Family of 5 Moving to Bainbridge Island -- need info and advice! (Seattle: 2009, house)

[Beth Taylor]

We have three kids (12, 9 and 5) and plan to move to Bainbridge Island next summer (09) from Atlanta GA. My husband will work in Port Townsend. Can anyone tell me what family life will be like on the island? What towns do most families settle in? I've heard Poulsbo is probably most suited for active families? Husband's commute to PT needs to be no more than an hour. Good schools are top priority. The kids do every sport imaginable, so that's important criteria as well. Thanks for any guidance, advice and information you can provide!!!

[Prple]

I really like Bainbridge Island and think it would be a great place to raise a family. I know that they have great schools too. Poulsbo would probably be a bit cheaper, but don't know much about it, other than that it is a pretty area.

Here is some info on the schools, and you can also read some of the parent reviews.
Bainbridge Island School District schools, Bainbridge Island - WA: charter and public schools. Bainbridge Island school district - Bainbridge Island WA school district
Greatschools.net Search: poulsbo

[LMB]

Bainbridge Island is great for families. We don't have school age kids, but their school system is supposed to be one of the best in the state. Housing in Poulsbo would be considerably cheaper, and a little closer to Pt. Townsend, but BI schools are considered better. Keep in mind that the Hood Canal Bridge (the closest route to Pt. Townsend from this area) will be closed for six weeks starting May 1, 2009. Maybe that won't affect you, depending on when you're moving, but just something to be aware of. Hopefully the project will stay on schedule--it's going to be quite inconvenient for commuters who live in the northern part of the Olympic Peninsula.

Good luck with your search. We love living here and we moved from the SE too.

Lynn

[Ira500]

Any particular reason you wouldn't want to live in Port Townsend itself?

[cabocurtis]

I have family that live in the Port Townsend area and Bainbridge and other family that commutes to Port Townsend to work from Silverdale. If schools are a big priority and you can afford Bainbridge they have one of the best school systems in the state. The commute to Port Townsend is against the traffic flow and should be doable in less than an hour. You can take the first right after the hood canal bridge and cut through port ludlow and port hadlock. I have two family members that went through North Kitsap schools and had mixed results. Port Townsend is a nice smaller community and could get a much better house deal with no commute. Thats a pretty good option to consider.

[Pittgal]

Our best friends here live on Bainbridge, its very familyish over there and beautiful! Here major complaint is that there is very little shopping on the Island. She comes into Seattle every other week ( by ferry) to go to costco, Trader Joes, Bell. Square) Some people like that its non-commercial but she doesn't and regrets moving there. You may like that though so check it out! Good Luck!

[hotshawt]

All the rumors about Bainbridge are true. If you aren't from there, you will have problems "fitting in". It takes a long while to be accepted. While the school district is probably the best on the Kitsap Peninsula, Bainbridge still considers themselves a suburb of Seattle. Hence the 206 area code. In short, Bainbridge is the Mercer Island of Kitsap. And they want to know where your money came from. Stuffy and Snotty come to mind. I live just across the Agate bridge from Bainbridge, and I am treated like I am from a different world. Judge for yourself.

[xcalgal]

Fitting in can be a real problem here unless you are involved in the community. I started a newcomers group and it has been the "savior" for a lot of women here. They are wonderful women. Send me a direct message if you are interested.

[gregmathers]

Well...are you here yet? Just wondering where you settled. I live in Poulsbo with two little ones and love it. I taught in the NK school district for a few years and I thought it was great. In all honesty, learning all goes back to the home life. A study just came out and noted that from June-Sept, wealthy children gained 54.6 overall knowledge on some test versus .26 gain in poorer families. Sad but true....but it all comes back to how well you hold your children accountable.
Both Poulsbo and BI are wonderful places to live and raise a family. I love the people more in Poulsbo as they seem to relate more to me (that could be my own insecurities, too) and live more of a down to earth lifestyle.