS the best in the state.

Check greatschools.net:
GreatSchools.net
Newsweek's top high schools:
America's Top Public High Schools | Newsweek Best High Schools | Newsweek.com
Washington state report card:
Washington State Report Card

In addition to Bellevue, also lovely are Kirkland, Redmond and Issaquah.

[AzDreamer]

About 13% of Mercer Island kids attend private school.

[Ira500]

....As far as public schools go, many people consider Mercer Island's public schools to be the best in the state.

[KRS0204]

My husband is also considering taking a job in Bellevue, and I am trying to narrow down which suburbs to check out. Top priority is school system, as I will have one in elementary and one not far behind. Commute time would be great under 30 min if possible. As far as housing, any chance I could get into a good school system for a house <$550,000? I'm also curious about lot sizes - some of the houses in surrounding towns that I've seen on line are gorgeous, but are on a speck of land. I'm used to living on a tree-lined acre and that is quite a switch! (I am in the suburbs north of Boston, on the NH line) Anyway, any and all info on the Bellevue area would be helpful - I've never stepped foot in the state of Washington so am definitely at square one!

[Ira500]

Absolutely, you can get a house for under 500,000 in a good school system, within 30 minutes of Bellevue. Some people here will disagree, but I go through listings and see these houses all the time. The Bellevue school district is good, as is the Issaquah School district, and the Lake Washington District, which is Kirkland and Redmond.
You're right, most of the newer houses have really small lots, so unless you're willing to buy an older home or one that's not in a development or one that's a little further out, a smaller lot may be the reality...Issaquah houses often have larger lots, and there are parts of Renton near the Issaquah border and in the Issaquah school district which have big lots...Issaquah, Bellevue, and Kirkland are all nice towns....some parts of Newcastle also have homes with big lots, but most of Newcastle is in the Renton School district, not as good as Bellevue's or Issaquah's, but those schools in Newcastle and part of the Renton district are better than the Renton schools as a whole.
Supposedly, big houses on small lots are what people want nowadays, but I'm not sure, i think it's more like a builder figured he could make more money that way and convince people that that is what they want. Me, I'm a big lot kind of guy.

[KRS0204]

Are they family friendly communities in those towns? Little League, town events, that sort of thing? Also, do any of those communities have a lake in or nearby? We love to be outdoors - biking, hiking, skiing - so I'm curious about the lifestyle. In terms of towns, another name that keeps coming up is Maple Valley or Black Diamond (?) - are those nice areas? How about the schools there?

[Ira500]

Issaquah has little league and is very family friendly, has Lake Sammamish in it, it and Newcastle are full of hiking trails...Bellevue is getting to be a big city but there are still quiet parts, and it too is family friendly. Maple Valley is a nice town with good schools ( Tahoma School District)and lower housing prices, but probably a little further than 1/2 an hour to Bellevue. Black Diamond is the next town east of Maple Valley and is really quaint, with a 100+ year old bakery that makes the best pie in the world. But most of Black Diamond is in the Enumclaw school district, not considered so great. But people have different definitions of what makes a school district good. For some, it's simply that their kids will be well taken care of, given good opportunities to learn, and are safe. For others, they want very high test scores amongst the students, and Maple Valley, Bellevue, Issaquah, and Kirkland all deliver that. But Black Diamond you'll get the nurturing and safety, but not the high test scores...and you will get the rhubarb strawberry pie.

[allforcats]

You want lakes, eh? Well, y'got Lake Washington, Lake Sammamish, Phantom Lake, Larson Lake, Sammamish River, Kelsey Creek, Lake Bellevue which is a funny lake but geese and ducks live there year 'round, Pine Lake, Beaver Lake, Long Lake, Yellow Lake, Laughing Jacobs Lake, Tradition Lake, Round Lake, Lake Boren, Panther Lake, Lake Youngs, Shadow Lake, Lake Desire, Spring Lake.

[seattlerain]

One of the wonderful things about living in the Pacific Northwest is that you are never far from an almost endless selection of outdoor activities.

Snow skiing, water skiing, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, snowboarding, hiking, mountain climbing, beach combing, exploring rain forests, exploring high desert country, mountains, fishing, hunting, boating, spelunking, surfing...nearly any outdoor activity your heart desires can be found in the region, and you are never very far from any of them