Seattle suburb - need advice (Tacoma, Bellevue: daycares, houses, neighborhoods)

[fsuphd2b]

My husband and I will be relocating to Seattle. We also have a child who will be starting school in 2014.

I will be working at UW, while he will be at MS. Kirkland/Bellevue/Redmond area is probably out. What are our other options? North or South? Bothell? Renton? I don't mind the commute and could definitely take the public transportation (light rail). I'm originally from Portland (now living in HELL, aka Tallahassee), so being in the burbs is fine with me.

[coops32]

Hello! I prefer North suburbs - both for affordability and schools, but also for commute. Since your commutes will be in two different directions, I would suggest a suburb close to the intersection of I-405 and I-5 in Lynnwood. Both Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace have great park and rides that can go in both directions with very little effort. I would look at Lake Forest Park, Brier, Kenmore, Edmonds, Shoreline, and Mountlake Terrace depending on what price range you are in. Brier and Lake Forest Park are both right there and Kenmore recently got named in best places to live for all neighborhoods across Seattle (So did Mountlake Terrace).

[Ira500]

School districts tend to be better north than south. There are some parts of Kirkland that are a little less expensive ( Juanita, Totem Lake, and Kingsgate), but I'd look at Bothell, Kenmore, and Lake Forest Park.

[jenlion]

Another thing to be aware of is that one or both of you IS likely to have a nasty commute, since you're working on opposite ends of the lake. Kid in school 2014 -- you must have a new baby now (congrats!). I don't know if you have childcare already worked out, but if not, be aware that it's difficult to come by here and very expensive. Daycare for an infant ran me $1800 a month; now that he's 2 1/2, it's "only" $1100. Nannies run around $15/hr. Daycares have very long waiting lists, too. MS advertises during recruitment that they've got one right there nearby, but what they don't tell you is that the waiting list can be two years long for a one year old. Hahaha. Many people find cheaper or more flexible options in their neighborhoods by word of mouth, but that's tough to do until you actually move, and you don't know what you'll find until you're there!! So, if you don't have the childcare situation all taken care of already, be aware that it's difficult here, more so than in other parts of the country.

Are you looking to buy? Rent? Apt? House? Have a budget?

[jenlion]

Another reason to consider areas north of the lake: they're talking about adding a significant toll to the 520 bridge over Lake Washington. They dropped that little bomb only a few months after I bought in Redmond. If I have to ever work in Seattle and there, say, an $11 toll, that's more than $200 a month just in tolls.... I've heard $6, $9, and $11 as possible toll amounts, I don't know if it's been decided yet or not.

So, not relying on a bridge for a commute is a good plan!!

405 traffic is nasty, but maybe your husband can swing some later / more flexible hours at MS. Which campus will he be working in?

[fsuphd2b]

Originally Posted by jenlion

Another thing to be aware of is that one or both of you IS likely to have a nasty commute, since you're working on opposite ends of the lake. Kid in school 2014 -- you must have a new baby now (congrats!). I don't know if you have childcare already worked out, but if not, be aware that it's difficult to come by here and very expensive. Daycare for an infant ran me $1800 a month; now that he's 2 1/2, it's "only" $1100. Nannies run around $15/hr. Daycares have very long waiting lists, too. MS advertises during recruitment that they've got one right there nearby, but what they don't tell you is that the waiting list can be two years long for a one year old. Hahaha. Many people find cheaper or more flexible options in their neighborhoods by word of mouth, but that's tough to do until you actually move, and you don't know what you'll find until you're there!! So, if you don't have the childcare situation all taken care of already, be aware that it's difficult here, more so than in other parts of the country.

Are you looking to buy? Rent? Apt? House? Have a budget?

Thanks! We have an 8-month-old now. We're trying to prepare ourselves for the daycare price/waitlist shock. We were on a year waiting list (got on before we even moved to FL and before the baby was born) for the Florida State daycare. When our name got called up, we finally went to go look at it and decided it was definitely not for us.

My husband is currently working at home (in iPhone game development) and watching the baby, while I'm finishing up my PhD coursework.

We're definitely looking at buying a single-family house with a 2-car garage. Something over 2000 sq ft and some type of yard. Age doesn't matter too much. I know the price of housing is very high, compared to Tallahassee. It seems pretty reasonable to us (we moved from Raleigh a few months ago), but the wages here are horrrid. Can we find anything for around 500K?

[fsuphd2b]

Tell me more about Shoreline. My mom went to Shoreline CC, but that was um...over 35 years ago.

[Ira500]

Yes, there are plenty of nice houses for 500 thousand and less, especially in places like Bothell, Lake Forest Park, Shoreline, and Kenmore.

[asw1]

If Microsoft lets your husband work remotly, I recommend North\West Tacoma. It's much easier to buy a house down there and regardless of what people say, Tacoma is not that bad. I grew up in that town and lived in a beautiful area. There are plently of nice places in Fircrest, University Place, and the North and West ends of Tacoma.

It's easy enough to get from Tacoma to Seattle by bus but I certainly dont recommend living down there if your husband needs to commute to Microsoft everyday. I've done that commute from Tacoma and it sucks but Tacoma to Seattle is no big deal.

This would seem to be further away than Bothell but with the commute, it really takes the same amount of time.

[bigballa23]

I suggest Lynnwood or Shoreline

Shoreline has the best school district in the Seattle area also it's like 10 minutes to Downtown, 10 Minutes to Lake Washington

Lynnwood has almost everything in the city. The school district isn't as good but if you live in Lynnwood you won't have to leave the city for shopping or anything because theres pretty much everything you'll need.