Family of 6 Moving from Michigan to Seattle (Bellevue, Shoreline: crime rate, houses)

[Shesflipped!]

Hi everyone! We are a family of 6, (2 kids in college, 1 in High School, 1 in Middle school.) That is moving to Seattle. My husband is taking a job within his company, and we are really excited to be moving out of Michigan!
Any suggestions about suburbs, good schools would be greatly appreciated. We're expecting that the cost of living will be higher, but, are hoping to find a nice home in a nice neighborhood. What suggestions/helpful hints do you have for life-time Michiganders moving to Seattle?

[AzDreamer]

Do you know where your husband will be working? The commute here can be a factor in deciding where to live.

[Shesflipped!]

We believe he will be working in Downtown Seattle where the Headquarters is located. Thank You!

[Heiwos]

In your case I would live on the Eastside (of Lake Washington), around I-90 (the most convenient path into downtown Seattle), in Bellevue or Issaquah. Seattle has 5X the crime rate of the Eastside, and consequently Seattle schools are a mess (many are closing now due to parents escaping to better schools in the suburbs). Bellevue Community College is near I-90. Based on certain criteria like advanced placement tests for college, 4 Bellevue high schools are ranked in the top 100 high schools in the nation. Mercer Island, in Lake Washington, is also a possibility but $$$.

[AzDreamer]

I like Mercer Island and it's got great access to downtown Seattle and Bellevue. It's not cheap here but after figuring in time and money wasted commuting it isn't a bad deal.

The houses in the more affordable neighborhoods are 50's and 60's vintage so if you need something newer you'll have to spend more or drive farther.

The schools on Mercer Island are ranked well compared to other public districts.

[Shesflipped!]

Thank you both so much for your help. I checked out Mercer Island and Bellevue on the web, they both look fabulous. Any other information about Seattle life would be helpful. Thanks again.

[AzDreamer]

Today in Seattle it's about 50 and sunny, for February it's pretty nice. We don't get a lot of days like this in the Winter but probably Michigan doesn't either.

If you are able to get outside every day for a walk it helps overcome the dreariness. If you are inside all day it could affect you in a bad way.

[MissingAll4Seasons]

Eastside is great, but don't forget "Northside" (i.e. North of Lake Washington). You can get a home in Snohomish County much cheaper and for less property taxes than you can in King County. I know... I live on the county line (King side) and my property taxes are 1.5X higher than my neighbor's across the street (same size house and lot).

From Kenmore/Bothell, you can get to Redmond (MSFT) or Downtown (Seattle) in about 15 minutes if traffic is good, or in less than an hour if traffic is horrible. Lake City, Shoreline, Kenmore and Bothell are all in the Shoreline school district which is very highly rated in the area. Also, you aren't on Seattle City electric or water, and the rates are bit cheaper with Puget Sound Energy and Northshore Utility.

Always get near a major bus Park & Ride if you can, even if you don't plan on riding the bus everyday it's a real bonus when there is a non-stop express route near your house to near your work. If your job pays for a bus pass (many larger companies do) and you live near an express route, you can really save a lot of time and money you'd otherwise be spending on commuting and parking your vehicle (yeah, don't forget that a lot of downtown businesses don't having adequate or paid parking and you have to pay to park at a lot somewhere which can be very expensive).

Seattle, Eastside and "Northside" offer a lot of things to do... just depends on what you're interested in doing, how far you're willing to travel for it, and how many people you want around you when you're doing it

[msryan]

I live in Woodinville -- schools highly ranked. Easy access to 405/I5 redmond and Hwy520. Nice place to raise a family. What price range are you looking at for housing?

[motor80]

If someone is going to work in downtown Seattle, why would they purposely live on the Eastside knowing that they will be facing a nasty commute every morning? I mean, if you already live on the Eastside and get a new job in downtown Seattle - that's one thing. But if you have the opportunity to start fresh on a clean slate, I would want to live as close as reasonably possible to where I work, avoiding extra stress and travel time. That's just me.

I would agree that the crime rate is higher in (certain areas) of Seattle than ALL of "the Eastside" (which encompases several cities, mostly thinly populated suburbia) - but 5 times? I am somewhat dubious of that claim.

Originally Posted by Heiwos

In your case I would live on the Eastside (of Lake Washington), around I-90 (the most convenient path into downtown Seattle), in Bellevue or Issaquah. Seattle has 5X the crime rate of the Eastside, and consequently Seattle schools are a mess (many are closing now due to parents escaping to better schools in the suburbs). Bellevue Community College is near I-90. Based on certain criteria like advanced placement tests for college, 4 Bellevue high schools are ranked in the top 100 high schools in the nation. Mercer Island, in Lake Washington, is also a possibility but $$$.