Moving to Lake Stevens, Pros and Cons?? (Seattle, Everett: best town, apartment)

[Shelly.Wags]

My husband and I visited Lake Stevens today and fell in love. It was covered in snow of course so it was hard to get the full idea of living there. We are from Northern California, and want to get away from the heat and crime. We want to purchase a house or condo, or perhaps rent an apartment. We are also looking to start our family there. How is Lake Stevens during the Summer? How is the commute to Marysville and Lynnwood? Is it a good place to start a family? ANY other information, tips, or advise would be great!

[the dufferz]

Shelly.wags,

Whether it is a sunny summer day, or a sunny crisp winter day, it is breathtaking.

Lake stevens is a nice area, a real mix of older homes and newer, not many "developments" in the area, so it has a more rural feeling.

If you need to commute to Marysville, it will be an easy commute. Lynnwood brings the challenge of needing to get to I-5. The congestion across the flats can get bad, especially if it is around the time Boeing traffic is flowing.

Expect a commute of about 45 minutes during rush hour.

[Shelly.Wags]

Thank you the Dufferz,
We were there today and It was very beautiful. We are thinking about moving into the Pasadera Quadrent Homes. (New Community) While we were there today, the city feels like a different country compared to a normal city town. That would be different for us but enjoyable. I also want to find out what the people are like there. We don't have enough time to vist, so its hard to find out.
Thanks Again!

[MunchiesMommie]

I live in Lake Stevens and I love it. It's such a great place. It's close enough to most things, but far enough away that it's more peaceful. Having a Target here is awesome, it cuts down on trips to Everett and Marysville. My husband and I grew up in Snohomish, which is one town to the south east, and we moved to Lake Stevens because we felt it was the best town in the area.

We've lived here for 4 years, we just recently bought a house in March. We will be here 2 more years, until my husband is finished with his teaching degree, then we're hoping to move to the Oregon coast.

I'll be happy to answer any questions you have about Lake Stevens!

Alyssa

[Shelly.Wags]

Thanks Alyssa!
What do you think about raising a family in Lake Stevens? We would like to live there for a long time. How are the winters compared to this winter? Are summers a good temp? Have you or anyone you know ever experienced any crime while living in Lake Stevens? We are a young couple in our early 20's, are there any activities you know of involving other couples or nightlife?
Thanks!

[MunchiesMommie]

I think Lake Stevens is a fine place to raise kids, my husband and I are in our mid 20's and have 2 small boys. The schools here are decent, overcrowded, but you'll find that no matter where you go around here. This area is exploding, and houses are going up faster than new schools can be built. We are working on a mid-high that will house 8th and 9th graders, so the jr high can be 6th and 7th graders, and the high school will have 10-12th graders. That will help quite a bit.

As for crime, unfortunately, 5 months after we bought our house, my purse was stolen out of my car and the kids spent $400 on my debit card. The police did absolutely nothing, so I called every place my bank was showing the card used at, got pictures of them using it, took the pictures to our local police that are stationed at the high school, got the kid's names...and still nothing. We live in the unincorporated area of the county, so it was the Sheriffs who failed me. The Lake Stevens police are awesome, we just aren't in their jurisdiction. I think the development you are looking at is a few miles up the street from me, and you would be unincorporated too.

Don't let that deter you from here. That kind of thing happens everywhere. Lake Stevens is working on incorporating the areas around here, a few weeks ago the Frontier Village area was annexed, and I think we are next on the list. Relatively, crime is low here. Did you compare the rates for all the towns around here on city-data's information pages? I'm pretty sure Lake Stevens is lower than all of it's surrounding areas.

How old are your kids?

[MunchiesMommie]

Oh I forgot about the weather.

This has been a really weird year. Last summer was way hotter than normal, and this winter has been way colder than normal. So I have no idea if this is just a fluke, or will be repeated.

Nightlife. Since we have small kids, I haven't been out at night in about 5 years. There are a few bars here, Razzles is where most of the newly 21 crowd goes, it seems to try to have more of a club atmosphere. Hawkeyes is probably more laid back, they have comedians and hypnotists do guest spots. There is La Hacienda, they do karoke on Wednesdays I think.

Everett is only 20 min away and there are a ton of bars there, and one casino. Several of the bars are more club like, and the casino has a club. Then there is the casino on the Tulalip Reservation and they have tons of stuff. The Everett Events Center has concerts and events like that. Seattle is only about 45 minutes away, and it has museums, and comedy clubs, strip clubs...oh I think the closest strip club is in Lynnwood, about 35 min away...if you care about that sort of thing.

I don't know about any couples things, if you go to church I think they have some type of young marrieds groups. We don't go to church, but some of our neighbors do and they've mentioned groups like that. Meetup.com might have something. Also, check craigslist in the communities section. Sometimes groups post there.

[Shelly.Wags]

Right now we do not have any kids. We are looking to finish college (online courses) Then start having a family.

We live in the Sacramento area of California, so I think the crime compared to Lake Stevens...Lake Stevens is much much lower.

What would you say the average High is for Lake Stevens? How often is it cloudy and rainy? Does it snow often, or just a few times in the winter?

Thanks!
Shelly

[diggitydot]

PROS:
Lake Stevens is absolutely gorgeous.


CONS:
Too close to my in-laws.



Of course, that's just my list. You obviously won't have the same issues. Seriously, though...it's a gorgeous area with nice people. (The ones that aren't related to me, that is.)

[MunchiesMommie]

My husband takes online classes. You know that you will have to pay out of state tuition for the first year of living here right? I'm pretty sure that you have to maintain residence for a year to be considered "in state"

It snows a few times in the winter, not often. This year has been weird. Summers are fairly mild, we got in the 90's low 100's last August, but only for a couple weeks. Most days in the summer are in the 70's.

Haha Diggity Dog, you made me laugh. My parents live in Machias and my in-laws live in Clearview...so I'm too close too. In fact, I have a post on the Oregon board about moving there!