Kid and Family friendly areas in Vancouver (Seattle, Orchards: rentals, sex offenders)

[Mudd]

Wife and I are considering moving to Vancouver from Austin. We've been through the area before a few years ago, and love the area and the weather.

Couple of questions though. We are concerned about finding the right area, especially something that's kid friendly. We have a 2 year old daughter, and wonder what the schools are like out there especially. Another concern is the "peace and quiet" factor. One thing about our current home is that the subdivision is rather new, and there seems to be a lot of riff raff (nothing serious, mind you), and we'd like to avoid the areas where it's common for loud stereos driving by, rentals with tons of different cars there every night, and a lot of the neighbors don't speak English.

Another thing that's been hard for me to judge are the types of homes available there. We bought a new build, subsequently, there's not much we can do to really affect the value of our home, so I'm looking at neighborhoods that are maybe a little bit older (10+ years, say), with established foliage and maybe a little larger home with a basement that may need a little work.

And finally, strange question, but what kind of natural disaster concerns are there in the area? Here in central TX, there's VERY strong thunderstorms and occasional tornadoes, and I'm not a big fan of that. I know that's earthquake country there, how's that work out for you that live there?

It'll probably be at least a year or so at the soonest before we're able to pull the trigger on a move there, but I'd love to hear opinions about the areas, as that's the one thing I can't really research from 2000 miles away.

[StealthRabbit]

I'd focus on Camas area for good schools and less chance of 'ghetto' rental areas infiltrating your home.

Avoid, most of Orchards neighborhood.

for an established area in Vancouver proper, look into this thread
http://www.city-data.com/forum/vanco...couver-wa.html

I also like Lincoln area
Lincoln - Neighborhood Associations - Neighborhoods - Our Community - City of Vancouver, Washington, USA
and northern parts of Minnehaha
West Minnehaha - Neighborhood Associations - Neighborhoods - Our Community - City of Vancouver, Washington, USA

We have a few ice storms 1-2/yr
decent mini earthquake 1 every 10 yrs (5.0)
an occasional mini tornado 1 every 20 yrs
not heavy thunderstorms or hail, but be cautious around slopes, as saturated soils (from 200+ days / drizzle) can cause mud slides

we have an occasional volcano (1 every 200yrs)

[hml1976]

Mudd - you sound a lot like us. We moved to Camas from Tennessee a little over a year ago and have two kids 2 & 4yrs old. We LOVE it here, the schools are great according to my neighbors, there's tons to do and its beautiful and peaceful with the added bonus of Portland just down the road.

Our house is 11 years old, that's pretty established for this area believe it or not. Neighborhoods to check out: Lake Pointe, Sunningdale Gardens, Holly Hills, Lake Heights, all are the more established (meaning older) areas of Camas and there are tons of kids. Beautiful but newer houses are up on Prune Hill and down at Lacamas Shores on the lake. Very few houses with basements here though.

In the year I've been year the only natural disaster we've had is a freak week-long blizzard. There aren't even thunderstorms (not at all!) and earthquakes are much less common than I feared, I have yet to experience one. The relief from tornadoes is nice!

If you can handle the rainy weather, I think Camas is a wonderful little utopia

[Am31]

"Just wondering" My family and I plan to move in July to Vancouver, Wa....my cousin's have lived up there for years and have said to stay away from Camas due to the paper mill is this correct?

[hml1976]

Am31 - the paper mill smell has been discussed a thousand times on this board. In the last decade or so they have really cleaned up the mill and it really doesn't smell anymore. I've lived here for over a year now and have smelled the mill only a handful of times while standing right next to it downtown. I've never smelled it all at our house.

People who have lived in the area for years may remember the old days but really, come visit, you can't smell it at all.

[bigolwoody]

Originally Posted by Mudd

Wife and I are considering moving to Vancouver from Austin. We've been through the area before a few years ago, and love the area and the weather.

Couple of questions though. We are concerned about finding the right area, especially something that's kid friendly. We have a 2 year old daughter, and wonder what the schools are like out there especially. Another concern is the "peace and quiet" factor. One thing about our current home is that the subdivision is rather new, and there seems to be a lot of riff raff (nothing serious, mind you), and we'd like to avoid the areas where it's common for loud stereos driving by, rentals with tons of different cars there every night, and a lot of the neighbors don't speak English.

Another thing that's been hard for me to judge are the types of homes available there. We bought a new build, subsequently, there's not much we can do to really affect the value of our home, so I'm looking at neighborhoods that are maybe a little bit older (10+ years, say), with established foliage and maybe a little larger home with a basement that may need a little work.

And finally, strange question, but what kind of natural disaster concerns are there in the area? Here in central TX, there's VERY strong thunderstorms and occasional tornadoes, and I'm not a big fan of that. I know that's earthquake country there, how's that work out for you that live there?

It'll probably be at least a year or so at the soonest before we're able to pull the trigger on a move there, but I'd love to hear opinions about the areas, as that's the one thing I can't really research from 2000 miles away.

Mudd.its a great place to live.So far a 13 year old girl has been murdered by a sex offender "transient" and there are 5 murders this year with only 1 being solved(the 13 year old girl) I think.The rain festival goes from october until april but the summers are most beautiful.People overall are friendly but I think the dark,cold,gray and wet 6 months a year affect some of the people.Schools are pretty good overall.If you don`t want to spend the extra money in Camas,there are some pretty good neighborhoods in east vancouver near the Camas city limits.I live in a neighborhood called westridge place and I think it is nice.Fishers landing is another place that seems to be o.k.Please bring some sunshine with you.

