Kirkland Relo Questions (Seattle, Bellevue, Federal Way: rental car, real estate, rental)

[Evmom1]

According to this forum, Kirkland seems to get high marks. However, our family would be relocating from an area that also gets high marks on paper, but is difficult to live in in actuality... San Jose, CA. Not to disparage it too much, but it is very expensive to live here, and the schools, while great on paper, aren't necessarily so in practice. Our experience has been that it is harder to make friends here than in other areas we've lived (Midwest and SoCal). We are hoping to find a friendly community with good schools and lots of family related stuff to do. No easy task! We are a family of three (son is in 2nd grade) with an opportunity to relocate. My husband would be working in Kirkland, and, based on what I've seen housing price wise, we *might* be able to afford that area, but don't want to be house poor! Actual good schools are our number one priority, and a commute no greater than 20 minutes or so is up there, as well. We love hiking and being outdoors, and from the looks of things, WA is beautiful! Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!

[jwb123]

Does Kirkland fall into the Northshore or Lake Washington school district? I am not 100% sure because I haven't lived in Kirkland. Either are good.

Kirkland has nice areas and not nice areas. I would stay away from Juanita - but near the water is great.

There was a big debate and discussion here about making friends in Western WA - the consensus was that it was extremely difficult to make friends in Western WA (suburbs and Seattle, itself) for several reasons. It's not real "neighborhoody" in that, you could likely live somewhere for years and not really "know" your neighbors.

Commute will always be an issue in Seattle and suburbs. Very congested, and roads that are not well planned for the growth Seattle and surrounding communities have seen. I don't know, unless you live RIGHT by work, that 20 minutes or less, is realistic. Personally, you may want to consider that the longer commute will equal a better quality of life, neighborhood and school district for your family. Issaquah and Sammamish might interest you.

[scirocco22]

Kirkland is in the Lake Washington school district.

And I question Jenbar's disapproval of Juanita. Not as "not nice" as it once was. I would actually recommend certain areas of Juanita. Incidentally, Juanita is totally ensconced within the Kirkland city limits.

Coming from the San Jose area, I think you'll still find Kirkland's real estate prices quite reasonable. The possible exception would be west of Market and perhaps central Houghton ...eh, and maybe along the water, oh, and the Highlands is getting a bit more upscale but I still can't believe anywhere in Kirkland will compare with the Silicon Valley as far as R.E. prices.

--'rocco

[pwright1]

[Evmom1]

Thanks for the replies. Are you all Seattle natives, or have you had experience moving into the area from elsewhere? We're wondering what people who have moved into the area (or even from one area of Seattle metro to another) found difficult. Was it easy for your children to make friends in the neighborhood? Kirkland, and Seattle, sound just right for us in the big picture, but sometimes it's the little details that bog you down, or make the experience a great one. Thoughts, anyone?

[pwright1]

I relocated here from Washington D.C. The Boeing Company paid for everything and it all went very smooth and efficient. Along with all my furniture they even shipped my car on the Allied moving truck, paid for hotel, rental car and meals for I believe a week. It would take about a week for the movers to drive across country so we did have to find a place to live right away. I had a cousin who already lived here so that was nice too. My job was at the Kent Defense and Space Center. I remember marking all these apts. in my apt. finder book to check out in Kent, Federal Way, Renton and Tukwila since they were close to work and where quite cheap compared to D.C. My cousin looked at my list and without hesitation tossed it in the trash and told me with a straight face, 'you do not want to live out there in hicksville'. I ended up renting a beautiful condo at the Lamplighter complex on Capitol Hill. It had breathtaking views of the sound, the Space Needle and downtown Seattle. My mother moved out here also. It was so convenient to all the shops and restaurants on Broadway. Also my commute was no more than 20-25 minutes. People here complain about the traffic and it is bad sometimes but traffic in the D.C. area was much worse. IMO if you can find a place somewhere west of I-405 in Kirkland near downtown Kirkland it would be perfect. There's great shops and restaurants, a library, great parks, a swimming pool and of course the waterfront. I don't have kids but I think Kirkland is a great place for kids. Kirkland is not cheap but compared to San Jose it just might be to you. I wish you the best.

