Family friendly small town in WA? (Seattle, Bellingham: real estate, rentals, homes)

[Beernik]

The San Juans might be an option for you. But you’re trading planes for ferries. Also, finding a job that pays enough money & affordable housing can be problematic.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by mizzile

OP I'm going to guess...you live in Sitka?

I was just wondering if I could guess based on your description

I was thinking Sitka, too, but she didn't mention an island. It could be anywhere, in the bush.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Beernik

The San Juans might be an option for you. But you’re trading planes for ferries. Also, finding a job that pays enough money & affordable housing can be problematic.

The San Juans might be perfect in some ways, but rents are high on Orcas. IDK about the other islands. At this point, I suspect we're all curious to know how the OP supported herself in AK. Probably by working remotely?

[Diana Holbrook]

The San Juans might be a little too touristy and perfect for an Alaska native. Not sure about wearing a dress with mud boots in Friday Harbor.

And it is certainly not done in Roche.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by mizzile

OP I'm going to guess...you live in Sitka?

I was just wondering if I could guess based on your description

Sitka has a couple of traffic lights if I remember correctly, and much more than just 3 roads. PLus mosquitos are more of a central Alaska thing and not so much coastal Alaska where it is usually too windy to be a problem
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Si...0556!4d-135.33

Could be any one of a dozen smaller coastal town like Homer, Yakutat, Hoonah, Craig, Tenakee, Angoon, Whittier, etc. or a bazillion places in the interior. The problem with mosquitos suggests more in the interior than coast.

To respond to the OP's question, I'd look at Whidby Island, especially the Northern end further from Seattle. And also Lummi Island near Bellingham. Both of them have lots of small town feel and aren't going to be so outrageously expensive and touristy as the San Juan Islands. At least not Whidby Island, I'm not so sure about Lummi Island.

The other option if you like Alaska but want a little less isolation, more access to the lower 48 and more options for you child would be some place like Juneau which is a much larger city with a lot more happening. But there are lots of more out of the way corners in Juneau such as Douglas Island out the road north to places like Tee Harbor that are in Juneau but not right in town. You have good schools in Juneau, a small university, good employment prospects and multiple daily non-stop flights to Seattle. I lived in Juneau for about 8 years and liked it. My wife's career is what took us away but I still have family up there. You just have to get into the winter sports (downhill and cross country skiing, ice skating etc) to get through the winter. And Juneau has lots of cultural stuff like a big winter folk festival and Christmas festivals to keep things going in town during the cold winter months.

Juneau has a downhill ski area, lots of groomed cross country trails, an indoor ice rink, and occasional outdoor skating when the local lakes freeze over. There are also lots of winter kids things like indoor gyms, gymnastics academies, and so forth so winters aren't so limited with a child. As for weekend road trips. My wife and I had a toddler when living in Juneau. We would take weekend summer road trips up into the Yukon for camping (ferry to Haines or Skagway and then drive up into the Yukon). Lots and lots of great campgrounds all over the Yukon (Canada has much better parks than the US). We would also go up to Whitehorse Yukon in the winter for cross country skiing in the bright sunshine and open country when Juneau is wet, cloudy, and grim. I owned a boat so we'd also do weekend trips over to places like Glacier Bay and frankly all over that part of SE inside waters. The population is big enough that you find lots of like-minded people to do stuff with.

[puff5655]

I’m in Dillingham in Western AK. My husband and I are both teachers and think the community of “bush teachers” are some of the highest quality people out there. We’ve all experienced being the newbie in a new place/culture, so i think that makes us prone to wanting to help/befriend newcomers. Before we got to town here we had several invites to dinner, play dates, and fishing, offers to help us move in, etc.. all from future colleagues. And most importantly, the friendliness has continued and wasn’t just due to politeness.

We lived in Southeast for a year and didn’t care for it. In the small town we were in, there was no diversity (we love it being 50:50 Native/non Native here- our daughter gets to experience another culture that thrives). It was way too political, no one was looking for new friends, and we felt claustrophobic between the big mountains and the ocean (gorgeous, good hiking, but there was no accessible open country to explore).

Like I said I don’t think my “dream town” exists. But it’s worth a shot. I’ll look into the towns you mentioned.

I just picture my daughter being able to play outside in the trees in our backyard without tons of insects or carnivores to worry about. I’d love to have normal daylight hours and 4 seasons. But I don’t want to give up what we have here. We love the laid back lifestyle.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by puff5655

I’m in Dillingham in Western AK. My husband and I are both teachers and think the community of “bush teachers” are some of the highest quality people out there. ...
Like I said I don’t think my “dream town” exists. But it’s worth a shot. I’ll look into the towns you mentioned.

I just picture my daughter being able to play outside in the trees in our backyard without tons of insects or carnivores to worry about. I’d love to have normal daylight hours and 4 seasons. But I don’t want to give up what we have here. We love the laid back lifestyle.

Sounds more like you will fit better in WY. They have GREAT schools (and FUNDED too!!!).

Definitely avoid Oregon if you expect a PAID teacher's position.

WA has a few gems that might work (Focus on the Okanogan) Central / Northern WA.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by puff5655

I’m in Dillingham in Western AK. My husband and I are both teachers and think the community of “bush teachers” are some of the highest quality people out there. We’ve all experienced being the newbie in a new place/culture, so i think that makes us prone to wanting to help/befriend newcomers. Before we got to town here we had several invites to dinner, play dates, and fishing, offers to help us move in, etc.. all from future colleagues. And most importantly, the friendliness has continued and wasn’t just due to politeness.

We lived in Southeast for a year and didn’t care for it. In the small town we were in, there was no diversity (we love it being 50:50 Native/non Native here- our daughter gets to experience another culture that thrives). It was way too political, no one was looking for new friends, and we felt claustrophobic between the big mountains and the ocean (gorgeous, good hiking, but there was no accessible open country to explore).

Like I said I don’t think my “dream town” exists. But it’s worth a shot. I’ll look into the towns you mentioned.

I just picture my daughter being able to play outside in the trees in our backyard without tons of insects or carnivores to worry about. I’d love to have normal daylight hours and 4 seasons. But I don’t want to give up what we have here. We love the laid back lifestyle.

If you like that Native culture component, you could look in and around Sequim, on the Olympic Peninsula. There's a tribe located around there, and a little east of there. I don't know if they have their own school, or if the kids go to schools in Sequim. The tribe runs a public health clinic for everyone in the area. The tribal people there won't look like the Alaska Natives you're used to, by which I mean some are indistinguishable from the non-Native inhabitants in the area. But the culture is definitely alive and kicking. Sequim and Port Townsend are in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains. which serve as a dramatic backdrop to the town of Sequim. Worth a visit, just for the scenery.
http://www.jamestowntribe.org

[puff5655]

Wyoming is attractive but WAY too hot. We enjoy our cool summers. Another reason I focused on Washington having the most potential. Also want to avoid the forest fire areas and areas that are prone to other natural disasters. Also ticks! So glad AK doesn’t have those. We don’t mind lots of rain and clouds as long as there’s some snow in the winter too.

I realize the teaching environment presents a whole other level to the challenge of finding the right spot...

[puff5655]

Just looked up Sequim too- thought it sounded cool until I saw it very rarely snows. That area is out- my husband lives to snowmobile and ice fish. :-/