Wanting to relocate to Seattle Area, from Phoenix and lost on area to pick. (Tacoma: apartment, rental)

[reinkingsrus]

Hello,
My husband, Myself and our two children ages 8 years and 7 months, are planning on relocating to the Seattle area. We are not planning on moving until May of next year. My husband is attending Devry, so he will have to attend class at either, the Bellevue campus or the Federal Way campus. I work for a company that has an office in Renton, that I could transfer to. We don't want to be right downtown, but do plan on spending a lot of time getting to know the area and seeing the local spots and historical parts of Seattle and Washington. I guess we are looking for a nice area with less crime, good schools and within a decent driving time of Bellevue, Federal Way or Renton. We are not looking to buy a home at this time, so we need an area where we will be able to find either a house to rent or an apartment. Coming from Arizona, we would like to be able to spend our summers outdoors, so a community with parks is important for the kids. We enjoy camping, hiking, biking and much more, so we don't mind a community with more trails than, roads. If you have any good suggestions, please let us know. If you also have any input on areas to most definitely avoid, we will take them, as well. Given neither of us have been to Washington, and my husband was born and raised in Arizona, we also need some information on where to find a list of local favorite dining spots, family night outs....etc. Thank you for all your help, it is greatly appreciated.

The Reinking Family of Chandler, Arizona.

[CJMom]

Hello Reinking Family.

The "decent driving time" request in your email is the hardest to help with. Traffic here is so bad, in so many places, that being as close to your work as possible is a big plus. Since you're not going to be buying, but renting, I would suggest looking at the Bellevue area. Buying is super expensive, but rental rates are OK with other areas. And, if you commuted to Renton from there you would be going opposite traffic. I live in Bellevue and commute to various locations in the metro area and find that I'm opposite the traffic flow most of the time. Let me know if I can be of further help.

[CJMom]

Another plus for Bellevue is the public schools. Two of the Bellevue High Schools were ranked in the top 100 nationwide by US News (or Newsweek). I realize your son is not yet in High school, but the same still applies for the public school system. Since Microsoft is nearby, there's lots of resources/tax base to keep them above par.

[reinkingsrus]

Hello CJmom,

Thank you for your help, its good to know about the traffic. I will have to take that in consideration then when looking for a place. I will see if I can find the article on the Bellevue School District. You don't happen to have any information on where I can find a list of best places to eat, shop, ....etc in Seattle?


Thank you for all your help!

[CJMom]

We have a local news program called Evening Magazine that does an annual "Best of Western Washington" viewer poll. Use the following link and about 1/2-way down the web page is a link for the results of this year's poll.

http://www.king5.com/eveningmagazine/

[thalia]

If you must move here, of the three areas you are considering Bellevue is the nicest and the commute to Renton should not be too bad, however, I would strongly advise you to reconsider! We moved here from Tucson a year ago and we are still in shock! The weather is horrible! Everyone knows that it rains alot but there are really no words to describe it. There are months when the sun does not come out! Last year it rained for forty two days in a row! The traffic is bad even compared to phx and it is really expensive here, really. I will say that there are tons of really cool things to do here but as far as doing it outside you need to be fast because the summer is short and it is cold and miserable otherwise.

[*hinalea*]

I just moved to Phoenix from Seattle and I hate it here! I want Seattle back! People are progressive, liberal, care about the environment & eachother, they know how to drive & have insurance and there is a downtown!

Maybe Tucson is cheaper than Phoenix but I spend more money living here than I did living in Seattle. Utilities are so much cheaper in Washington...especially electricity and cable/tv service! Although housing is definitely cheaper in Phoenix. Car insurance is cheaper (people actually get insurance and care about their cars - I've gotten more dings in 6 months here than 6 years in Seattle - and I used park on the street in downtown).

Since you have a family...Crime and Vandalism is a lot lower in Seattle/Bellevue and the school systems are a lot better (esp. Bellevue).

There are parks all over the place...one really great one is Marymoor in Bellevue. It's huge and has something for everyone, including a fenced in off-leash dog park. Snowboarding and skiing are fun in the winter. Kayaking/boating, mountain biking, hiking, and camping in the summer. It's never too cold or too hot to do stuff outside...sometimes it is too rainy )

I grew up in Hawai`i so I love how green Western Washington is and adore the temperate climate in Seattle (although the fog and rain can get a little depressing in winter but it is also beautiful and picturesque) so if you love the weather in Phoenix you will absolutely hate Seattle.

It never gets hot...I lived there for 8 years and the hottest temp was in the lower 90's for like a day and that was freakishly hot for the area!

There are great restaurants everywhere...There are two that I highly recommend. Gordito's and Georgia's in Greenwood (on 85th near Greenwood ave) -- Gordito's is "healthy" Mexican and Georgia's is Greek. Friday's and Saturday's they have Greek folk bands play in the restaurant and people get up and dance! There is a great Indian restaurant in Redmond Town Center called Sahib - go there for lunch buffet (cheap and yummy!)

