Teacher moving to western Washington. Opinions. (Seattle, Vancouver: apartments, for rent, student loans)

[rhogan]

I am a single 24 year old teacher. I teach special education and intend to move to the area this summer to start in the fall. I am a female who would prefer living alone with my income being in the $33K/year range. I know that's very little for the area, but what can I say? Welcome to the world of education.

Anyhow, I have narrowed my search down to 4 different school districts: Mukilteo (Everett area)
Renton (Renton Academy)
North Thurston (Lacey/Olympia)
Northshore.

Considering my age and status and specilization (Special Education, Emotional Behavioral), which area and district would be best suited to me?

[orangeblossom]

My grandma was a Special Education teacher in Kitsap County ( Bremerton to be exact) they were so desperate for teachers in this field that when she retired they asked her to sub ( for her own class) this lasted for about 3 years! She's really tired and retired Plus as long as you carry no student loans or any debt its possible to live here.

good luck

[SeattleCat]

Hi, I am a teacher as well. I worked in Renton for 6 years when I started out like you and had a great experience. I'm now in Kent and like it as well. I think all of the districts you chose are fine. It kind of depends what you want as far as quality of life. I have heard good things about Mukilteo and Northshore as well. One thing I liked about Renton was it is very easy access to Seattle, Bellevue, and pretty much anywhere. I actually lived in Seattle and commuted out to Renton for a couple of years and it was not too bad. On the weekends getting into Seattle is like 15-20 minutes or so tops if there is no traffic. So, for me location was a great positive for Renton. If you don't care about being close to Seattle, Bellevue etc and just want the most affordable place I would think North Thurston would be your best bet, but you would be pretty far away from a lot of single people your own age and not as much night life and city activities if that is important to you. Good luck!

[rhogan]

Thanks so much for the timely response. It's encouraging to see that I'm not making a terrible decision. I had heard some nasty things about Renton, but i liked it when i was there.

[SeattleCat]

Sorry, I forgot to mention something else on Renton. I forgot to tell you that the Renton Highlands is the area I would recommend if you are looking in Renton to live, although downtown has some really nice new apartments and is an up and coming area. Also, there are some great apartments at the southern edge of Lake Washington in Renton but they are pretty expensive. Anyways, good luck!

[Feybie]

I think I'd like to add something to this discussion. I actually started my own thread, but since there is already a discussion happening here, I may as well post.

I'm from Australia and will be moving to WA at the end of this year. I'll be a qualified (but straight out of college) teacher with specifications in English and Media/Journalism. I'm worried about not getting a teaching job in the States at the moment, as we're hearing some pretty horrid things about your unemployment at the moment over here.

I don't want to live in Seattle, either, but I'd like to live no more than one hours drive from the city as my husband will be doing a lot of air travel and that's about as far as we're willing to drive to get him to the airport.

So what do you think, are my chances ok? And if so, what kind of areas would you suggest for a young married couple like us?

[sean98125]

The district that would be the best for you is the one that will hire you. Teaching jobs are kind of tight right now due to the economy, and there are thousands of laid off teachers in line ahead of you.

[yukiko11]

Jobs are tight right now and local people will be considered before otheres. If you want to get to the airport within 1 hour plan on living no more than 30 miles away. South of the airport is cheaper than north or east

[Feybie]

Well thats disheartening but its certainly better than the response I got from the people over in Portland.

It might be worth trying my luck and fighting it out.

[StealthRabbit]

draw a 1 hr circle (50 miles) from Portland Airport / overlapping into WA. (only apply in WA, as OR has very poor school funding)

My personal preference would be Camas, WA (10 min to PDX, good district) Camas School District: Home

In order of preference;
Hockinson, Vancouver, Battleground, Ridgefield, Washougal, Evergreen, La Center districts are nearby.

Outlying areas (but within 1 hr) would be Stevenson, Woodland, Green Mountain, Kalama, Kelso and Longview.

Portland airport is a breeze and good connections to Asia / west coast.

Tax Free income in WA, Tax Free shopping (and decent cultural events) in Oregon (10 min south of Vancouver, WA).

Some private schools may be a good chance to get your feet in the door and build experience. King's Way Christian in Vancouver is a very good school, as are many others. The pay will be considerably less, but it will get you started in your career. Substituting for ill teachers is the common way to get started in a system, as you can see there are many areas to get involved in that role (You sign up in each school district). There are some tough funding challenges and schools are cutting back, but our population is growing and the need for EDU will be there.

I would welcome some fresh ideas you may bring, as the USA edu system could use some serious 're-construction'. It is really lagging its peers and failing the kids and the country. It is time we 'outsource' edu to a foreign country that places an emphasis on the quality of LEARNING and conveying 'life-long-APPLICABLE' subjects to the students. We (USA) train students for 20 yrs into a career they know nothing about. 75% of our freshly trained engineers and scientists leave careers within 5yrs... too bad.

Do enjoy your planned move, and consider SW WA as an option to Puget Sound region, tho either would be a good choice. (tho if I was an aspiring teacher I would first choose Wyoming or Alaska - very good funding - (mostly) good kids)