Relocating from Texas need input! (Seattle, Bellevue: apartments, neighborhoods, best schools)

[ApartmentXpert]

Younger couple ( 40 and 38) with 5 year old starting kindergarten movig to Seattle ! I say younger because we are a young 38 and 40 ...lol
Hubby is a musician and wifey is an apartment locator (here in texas). We want to be somewhere near the action but not right in it. Walkable a must (main reason we are leaving texas...sick of driving and 100 degree weather). Schools are important. We are middle class and currently live in an extremely culturally diverse area....and we like it that way. Not interested in Bellvue or any "affluent" type areas but dont want to be in the ghetto either. REALLY looking hard at Renton. Seeing nice new apartments for good prices. Like Lake Union area but not looking like we can swing the rents. Suggestions, suggestions, suggestions??!!!

[CityGirl72]

NorthEast Seattle: Ravenna, Wedgwood, Maple Leaf, View Ridge, Sand Point, Bryant (and I like Roosevelt alot too)

PS - most of Renton is crappy schools unless you get towards Issaquah

[Ira500]

CityGirl is sort of right. Renton does have some bad schools, but if you lived around the Kennydale neighborhood, both the Kennydale and Hazelwood elementary schools are considered very good.
The Renton schools near the Kent border such as Tiffany Park are also considered pretty good, as well as the schools close to the Issaquah border, but the Renton schools closer to the Seattle border leave something to be desired. Indeed, you can live in Renton and have a Renton address but be in either the Renton School district, the Kent school district, the Issaquah district, or the Tahoma ( Maple Valley) school district.
Renton's got the diversity, as does Kent. I live in Renton and like it a lot. There are some parts of Renton worth avoiding, but most of it's pleasant.
And yeah, all those neighborhoods CityGirl mentioned are nice. Not especially diverse, but fun and safe.

[jenlion]

Not sure what part of TX you're from, but if it's the dallas area, consider Renton as Garland. Bad rep, well-deserved in stretches. But surprisingly OK in others. You just have to know exactly which parts are which.

[CarlB328]

If you're tired of driving why are you looking at Washington? It may be smaller, but the traffic's bad so you'll be driving a lot unless you work right near home.

[AlohaHuey]

Originally Posted by CarlB328

If you're tired of driving why are you looking at Washington? It may be smaller, but the traffic's bad so you'll be driving a lot unless you work right near home.

Everything in Texas is a 45 minute drive. I lived there. I know!

Traffic on 75 or the LBJ can rival Seattle's worst.

How about Ballard? Or West Seattle?

[sean98125]

If schools are important you don't want to live in Seattle. The best schools in the area are in Bellevue. Lake Washington School District and Shoreline Schools are also pretty good. There are some good schools in Seattle, but you have to be very careful when you find a place to live because of the neighborhood assignment plan.

[Bill Loney]

Originally Posted by sean98125

If schools are important you don't want to live in Seattle. The best schools in the area are in Bellevue. Lake Washington School District and Shoreline Schools are also pretty good. There are some good schools in Seattle, but you have to be very careful when you find a place to live because of the neighborhood assignment plan.

The schools in Seattle can be very good. But choose wisely, and have a plan.

My kids went to Whittier ES in Ballard got a phenomenal education there. They have an well rounded curriculum, the parental involvement is very high, and the test scores rival those of the best schools in the Puget Sound area. They have the Spectrum program there. It serves the highly capable students (top 5%). I mention it because they have the population to fill full classrooms at each grade level with kids working at an accelerated level. Because all the kids share the same workload, they don;t feel differently.

The school itself is small. Roughly 450 kids.

Tops is another great school. And it goes to 8th grade as well. There are others too.

I say have a plan because after elementary school you really have to be careful. Middle schools are large and impersonal.

[ApartmentXpert]

We are looking at the Santuary apartments near the Landing. Is that a good area?

[ApartmentXpert]

Originally Posted by CarlB328

If you're tired of driving why are you looking at Washington? It may be smaller, but the traffic's bad so you'll be driving a lot unless you work right near home.

I was under the impression the Seattle area had lots of public transportation and walkable neighborhoods. You have neither of those in
Texas. Is this a misconception?