Moving from the midwest (Seattle, Bellevue: for rent, crime, appliances)

[Minnesota/Iowa Girl]

I am considering a move to Seattle (for the 8th or 9th time)...but this time I am serious! I have 3 kids, all under the age of 6. My husband and I have visited Seattle several times (we have friends in there) and we have loved it, but are struggling with the complexities of raising a family there. To give you a sense of where we are coming from in Iowa, you can get a nice house in the burbs for 200K (3 bedrooms, 1800 sq. ft, large yard, 250K if you care about granite and stainless steel appliances), school system is great, no commute issues, not much of a crime rate, 4 seasons...and that is about it. Not much else going on, (we love the outdoors) but what I mentioned is pretty nice when you have kids. What schools would you recommend? What area of the city would you recommend? Any advice from working parents?

[obsidian97]

Knowing why you are moving would help answer your questions.

Are you just tired of living in the Midwest?

The reason I ask is because daycare here can be very hard to find, and when you do find it, it can be ridiculously expensive. It's not at all unusual to pay $18/hr for childcare. With three kids, you'd probably be looking at having a nanny, if cost is any issue, and that's going to run you in excess of $30k/yr *easily*.

That'll finance some really kick-butt trips to a lot of places if everything else where you live is fine.

[Luke9686]

I think $18 an hour is pretty extreme. That would equal over $700 per child a week. You can definately find cheaper, way cheaper.

I'm from Iowa also (Des Moines), and unless you are able to make big bucks, your quality of life will decrease. $200K will not get you anything in Seattle. Probably not even in the burbs. The schools here aren't nearly as good as the schools in Iowa. Plus you will be taxed to death out here.

There are pretty much two seasons. Rainy and Summer.

Crime in Seattle isn't that bad. Especially when compared to other similar sized cities.

Commuting, forget about it. I moved from California and this area is a close second to the Bay.

I like it here, but it is nothing like home. I would recommend looking into the Denver area. There are some good suburbs there that are affordable.

[allforcats]

Originally Posted by Minnesota/Iowa Girl

in Iowa, you can get a nice house in the burbs for 200K (3 bedrooms, 1800 sq. ft, large yard, 250K if you care about granite and stainless steel appliances), school system is great, no commute issues, not much of a crime rate, 4 seasons

I'm confused. What you write makes where you are living now sound perfect. You want to LEAVE all that because ---- ?

[obsidian97]

Neighbor across the street (Eastside) pays $36,000/yr for a nanny to watch two kids.

I have several co-workers with nannies and all of them pay somewhere between $16-18/hr to their services.

I'm sure there is cheaper out there, but nannies in Redmond/Bellevue/Kirkland area apparently are making somewhere in that neighborhood.

There is a posting on Craiglist that is active right now advertising for professional nannies with a salary range of $18-25/hr, experienced $14-18, and qualified (whatever that means) at $12-14.

Nannies Needed!...All Experience Levels Encouraged to Apply- $12-25/hr

$18/hr is smack in the middle of that price range.

[Luke9686]

That's if you go the nanny route. If you do the old fashioned in home daycare route, it is much cheaper.

The one draw back of Iowa is the extreme winters. The winters out here aren't much better. Instead of 3 1/2 months of harsh temperature, you get 6-8 months of grey.

[mayfair]

It's very different. You will either love it or hate it. Be sure to visit in winter and also look at what your money will buy you for rent or home purchase.

You will be amazed at the beautiful scenery and hiking. The traffic and expense might be a shock. If you're willing to rent, you'll have more options.

[Jennibc]

As someone on this board and I've discussed via email, it is really important to "run the numbers" before making the move. I'd wanted to come back here from another state and didn't consider how much the cost of living increased in the time we were away. Consequently, we had to take a huge step down in our standard of living when we got here.

I think the median cost of a home in King County is at 450,000 right now, and I think anything that you can get for the median price that is decent is in in the southern outskirts of King County. The public schools can be hit or miss. Our neighbors were recently down in LA for a visit, and they were commenting on how Seattle entertainment and grocery costs are similar to down there. And the cost of quality daycare here can run about 1000/month for one.

Sometimes just hoping for the best works out, and other times, as in my family's case, it can be economically detrimental. We are now trying to move back to a lower cost of living area because it scares me to not be saving more for retirement and to not be putting anything away for my six year old's future education.

There are lots of things to like about this area, but chronic financial stress can really harsh one's mellow.

[Luke9686]

Many people from California move to Seattle in hopes of cheaper home prices. Honestly, Seattle proper isn't that much cheaper. Especially in the desireable areas.