Moving to Washington at the end of January- need advise (Seattle: real estate, apartment)

[kiazer]

Hello,

I am about to move to Washington State and have family that live in S.Everett, Lynnwood and in Bellevue. They all want me to move close to them but I need to choose an area that has good schools and will be safe to raise my son in as well as affordable. I am a newly divorced mother and about to start a whole new life and my biggest concern is my son and that he adjusts well. So in saying that, can anyone tell me which areas have the best schools that offer good educations? As far as a price range for rent, I would like to stay between $900-$1200 a month. I want to stay out of an apartment if at all possible. I'm looking at renting a 3 bdrm 2 bth townhouse or house. I work from home so traveling back and forth to a job isn't an issue.

Can anyone with children please give me your best advise. This is going to be a big move for us and needless to say I am very nervous about it. I don't want to make any stupid choices that effect my son in a negative manner as this will be a huge adjustment for him as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and give me your advise.

Sincerely,
Kiazer

[wutitiz]

Bellevue has the best schools, and best environment for a child growing up. But also the most expensive. I think you're going to end up having to decide on a trade-off between square footage and school system. There are a lot of similar threads already, so I suggest looking carefully thru those. Look for the posts by a real estate guy named 'Ira500'--he seems to know his stuff regarding school systems.

[Seacove]

You should take a look at Issaquah, just south of Bellevue. Very good schools, organized sports programs, very family oriented and would be really good for your kids. I don't know about the $900-1200 range, but if you look at Craig's list, you might find some rentals that will work. Take a drive around Issaquah and you'll see.

[lady fern]

If you don't mind being about 60 miles from your family - the Olympia area is a good choice. You can rent a nice duplex or townhouse for under $1000 still or even consider buying a small house with a payment within your monthly budget. Stay away from Lacey - the schools are not as good. The schools that feed into Olympia and Capital High Schools are all pretty nice. If you like a close knit school system, look at the Griffin school system in the Steamboat Island area. It will be a bit harder to find a rental there, but I can't imagine a safer area.
Good luck.

[Inkpoe]

The area that is pretty much equidistant to both S. Everett/Lynnwood and Bellevue would be in the Bothell area. The Northshore SD is a highly regarded school district. Do you want to be close to your family? I agree Olympia could very well be a good choice.

I think if you increase your budget of up to $1500/mo that your odds of finding a house/townhouse would be better.

[limeyx]

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

I think if you increase your budget of up to $1500/mo that your odds of finding a house/townhouse would be better.

For Bellevue, that seems about right. We didnt have long to look, and saw a few in the $1500-1750 range that were 2-3 bedrooms.

There were some new places opening up between Bellevue and Redmond, that were I think 2 bdrm townhouses for $16-something that looked awesome.

[Apathizer]

I would also consider Shoreline, esp since it's only about 10 mi south of Everett. Shoreline is famous in this area for having exceptional schools - student are even issued a laptop for the school year. It's quieter than Seattle, but still relatively close.

You'll probably also have a better chance of finding housing in your price range. Make no mistake -a decent 3bdr dwelling in the $900-1200 range is going to be difficult to find anywhere in king county- but, you'll probably have about as good a chance in Shoreline as anywhere. Forget about Bellevue in that price range -there's no way-, but Issaquah might be a possibility.

Good luck.

[Hemlock140]

Everyone is looking for good schools and affordable rent, unfortunately that is an extremely rare combination. The best schools are in the most expensive areas. One reason is that good schools raise the prices of housing as an area becomes more desirable. Another is that people with more money are generally more interested in a good education for their kids and contribute generously to fund raising to supplement what the state gives the district for things like materials, technology, and advanced programs. Here in Sammamish, for example, I remember on a "back to school night" when the PTSA had a "pass the hat" for the local elementary school of 400 kids, and raised $20,000. That was a school with a lot of Boeing and Microsoft employee kids.

[CarlB328]

For your price range you will have to look at small places, 1-2 bedrooms w 1 bath.

[Townandcountrygal]

Having lived just west of Bellevue for 30+ years, yes, the schools are good. Redmond & Kirkland are other possibilities. I would not consider Shoreline as knew a couple people who lived there and it wasn't as safe. Would not want to drive on the freeway to Olympia, either--that's just too far from the areas you want to be close to and traffic is bad enough. Good luck.