Best kid-friendly, "green", excellent schools but affordable city? (Seattle: renting, house)

[zepp]

I'm a northern cali girl but have always wanted to move to Washington. We will probably move in a few years, but I'm trying to narrow down where I'd like to move. We love small towns, but also bigger suburbs (we'd have to go where we could find work), but want somewhere with a natural feel, where people care about their surroundings, and a place where the population is family-oriented. Schools are probably my top priority, so I'd want to go somewhere with an excellent school district, but that's affordable so we can actually move here. Any suggestions?

[509]

Originally Posted by zepp

I'm a northern cali girl but have always wanted to move to Washington. We will probably move in a few years, but I'm trying to narrow down where I'd like to move. We love small towns, but also bigger suburbs (we'd have to go where we could find work), but want somewhere with a natural feel, where people care about their surroundings, and a place where the population is family-oriented. Schools are probably my top priority, so I'd want to go somewhere with an excellent school district, but that's affordable so we can actually move here. Any suggestions?

The Greenest community in Washington is the Wenatchee Valley. Carbon footprint is very low, with hydro power and an excellent public transit system. Some national survey a couple of years back rated it number one I believe.

Bicycling is popular and bike paths actually make owning a car and option rather than a necessity. The Library system will even mail books to your house so you do not have to drive into town!!

High speed fiber optics will bring the world through your computer. Almost every home in the valley has high speed fiber. It is 12 MPS on the Chelan County side, and 100 MPS on the Douglas County side. You will pay about $40/month for that service.

Valley is very family oriented. Bring kids, otherwise you will be bored.

Schools are ok, but not exceptional. The emphasis is on providing opportunity for the Mexican immigrants rather than on high achieving students. It is a nice thought, but if you want a quality education for YOUR kid, well...do they speak Spanish??

The other issue is that the community is conservative politically. So most people support these programs because for the valley it is the right thing to do.....not because it looks good.

Lots of "green communities" like Seattle think it is more important to look green that actually be green.

If you want to be hip and cool green check out western Washington. If you want to be green...move to Wenatchee. Just don't tell anybody!!

[mayfair]

If you can find a job in a smaller town, then you can find some more affordable places with good schools. What kind of work do you do? The major suburbs with good schools are expensive around Seattle. But if you rent, you should be able to find affordable places (depending on your budget) in a good school district.

[Anders15]

but is Wenatchee affordable?

[509]

Originally Posted by RonMaverick804

but is Wenatchee affordable?

Outside of Chelan, Leavenworth or the Methow Wenatchee has always been expensive relative to prices in eastern Washington. It has been cheap, at times, relative to California and Seattle at times. We looked at some Seattle property recently for our daughter and were surprised at how cheap Seattle is these days. The cost of housing is always much higher in the better communities.

We moved here in 1985 and were stunned at how expensive it was compared to the rest of eastern Washington. But we managed to purchase some outstanding property during the slow market cycles. Even during those times prices did not go down much. Eventually, you pay off even the worst mortgage. If you do not move.

You can also find jobs here if you are a professional. If you are self-employed and can work anywhere those fiber-optic lines put in by the local PUD's really make a difference.

The other advantage to the Wenatchee Valley is the cost of living is fairly low. Utilities are the cheapest in the nation on the Douglas County side of the river. Though I see that the Obama Administration has classified Hydro as a polluter!!! So that might change. The Valley is small enough that you can ride a bicycle almost anywhere. If you don't want to pedal get one of those new fangled electric bicycles or take the local bus system.

We saved well over $300 a month just using the library rather than having to buy books. A good library system is difficult to find in the small metro areas.

It was a much nicer place 25 years ago, but it is still nicer than most other places even with all the growth over that time. It would be nice to have a town rather than the city that it is now.

[Sandy Nelson]

Zepp,

Please check out Olympia. It offers affordable living, excellent schools, and beautiful surroundings. Olympia has been rated "safest mid-sized city" in the US these past two years in a row. I think you'll like it.

Sandy

[509]

Originally Posted by Sandy Nelson

Zepp,

Please check out Olympia. It offers affordable living, excellent schools, and beautiful surroundings. Olympia has been rated "safest mid-sized city" in the US these past two years in a row. I think you'll like it.

Sandy

The other advantage to Olympia is that it is a "safe" green town. People think Olympia is green.

If you can live with the horrible weather west of the Cascades it is a nice city.

[zepp]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm a teacher and my husband is a software developer. We currently use the library tons. I've stopped renting DVDs and pick up the materials once they come in. I'll check out Olympia and the Wenatchee area.