So what is wrong with Bothell?

[allforcats]

Originally Posted by btp2k2

Uh oh! Someone better tell that to the city. They seem to think that I am in Bothell city limits despite me being in Snohomish County.

Funny, I used to think so too. Guess the internet references, including the City-Data link I included above, need to be told!

[mlv311]

Originally Posted by btp2k2

Uh oh! Someone better tell that to the city. They seem to think that I am in Bothell city limits despite me being in Snohomish County.

That's correct. If I'm not mistaken, there are 3 zip codes in Bothell under Snohomish County (one being where we used to live: 98012).

[maybemovingfromDC]

perfect! We can't wait to get out there. From what we hear it's a beautiful place.

[UW Contender]

I am so glad to have located this thread - it has been insightful. I hope you don't mind if I stretch it out a bit longer.

I have been selected as a final candidate for a job at the University of Washington. If I am offered and accept the position, it would require a speedy cross-country move and so I am researching for family and real estate-friendly (bang-for-the-buck) neighborhoods. Our son is a newborn, so safe neighborhoods and quality elementary schools are high on our list of priorities. We are probably looking for a single family home (no condos or town homes please) in the $400K range. I would also like to keep the commute from home to UW to less than 30 minutes. With this criteria, Bothell seems to be a great contender.

If you would, please voice your thoughts if Bothell seems to fit my family's needs. One additional question. I am a cyclist, and it appears there is a great bike greenway that travels the length from Bothell to UW. Does anyone know how long it takes to pedal this stretch and is the asphalt well maintained?

Thanks very much for your advice and comments, and a happy New Year to all.

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by UW Contender

I am a cyclist, and it appears there is a great bike greenway that travels the length from Bothell to UW. Does anyone know how long it takes to pedal this stretch and is the asphalt well maintained?

That's the Burke Gillman Trail and it is well maintained in the sense that there is rarely garbage along it. However, in places it can be bumpy because of tree roots pushing the pavement up. As far as how long it will take you really depends on how fast you cycle. It takes me a good forty five minutes to get from Matthews Beach up to Bothell and 25 minutes from Mathews to UW so adding that together and it would be over an hour. However, we only average 12 miles an hour (have a kid on the back of the bike) If you are serious cycler it would take you far less time IMO.

Also look in Kenmore and Lake Forest Park as it may be that prices there will allow for something in the 400K range and they are closer in. When I was at the UW one of my professor's cycled in from Lake Forest park every day.

[Ira500]

I'll second what jennibc just said. Lake Forest Park is not a large area, but it's closer to UW, is nice, has less expensive houses, and has one of the best bookstores in the Seattle area.

[allforcats]

On this forum we usually advise relocators to RENT for the first 6 months or more. If you don't know anything about the area, you can't possibly know where you really want to live and invest hundreds of thousands of dollars. Every neighborhood, and there are countless, is different. For rentals in the Seattle area:
For this one, click on a location in the little map to drill down to smaller areas:
NWapartments: Seattle apartment rentals, house rental listings, rental classifieds and other property rentals in Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue and other Washington areas, cities and neighborhoods
Seattle Classifieds - Seattle Weekly
and craigslist.com, apartments.com, rent.com, forrent.com


Given the deep recession which will continue through 2009 and into 2010, there is no financial rush to buy a home. Prices are continuing down here.

My personal favorite site to keep up with real estate prices: no selling, very easy to manipulate for the specific information you want:
TheMLSonline.com - Seattle Real Estate, Top Seattle Real Estate Search - Call 425-467-6577


Regarding schools, you may already have picked up this information in many of the threads here. City-Data contributors consistently say the best school districts in western Washington are, from north to south:
Bellingham
Shoreline
Bainbridge Island
Vashon Island
Lake Washington (Kirkland, Redmond, Sammamish)
Bellevue
Mercer Island
Issaquah
Tahoma (Maple Valley)
Olympia
Camas

Despite its title, this document does rank school systems neighboring the city of Seattle:
The Seattle Times: School Guide
Great Schools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community
Washington State Report Card


Here are others' ideas on your topics:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/seatt...c-schools.html
http://www.city-data.com/forum/seatt...ve-thanks.html
http://www.city-data.com/forum/seatt...ommutable.html
http://www.city-data.com/forum/seatt...w-commute.html
http://www.city-data.com/forum/seatt...partments.html
http://www.city-data.com/forum/seatt...around-uw.html

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by allforcats

On this forum we usually advise relocators to RENT for the first 6 months or more.

Well, my house is about to go on the market so I am advising to BUY BUY BUY . In all fairness, if it were me moving here and I were looking outside of in-city neighborhoods, if at all possible, I'd wait to purchase. Housing in the outlying areas is dropping faster than prices in-city. I may be biased but my sense is that there are still enough people that want to live in city that houses that have already factored in the weakening housing market into their prices have moved pretty fast. At least in my neighborhood. Traffic can be so nasty during rush hour that a few miles makes a big difference in terms of what people are willing to pay.

[MunchiesMom]

I've lived in the Woodinville area 39 years and used to go shopping up to Bothell, as the closest place. But for years I didn't go there. Then I started doing restaurant reviews for Urban Spoon and went to some Bothell restaurants. They were so bad I decided Bothell was about 25 years behind the times. It's always been Scandanavian-conservative in nature although down by the slough it's very attractive.