[Lywana]

I live in Southeast Texas and the best place to move is Vancouver, Wash I am moving back soon. Austin is beautiful but you will love it there.

[idw2s]

I know people love Camas, but I don't get the appeal. The housing costs a fortune compared to closer in Vancouver, and you have a much longer commute, unless you happen to work on that side of town.

People in Camas may not be able to smell the mill, but I certainly do on occasion, and I'm in the southern end of the Battle Ground school district. Maybe it gets blown this way, and away from Camas.

We live a bit north of Orchards, and I love it. We're in one of the newer homes in a neighborhood of subdivisions ranging in age from 2-20 years old. It's nice, because there is a variety of homes, families, and some folks here have really strong connections. Lots of activities. We moved in shortly before Halloween, and I was amazed to see crowds of kids ToTing... I hadn't seen that since my childhood. Folks are really friendly.

There have been some kids who have done some vandalism here, but the community responded with increased vigilance, and it's not happened again. Crime is going up locally as the economy is struggling. Same thing, the neighborhood is being watchful.

We've moved a lot, I have to say I think it's just an issue of neighborhood chemistry, wherever you live. Some neighborhoods are lucky enough to have a few of those people who bring the neighborhood together. It has more to do with personalities than property values. In fact, I'd have to say I've never personally experienced that strong sense of community when we've lived in more upscale neighborhoods.

One thing to keep in mind about Vancouver is they have a large number of Eastern European immigrants. I consider this a plus, not a minus (but I am only 3rd generation of Eastern European descent). Sadly, they keep mostly to themselves, but their homes are well maintained, they're very conservative.

The best way to avoid noise in neighborhoods is be in the middle of one of those limited access subdivisions, with only a couple of ways in or out. Cuts down on crime too. Beyond that, I've found our biggest predictor for satisfaction with a neighborhood is to go walk around on Saturday mornings when kids and families are out, and chat up the locals. If folks are willing to stop and chat a while, usually, there is a strong community connection, and they're the kind of folks who are very welcoming to newcomers.

As for natural disasters, I lived several years in North Dallas, so I know of what you speak. I still remember how often the storms would knock the power out, and thunderstorms that would rattle the windows and vibrate the walls. Intense! I was lucky enough not to experience a tornado while there, although when we were building a house out near Wylie, one blew right by weeks before it was done. Knocked down part of the hospital. Yikes.

We did have a tornado here last year that went from Lake Vancouver to Hazel Dell, did some damage, mostly blowing things around. Nothing compared to what you'd expect in Texas, short and not horribly powerful. The last tornado prior to that was 30 years ago. Not a huge concern.

There is a bigger risk of earthquakes here than previously thought, so there are new building standards in response to the recent awareness of that risk. Older homes may be particularly vulnerable, but can be remediated (it's costly).

Interestingly the west coast has often been thought to be relatively safe from Radon. Conventional wisdom proves wrong, all of Clark County is now rated high risk. I would not buy a home here without having it tested for Radon. It's not terribly expensive, and it's not terribly costly to remediate.

We've lived in several states, and I really like Vancouver. We were hoping to move back to the Seattle area, but could only get as far as Portland, but I really like Vancouver better. You get many of the benefits of a large city, with a more small town feel, and better sense of community. And it's a short trip across the bridge to Portland if you need to go there. The exception being rush hour, which for some is a big consideration, but being from LA where rush hour is a 3 hour event, I don't mind leaving early or late by 30 minutes or so to beat the traffic.

It is very suburban in nature, there is virtually no nightlife. For some that's a negative, but we're in the family stage of our lives, so suburban is a bonus for me, not a drawback.

Good luck with your move!

[gradoli]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

I'd focus on Camas area for good schools and less chance of 'ghetto' rental areas infiltrating your home.

Avoid, most of Orchards neighborhood.

for an established area in Vancouver proper, look into this thread
[URL]http://www.city-data.com/forum/vancouver-area/527098-mid-century-neighborhoods-vancouver-wa.html[/URL]

I also like Lincoln area
[URL="http://www.cityofvancouver.us/nhoods.asp?menuid=10461&submenuid=10467&nhoodid=11 331"]Lincoln - Neighborhood Associations - Neighborhoods - Our Community - City of Vancouver, Washington, USA[/URL]
and northern parts of Minnehaha
[URL="http://www.cityofvancouver.us/nhoods.asp?menuid=10461&submenuid=10467&nhoodid=11 352"]West Minnehaha - Neighborhood Associations - Neighborhoods - Our Community - City of Vancouver, Washington, USA[/URL]

We have a few ice storms 1-2/yr
decent mini earthquake 1 every 10 yrs (5.0)
an occasional mini tornado 1 every 20 yrs
not heavy thunderstorms or hail, but be cautious around slopes, as saturated soils (from 200+ days / drizzle) can cause mud slides

we have an occasional volcano (1 every 200yrs)

Before moving to these two neighborhoods, one should check out the Sheriff's Dept. for convicted sex offenders that live in very close proximity to all school public and private. Looks in these neighborhoods can be very deceptive. There is a monumental meth problem and homeless problem. There is a lot of theft, burglaries and assaults.

[gradoli]

All persons considering moving to the northwest or lincoln neighborhoods and enrolling your children in either the Vancouver SD or St. James School and Our Lady of Lourdes -- check out the Sheriff Dept.'s website for convicted sex offenders living in close proximity to the schools. There is considerable homelessness and there is a real meth problem in this area. According to law enforcement, the Crips and Bloods have moved into the are also. Looks are very deceiving when it comes to these 2 neighborhoods in particular.