Moving up from Oregon with kiddos, HELP! (Burien, Des Moines: job transfer, safe neighborhood)

[molisha]

The title says it all. We are moving up from Bend, Oregon for a job transfer. My hubby works for Seatac and we need a SAFE neighborhood/town to raise the kiddos in. They are 5 and 3, and we are coming from a "sheltered" area. I need great schools, and commute times would be awesome too. We literally live 15 minutes from everything right now, so traffic is going to be an all new experience! Thanks!

[Ira500]

Normandy Park is south of Burien, not too far from SeaTac, and is supposed to have a great elementary school, Marvista. Normandy Park is pretty nice. Des Moines is also a nice small town nearby, on the water, but I don't know much about their schools.

[molisha]

Thanks! Does anyone know much about Gig Harbor? We really like it there, but don't know much about the area.

[mthomson]

Gig Harbor is paradise as far as I'm concerned, but commute would be an issue. Our schools are rated #2 in the state, we have a huge variety of housing, and the community feel is incredible. You're 35-45min to SeaTac depending on where in Gig Harbor and where in SeaTac, though.