Moving from CO to Seattle (Bellevue, Lakewood: house prices, neighborhoods, best schools)

[dpf11970]

We are moving from the suburbs of Denver (Highlands Ranch) to the Seattle area and are looing for a fun, safe place for our children - any thoughts?

Also - has anyone else made this move? How do the 2 cities compare in temrs of lifestyle and cost?

[Kennymiester]

Hey! I just made the drive to Seattle the other day (Sunday). I moved from Gunnison, but my permanent address was in Broomfield. Right now, it really difficult because I just drove out here cold-turkey so I'm looking for a place right now but after driving around the area I dont know where I would like to live. Also, I dont have a job either so Im in a situation where I dont want to be stuck living away from my job.

First, initial experience with housing is that you'll be paying more for less in Seattle. But, again, Im a 23 year old so my finances are limited, but I'm expecting to pay 850 or more a month for a pretty simple living experience.

[texastrigirl]

Hi there,

I lived in Denver for 4 years (Lakewood) and my husband lived in Littleton for Jr High and HS, but have been gone a long time from Denver though we have family and friends there. We just relocated to Seattle from Austin TX last year. My husband works downtown and we live on the Eastside in Sammamish. Generally you will want to tell us where you are working so that you can get recommendations based on a reasonable commute. Very good school districts are Bellevue (though the teachers are currently striking), Issaquah and Lake Washington. Bainbridge Island ISD is also great but obviously brings a lifestyle choice of living on an island. Mercer Island has great schools but is unattainable for under a million. I would find a recent copy of Seattle magazine that highlighted neighborhoods. Not entirely accurate IMO but is a good place to start. In terms of comparing to HR to Seattle neighborhoods, you are looking on the Eastside. Master planned communities are Issaquah Highlands, Trossachs and Klahanie. Further out is Snoqualmie Ridge...very much like HR but farther from town and schools beyond grade school not as highly regarded. Home prices are a bit above Denver I believe but salaries also track higher so you should be square there. Denver gets more sun but also has major brown cloud and brown landscape much of the year. Seattle is a much prettier city IMO and has even more to do because you not only have the mtns but you have so much water fun it's unbelievable! I find them to be pretty similar in terms of people and how they interact but I am sure others will beg to differ. You will hear about the "Seattle Freeze" on this board but I personally never experienced it. Maybe because I live in the Eastside which has lots of young families moving in from all over the country. Good luck. DM with any specific questions. I'd be glad to help!

[wilczy]

i cant offer any advice but ill be following this thread closely as my wife and i plan on moving from god awful denver to seattle next spring. good luck!

[azoria]

Just curious, why is Denver god awful?

[obsidian97]

"Master planned" is more like "Master crammed" in the case of Issaquah Heights.

Commute from the plateau (Sammamish) and Snoqualmie can get long depending on where you're headed, although I-90 is generally faster than SR-520. Also, keep in mind that there are a limited number of ways off the plateau and they can ice up in the winter (which means you may not be able to get out as easily).

Where will you be working and what's your budget?

[41Willys]

The most obvious difference that you will have to get used to is the weather. You are going from 300+ sunny days a year to 70 sunny days a year. Highlands Ranch is one one the nicest Denver metro area's east of the foothills.

I never lived in Seattle but have done a ton of research. Redmond, Belleview and possibly Mercer Island are the most comparable to Highlands Ranch in terms of house prices, and society there. Mercer Island has the best schools in Washington.

[Beena]

The way they mesasure "sunny day" in Denver is ridiculous.

If you "saw" the sun that day it was a sunny day. In Phoenix, if you saw a cloud then it was a cloudy day. :0

[41Willys]

Originally Posted by Beena

The way they mesasure "sunny day" in Denver is ridiculous.

If you "saw" the sun that day it was a sunny day. In Phoenix, if you saw a cloud then it was a cloudy day. :0

Ive lived in Colorado and can vouch for the sunny days.In the summer it will rain "almost every day". But for 10 minutes, then it blows out.

It's rare to get a full day of clouds there.

[Neditate]

Originally Posted by Beena

The way they mesasure "sunny day" in Denver is ridiculous.
If you "saw" the sun that day it was a sunny day. In Phoenix, if you saw a cloud then it was a cloudy day. :0

Well... that's not really true. You must be referring to what they call "Chamber of Commerce" figures. That's not how sunny days are "measured" by the NWS. I got this info from a Denver meteorologist:

The Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau considers any day with at least "some" sun to be a sunny day. That is how they get "300+ days of sunshine" figure. According to them if it's cloudy in the morning and then sunny in the afternoon, it's considered a "sunny" day because we saw sun.
In the Colorado meteorology community, we consider a sunny day to be when less than 25% of the sky is covered with clouds for the entire day. Using our criteria, there are about 115 sunny days per year. So in my opinion, each year Denver averages 115 sunny days, 130 partly cloudy days, and 120 cloudy days. Even if you consider partly cloudy days to be “sunny”, then Denver averages 235 days of sunshine each year. The only way to get to 300+ is to count every single day when there is at least a peak of sun.

Still, it has to beat the heck out of Seattle's # of sunny days. I have a good friend who was born and raised in Colorado. Because of her husband's job they moved to the Seattle area. They love it there. HOWEVER, she does call and complain when she can't take the rain and cloudy days. It is difficult when you are used to seeing the sun more than 200 days a year!