Issaquah (Seattle, Bellevue, Sammamish: housing, construction, employers)

[Evlevo]

And the area is fantastic (it has really made it difficult to move out of state!)

If you can afford the $500K+ housing prices, then you are all set.

The schools are some of the best in the country (Class of 95). Furthermore, by the time you get to highschool, they are free of all of the BS frequently portrayed about highschool I couldn't tell you who the "star quarterback" or "head cheerleader" was for any of my four years, and I am quite proud of the fact that our senior class president donned a white polyester leasure suit and sang the theme song from "Shaft" for his campaign speech. The schools are about 94% white, 5% asian, and 1% "other", but everyone was very open-minded, and race really didn't matter (if anything, it made you unique and more popular). Even some of the higher functioning kids from the special ed class were fairly popular in their own unique way -- and you would instantly be ostracised for weeks by everyone if you ever made fun of one of them.

As for recreation, the area is surrounded by the "Issaquah Alps", mountains 2-3K feet high and have hundreds of miles of excellent hiking trails.

The area is also home to the best chocolate shop in the world, "Boehms". They make it there, and it is truely one of my favorite places (I was even married in the on-site chapel, a replica of a 12th century Swiss one, with Michaelagelo paintings on the ceiling)

If I gave you my real name, I could probably get in trouble because amongst the longtime residents there is a "code of silence" to not talk about why it is such a good place because then "all the Californians will move up here and ruin it". Oh well, one more couldn't hurt!

[ToMMyMan1]

I have about 700 thousand in my pocket so there shouldn't be any problems with that. I'm looking into buying a house in this new neighborhood called 'Hawksridge'.

[ToMMyMan1]

By the way, how much is a year in taxes? Thanks guys for your help.

[scirocco22]

Originally Posted by ToMMyMan1

I have about 700 thousand in my pocket so there shouldn't be any problems with that. I'm looking into buying a house in this new neighborhood called 'Hawksridge'.

I think that's one of the Burnstead developments. Nice area, good builder. You'll be fine!

I predict that you'll drink water out of your tap and foget about buying bottled water at the store.


--'rocco

[Evlevo]

Property taxes are not cheap in Washington, but they are not too bad compared to other states. Sales tax is high (8.5% or more), but you really make up for it with no state income tax.

Look at these links for a better idea of where the area stands in terms of taxes. Washington is pretty much middle of the deck (although a 700K place will mean you'll pay just a little bit more of your fair share!)

http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lis...005/index.html

http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lis...005/index.html

And for my 2 cents, the older Tiger Mountain, Downtown area is much better than the Plateau, but then again I don't really like Ticky-Tacky homes (and there is no better place for that then the Plateau)

Also, my comments in my 1st post about the schools may not apply anymore since I think the area went from 1 big, 1 small highschool to 4-5 big highschools.

[jwb123]

The schools are more cliquey now - you have a lot of "rich kids" and that sort of attitude... however, I think you find that in many schools that aren't in a small town, nowadays. Not sure it's easy or possible to escape.

Burnstead is one of the best builders in the area.

Property taxes aren't too bad, considering other states.

[KirbyJRT]

Take into consideration it's about 18 miles or so into Seattle. One of the posters said his wife took the express in and it was less then an hour. We are talking 18 miles

C'mon be honest with the guy if he is going to work in Seattle about the commute from Issaquah. Go to google maps and get directions from issaquah into seattle. I think you'll see your trouble

Here it is:
"Oh and the bus is a good commute from Issaquah (express buses to downtown). My wife used them and it was under 1 hour."

Do the Mariners players still live in Issaquah? If I remember correctly, Griffey Jr lived there.

[jwb123]

C'mon be honest with the guy if he is going to work in Seattle about the commute from Issaquah.

Under one hour is a good commute in ANY eastside, Seattle suburb, if you work in Seattle.... regardless of the exact mileage you will be traveling. Traffic is traffic there, and it sucks.

My husband commuted, by bus, from Issaquah into downtown, the WaMu tower... it was less than an hour. Probably anywhere from 35-45 minutes. That's a good commute.

[KirbyJRT]

What about the light rail system? Is that just going north and south?

[jwb123]

When I left the area 5 months ago, it wasn't built yet - nor anywhere near it. I think they had some tracks up around the airport. As far as I know, the plans for that did not include the eastside.