[philiplo]

Kirkland is a great city, and one of the easiest on the Eastside in which to meet people. The pictures in this thread are all within about a three block radius, so it's not a complete portrayal of the city, but it does show that people spend time outside when possible. People from all over the area come to Kirkland to walk along the waterfront, so there's no shortage of potential friends. Coffee shops are good for that, too, if you can afford the price of a cup of snooty brew.

Someone else mentioned Juanita. While it would be more affordable, it's also much more removed from the "action." With San Jose money, you should be able to get closer in.

[jwb123]

What I said was...

Kirkland has nice areas and not nice areas. I would stay away from Juanita - but near the water is great.

I didn't say Juanita was "not nice" - just that Kirkland had some "not nice" areas. I don't think anyone would disagree that it's mixed? I have looked at homes before in Juanita - and I think you can find a decent home there, but I would not move mychildren there, perhaps because of personal preference and what we are looking for in regards to quality of environment. Our realtor, 3 years ago, wouldn't even let us really consider it, and shot down Juanita immediately.

Obviously, "not nice" is subjective.

We're wondering what people who have moved into the area (or even from one area of Seattle metro to another) found difficult. Was it easy for your children to make friends in the neighborhood?

I moved to Seattle from the Washington DC area. My husband moved there from Baltimore, MD. While in Western WA, we have lived in Capital Hill, Magnolia, Redmond, Issaquah and Bothell/Mill Creek. Moving INTO Seattle, at the point of my life (single, no kids) there was little adjustment - and the typical Seattle lifestyle fit me well.

Things changed after having children and we were seeking out affordability as well as high quality of life. Our best experience was in the Issaquah area and have only positives about it.

As a non-native, originally, I liked the very wet weather. As a non-native, the very wet weather just about drove me mad in my final years there. Especially from the perspective of a stay at home mom who wanted to get out of the house with the kids.... and from the perspective of wanting to actually have a summer longer than 2-3 wks!

In our last neighborhood (Bothell/Mill Creek) we finally pulled the neighborhood kids out of their homes to play with our 6 yr old. It took 3 years though.

[pwright1]

I have to comment. If you can live in San Jose with a population of nearly a million people which has a few bad areas you can live in little Kirkland. As a former realtor in the Seattle area if you can afford to live there Kirkland is the ideal town. If you do not want to contribute to the already sprawlyness of metropolitan Seattle, and horrible rush hour traffic mess you should live in Kirkland. Does living in a far out suburb really equal better quality of life? I don't think so. Please, if your husband's job is in Kirkland, it should definately be your #1 choice.

[Evmom1]

You guys are answering exactly the questions I wondered about. We are coming up there in April to check things out (easier to spend some time outside than earlier in the year). Kirkland is of course our number one town because my husband would be working there- I'm the kind of person that would love it if we only had one car in the family, and we could walk or bike lots of places- weather permitting! It does seem to be pretty expensive, though, even by my local inflated housing price standards, although there is no comparison with what you get for the money, as around here in a good school district it's common to spend a million on a 50 year old 1,500 sq ft ranch. So, we definately want to check out other towns around there as well. No one has said anything about Bellevue or Redmond- are they just big 'ol ugly burbs? And Issaquah intrigues me- it looks absolutely gorgeous from someone coming from soulless San Jose, where the typical home sits crammed with a bunch of others on 6,000 sqft lots. How long would a commute be from Issaquah to southern Kirkland? Thanks for the info about the weather. Having lived in the midwest, I'm not too worried about the wet, as I love the green that comes with it! But I could definately see getting tired of the cloudiness! And of course the short summers...3 weeks? Yikes!