Good neighborhood, good schools not too far from Bellevue?

[dpf11970]

What areas of Seattle would be good for a family with small children? Wouldn't schools be an issue? We both (original poster and I) are looking for family friendly areas for kids to grow up.

The commute sounds discouragingly long from just about anywhere. Sammamish looks good - but hard to find a good/reasonalby priced place.

[jwb123]

From what it sounds like, I don't think you are looking for Seattle. Price will definitely be an issue, as will the school district.

Our family would have lived in Seattle for a long time, IF we could afford to live in a nice house, in one of the more desirable neighborhoods and could put our children in private school

But, we got out - for a better quality of life.

Sammamish and Issaquah sound like good locations for you to look - if you also have a commute to Bellevue. As with any suburb surrounding the Seattle area - price is definiately a factor...

[silas777]

traffic is terrible, but i90 is 10 times better than 405, issaquah to bellevue would be better than woodinville to bellevue. a good school in washington is homeschool. if you liked san fran you will like it here. good luck with the rain!

[jojo7]

If you check out Issaquah, check into an area called "Issaquah Highlands". All price ranges and all types of homes from conod, townhomes which are very affordable to single family. It's literally 2 minutes off of 90. It has a local school that just opened. If you go on their website, it will explain the type of area it is and the amenities it has for families. They have much building still to accomplish such as more retail, offices and a movie theater. The website is www.issaquahhighlands.com. Issaquah is know to have a good school system but it's always best for you to check into it yourself, personally, and then make a judgement call. Good luck.

[asdlfasdfasdfsadf]

I don't know where you are getting your information, but Bellevue schools are ranked in the top 50 nationally by newsweek. Medina and Mercer Island are not high-rent-- you CAN'T rent there. these neighborhoods are the equivalent of San Diego's Rancho Santa Fe.

[scirocco22]

You can find rentals on Mercer Island.

Thanks.

--'rocco

[kspiess]

If you can find a place and afford it in kirkland that is your place! It is the most charming community, safe as can be, and there are about 6 different routes you can take from there to Bellevue. The most affordable homes will be around the Juanita and Bridle trails areas. Wonderful library, great shops, tons of great small cafes and restaurants, a lakefront park with festivities at all holidays. I lived there for 7 years and would walk to the gym and back home (1/2 hour walk each way) at 11pm--regularly--and was super safe! You will love it! Everyone does!

Redmond is too far. The commute will be a nightmare. And it is crowded as all heck. Same with Issaquah. If you must move out that far, try Duvall.

Moderator cut: soliciting

[eradani]

My husband and I are also looking at moving from San Diego to Seattle. Also looking at Portland and Denver/Boulder. Main reasons for looking at moving is that it's soooo friggin brown here! (and expensive as hell doesn't help). I'm orginally from Houston, so I like sun and heat, but my hubby's from the SF area and can't understand why on a humid day I go outside to bask in the moisture when everyone else is melting (not like it's THAT humid in my opinion, it's only 80 degrees with 80% humidity, BAH). We can agree on GREEN and the camping/hiking/outdoorsy stuff that goes along with it (hiking in the desert sucks. That's not my kind of nature, it's devoid of it).

I'm a web programmer, so I'm guessing more likely than not that more jobs are going to be available in the Bellevue area. Would this be a good assumption? Hubby does archaeology, but I doubt ANYONE would have useful info on that field! We also have a little one (1.5 years old) and would love for her to enjoy the outdoors as much as we do and have a great education (who wouldn't?). We both grew up in suburban sprawls and don't require "city" living or any kind of night life (that's what going to "the city" is for). An unscary and actually useful public transportation system would be wonderful (I wouldn't get on a Houston bus for anything, and nothing in San Diego actually GOES anywhere other than to/from downtown).

Oh, and I lived in Toledo for two years and have been told I wasn't a very pleasant person going that long without sun, or at least blue, in the sky. There wasn't a patch of blue in the sky for 10 solid months! When one finally did appear, everyone in the store I worked at, customers, bosses, and all, walked outside to stare at it until it disappeared 10 minutes later. Is the Pacific Northwest THAT kind of cloudy for THAT long? I don't mind overcast, I just mind overcast with no breaks. If so, we may need to rethink the move to there...

So.... suggestions?

BTW, Austin is evil, but that's because it's the home of t.u. (University of Texas) and I'm an Aggie (Texas A&M) *whoooop!*. My best friend, however, loved going to school there (oddly, he's back in Houston, which he always said he hated. Interesting...) . I always thought San Antonio was nice, but never did more than drive through there

[WestCoastDiva]

Eradani,
You might not see a patch of blue in the sky for many months in Seattle and surrounding areas. I'm from Seattle, and currently living in San Diego. Hoping to sell my house any day now and go back home to Seattle. The grey skies are something that I'm going to have to contend with, I'm really acclimated to the sun now.

[tspencer]

Redmond is right next to Kirkland...I don't see those two commutes being all that different. I lived in Kirkland and commuted to Redmond for two years and if there is any little accident all of Redmond becomes a parking lot. On a normal day my commute took five minutes but when there was an accident it could take me 45. If it weren't for a ginormous hill I would have walked more often then I did. As far as computer programming goes you have Microsoft in Redmond AND Bellevue, Google and Amazon are in Seattle...I don't think you would have much of a problem. Your post is a few years old, though, so not that this helps you much. As far as archaeology goes he could maybe work at UW?