North Seattle is a nice area, South Seattle...not so much. Bellevue, Redmond, Woodinville and Bothell are all nice areas. Woodinville & Bothell are more town than city and are pretty suburban. The North end in Tacoma can be nice but Tacoma has a distinct smell on foggy days - "The Aroma of Tacoma" because of a paper mill.

Oh, and even though the traffic is bad sometimes (it's really not much worse than Phoenix) there is great public transportation. A lot of people drive to their local Park & Ride and commute into downtown Seattle or Bellevue. Saves time, money and eases stress!

Sorry that this is so long...I obviously love Seattle! It's called the Emerald City for good reason!

[compltlyme]

I say check into Issaquah. Just this side of Renton. Near Bellevue. Great for families and great schools.

[wamommy]

Hello Reinking family.

I hope I can help. I lived in the Se valley for 5 years and grew up in Seattle bascially my entire childhood and more. I've been back just a year. DO you want an area to compare to Chandler? Gilbert? Scottsdale? The Ocotillo area? Or are you looking for something completely different. The prices are much higher than AZ. Especially anywhere close to Bellevue. Bellevue and the Plateau( Sammamish and Issaquah) are bascailly North Scottsdale. Chandler and Gilbert would compare to Bothell and Woodinville areas. Federal Way will be much cheaper. As far as school districts the Lake Wash school districts are outstanding ( Plateau) Bellevue is good too, and Northshore is good too. The Everett School District is good in the Mill Creek area. I don't know much on Federal way, sorry. Basically anywhere you live will be minimum of a 45 commut ea way here to Bellevue or Seattle. There's a lot to do here, but whatever you've budgeted coming form AZ add 15% to everything. There alot of museums and festivals in the city, but living in Seattle is really expensive depending ofcourse on your budget Bascially anywhere to commute here will be 400k +

I hope I can help.

[DreamWeavin]

Originally Posted by *hinalea*

I just moved to Phoenix from Seattle and I hate it here! I want Seattle back! People are progressive, liberal, care about the environment & eachother, they know how to drive & have insurance and there is a downtown!

Maybe Tucson is cheaper than Phoenix but I spend more money living here than I did living in Seattle. Utilities are so much cheaper in Washington...especially electricity and cable/tv service! Although housing is definitely cheaper in Phoenix. Car insurance is cheaper (people actually get insurance and care about their cars - I've gotten more dings in 6 months here than 6 years in Seattle - and I used park on the street in downtown).

Since you have a family...Crime and Vandalism is a lot lower in Seattle/Bellevue and the school systems are a lot better (esp. Bellevue).

There are parks all over the place...one really great one is Marymoor in Bellevue. It's huge and has something for everyone, including a fenced in off-leash dog park. Snowboarding and skiing are fun in the winter. Kayaking/boating, mountain biking, hiking, and camping in the summer. It's never too cold or too hot to do stuff outside...sometimes it is too rainy )

I grew up in Hawai`i so I love how green Western Washington is and adore the temperate climate in Seattle (although the fog and rain can get a little depressing in winter but it is also beautiful and picturesque) so if you love the weather in Phoenix you will absolutely hate Seattle.

It never gets hot...I lived there for 8 years and the hottest temp was in the lower 90's for like a day and that was freakishly hot for the area!

There are great restaurants everywhere...There are two that I highly recommend. Gordito's and Georgia's in Greenwood (on 85th near Greenwood ave) -- Gordito's is "healthy" Mexican and Georgia's is Greek. Friday's and Saturday's they have Greek folk bands play in the restaurant and people get up and dance! There is a great Indian restaurant in Redmond Town Center called Sahib - go there for lunch buffet (cheap and yummy!)

North Seattle is a nice area, South Seattle...not so much. Bellevue, Redmond, Woodinville and Bothell are all nice areas. Woodinville & Bothell are more town than city and are pretty suburban. The North end in Tacoma can be nice but Tacoma has a distinct smell on foggy days - "The Aroma of Tacoma" because of a paper mill.

Oh, and even though the traffic is bad sometimes (it's really not much worse than Phoenix) there is great public transportation. A lot of people drive to their local Park & Ride and commute into downtown Seattle or Bellevue. Saves time, money and eases stress!

Sorry that this is so long...I obviously love Seattle! It's called the Emerald City for good reason!

pleased to read your post, since I'm looking and seriously looking into a move to Seattle area. So much is said about the weather, I personally like overcast/rainy days compared to what Mobile,Al has to offer. Here it it's either HOT and I do mean HOT and humid or when it rains-it pours. Along with thunder,lightening,flooding and power outtages. Add the hurricanes to that and you get a very unpleasant place to live. The traffic is worse than any I've seen in the many places I've visited. I do hope you can move back to your beloved Seattle in time.
Can you give me your thoughts of the Gig Harbore area?