Klahanie in Issaquah? Thoughts (Seattle, Sammamish: for sale, apartments, city hall) - Washington (WA) -Seattle and King County Suburbs - City-Data Forum

WaFamily · 10-20-2011, 10:51 AM

Hello.

I am new to this forum. There are several threads about Issaquah on here, but I would like information specifically about the neighborhood Klahanie. If there is a thread already on this, forgive me.

Can anyone give me their opinion? I would really like to know about the elementary school from personal experience. Preschools. Which ones close by are great?

We lived in Samammish 12 years ago moved away and now have moved back to the area. We have been on Mercer Island the last year and we are not liking it. On paper it looked great but it's not our cup of tea.

Is Klahanie pretentious? I want nothing like that. We have been looking at the Issaquah Highlands too, but I am not a fan of the small lots and it has more of a yuppie vibe ( not a bad thing, just not us) and we are skeptical. I just don't want another Mercer Island experience.

I see there are houses, condos and apartments. Is there a larger economic diversity here vs. Issaquah Highlands.

Cost isn't a factor, just looking for a down to earth community where our children can become good people and not driven by the almighty dollar
and competitive nature they are experiencing at such a young age where we are now. I want my kids to be kids.

Many Thanks!

texastrigirl · 10-20-2011, 08:46 PM

Klahanie is a well established neighborhood on the Plateau and although the address is technically Issaquah, it's wedged in between several Sammamish neighborhoods. The elementary schools are Endeavor and Challenger for Elementary, Beaver Lake for MS and Skyline for HS. All are fantastic options. You can't go wrong with any schools on the Plateau. They are all terrific.

We looked at houses in Klahanie. It's an older neighborhood but established in landscaping and parks, with great amenities throughout. They also have their own dedicated shopping center so it's walkable to the extent of being able to walk to a few restaurants, a Starbucks, etc.. They also have an indoor community swimming pool which is a rare thing in this area. We opted for a house in the Pine Lake area of Sammamish because we had HOA access to Pine Lake but our second choice was in Klahanie and we have many friends that live there and like it very much. It can feel a little run down in spots but so can many 80's neighborhoods. It's definitely not on the higher end of Sammamish/Issaquah neighborhoods in terms of housing prices. IMO it's just a nice family neighborhood teeming with kids of all ages. I have a very favorable impression of it.

You might also check out The Trossachs. One of the nicer big subdivisions in Sammamish. There are also a lot of great pocket neighborhoods as well of homes built in the 70's and 80's with bigger lots. As I said, you can't go wrong with any of the schools up here. All fantastic.

There are folks with money on the Plateau for sure but the avg standard of living is a good bit below "The Island".

WaFamily · 10-20-2011, 09:43 PM

Thanks Texastrigirl!

I drove through it the other day and some parts looked a little run down, but that's ok. I just want a great community for my kids to grow up in. I had the luxury of living in a master planned community built in the 70's and had tons of kids to play with as a child. Some of the island has dumps right next to mansins. An odd dynamic.

Indoor pool?! I have to check that out. I saw the shopping center, nothing too fancy, but I like I could walk to it.

I will check out Trossachs. When we lived in Sammamish, we were married and no where close to kids. We didn't pay attention to the neighborhoods in great detail.

Are there certain names of neighborhoods in the Pine Lake area I should look into?

Thanks for the information!~

texastrigirl · 10-21-2011, 02:47 PM

The Pine Lake area is fantastic as is Beaver Lake. Pine Lake Estates and Autumn Meadows are at 212th and 34th (they just go opposite ways), Pennington is just behind Pine Lake Estates, Stoneledge is a nice one on 212th and 27th. I live in a pocket off of 29th but there are no houses for sale right now. Pine Hill is another great neighborhood off of 24th and 228th between Pine Lake and Beaver Lake, there are a lot of new areas just off of 212th headed north (don't know the names) and then some old neighborhoods back off of SE4th and behind Sammamish City Hall. If you get a realtor that knows the area, you'll be set. Lots of pretty places to live up here!

tobester · 10-21-2011, 03:13 PM

Some in-city neighborhoods like Upper Queen Anne, Wallingford, Madison Park might fit your needs also, given that cost isn't a factor.

WaFamily · 10-21-2011, 05:11 PM

Thanks for the list of areas on the plateau to check out.

We like the city, but we prefer suburbs. Thanks.

Danny SnoqualmieLocalist · 10-21-2011, 10:55 PM

Not much I can add to what TexasGirl says other than it's known as a great neighborhood - very "kid" friendly. It's also somewhat eclectic with many older retired couples/individuals, singles and married with and without children. The eclectic nature is due to there being older and newer construction mixed in together.

If there are any negatives to the area, they would probably be the remoteness of the neighborhood from major freeways (to get into Seattle) and the lack of newer general shopping areas. Additionally, it is sometimes somewhat confusing to know what utility and/or emergency department to call as both King County, Issaquah and Sammamish all share in various control of water, sewer, police and fire protection. There was some talk a few years ago of Issaquah annexing the area, though due to the economic slowdown, this has been put on a back-burner.

Hope these small insights help in your decision!

Hemlock140 · 10-22-2011, 08:18 AM

We go into Klahanie often to walk the trail around the lake, and it has some of the friendliest people in the area there. Because of the apartment/house mix there is more economic diversity, yet no one seems to have a bad attitude toward anyone else there. There is some sign of aging of the homes now but they seem to be doing a pretty good job of refreshing, and the HOAs
have kept up the landscaping. The only downside is in that rare heavy snow, you may as well stay home or if on the way home, plan on a 2 hour trip up the hill. I happened to be there during the infamous Monday night football storm, and heard the entire Seahawks game between Klahanie and my home
near Sahalee. About 6 miles, 3 hours.

swerver · 10-22-2011, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danny SnoqualmieLocalist

If there are any negatives to the area, they would probably be the remoteness of the neighborhood from major freeways (to get into Seattle)

Not to nit pick, but... I would agree that further north on the plateau can feel remote, but not so much in Klahanie, it's only 5 minutes to I-5.

Danny SnoqualmieLocalist · 10-22-2011, 09:58 AM

Agreed. The neighborhood is farther away from I90 than Issaquah or the Highlands, but still accessible. And yes, the further "back" (north) one goes on the Sammamish plateau, the more remote and farther away from I90 one is. And as another poster mentioned, rush hour can be a bear but usually the traffic flows pretty well. Thanks for the clarification swerver!