a few lifestyle questions (sales, landscaping, school)

[ness]

Home Owners Association. Basically a small group of people who dictate what the neighborhood should look like and enforce those restrictions. it means you pay a monthly fee usually in addition to your mortgage. It also means there are rules and restrictions about what you can/cannot do to your property. Some people like this b/c they say it preserves the cleanliness and look of a neighborhood. Others hate it because it can be overly restrictive (can't park in your driveway), etc. and it costs you $$$$.

[LMB]

Our HOA in Orlando was run by a management company for the developer and they had a "hired gun" who would drive around the neighborhood one day a week, clipboard in hand, scouring every home for a possible infraction of the rules. Once we received a letter declaring that we were breaking the rules of the HOA because we had "weeds in our turf," and if we didn't fix this offense within two weeks our community pool privileges would be revoked. We had our own pool so that was no threat, and my husband was tempted to not cut the grass and really showcase our weeds. However, like a good little rule obeying suburbanite, he applied weed killer to the lawn--sure enough the weeds died. Before we could add patch sod, we received ANOTHER letter. This time we were being warned about potential loss of their treasured community pool facilities because our lawn had "bare spots" in it! We laughed and ignored it. Then the next letter gave us notice that they had the legal authority to take us to court over our bare spots, which by then were nearly filled in from surrounding grass. That was it for DH. The line in the sand had been drawn. As far as he was concerned it was now full-scale war with the HOA. He called and told them what they could with their legal threat. Sort of, c'mon, make my day. They didn't take us to court, by then there was no violation. But the damage had been done--and we (and our neighbors too) always felt it was us against them for the entire time we lived there. The HOA was merciless after three hurricanes in as many months swept through and downed trees all over our neighborhood. It looked like a war zone for months and their letters to homeowners started two weeks after each hurricane. By then everyone ignored them like an annoying gnat. One of our main criteria when we looked for a house out here, along with a walking-distance location near town was NO HOA.

Lynn

[VeronikaW]

Originally Posted by mamamaya

Ok, this clarifies what we were suspecting..sounds exactly like Berkeley.
Plus I hadn't factored in the effect of the rain...duh...

I'm disappointed about the SUV's, both here and there

Jenbar where are you? Sounds ideal..
and, Veronika, can I ask which neighborhood you're in?

Sorry I didn't see this until now. I live in the Issaquah Highlands (~20 miles east of downtown).

V. =)

[PencilMeIn]

LMB..had the same thing in our neighborhood down in West Palm....we had a retired guy across the street who made sure everyone followed the rules. Our daughter would come to stay with us on her breaks from FSU and her cute little pickup truck would be in our driveway. Next thing you know we had complaints and were threatened with a fine...it never went anywhere though. We decided to move to a neighborhood without a HOA and found a quaint '50's home on a canal...loved it there but we ended up with a neighbor who trashed their yard and let their house run down... and this was a nice area. So I guess it can go either way. One thing I noticed is that the HOA dues are a lot less in WA than FL.

[trjiii]

My family and I just moved here in may, from Burbank, Ca. We left an area where the SUV's were everywhere.. and yes they usually only had one person in them. We were coming here to the seattle area for a couple of reasons. We were failing to find nice kids for our children to play with and we wanted to get away from the high cost of living. We thought that when we came here we would see more SUV's since the area has rain and sometimes snow. It seemed to make sence to us... weather and more nature equals more trucks and suv's. In truth there are far more small economy cars here then I would have expected. Dont get me wrong the SUV's are still popular, but people in Seattle and Washington in general are a bit more into saving the environment. I have been shocked to find many more small cars, bus riders, train riders, and even people who bikes all over. As for the kids playing. It seems to depend on the area. Some of the more rural areas have kids out and about playing in the woods and the parks. Seattle is a big city and like most metro areas unless you are really into that down town vibe with a family the outskirting towns are so much more family friendly. Check out Renton, or Kent. They are still close to the city for work but much safer for the kids.Again we came for the cost of living so just for your info we took a 7 dollar an hour pay cut since my husband started over at a new job, but we live in a nicer area with a bigger house and we have been truely happy with the move. The weather may take some getting used to although coming from the bay area you have a decent idea of the cold and rain you get close to the water. If you can put up with some rain this is a truely beautiful place to live. I say give it a try.

[seattlenextyear]

That's because # SUVs have no correlation with #offroad excursions. Plus, from experience, I know you can drive a Cavalier through blizzards, ice patches, snow, small streams, up mountains and through mud. You can drive a Z3 to any hiking destination listed in NWsource. 4-wheel drive is such a racket.

The only thing I've found you need an SUV/truck for is driving on sand dunes or hauling stuff.

[texastrigirl]

So here's a different opinion. WAY less SUV's and big old trucks here than in TX where I came from but more than I remembered from visiting here in 2002 on vacation. Also, my kids are way less scheduled here than they were in Austin but that's because I didn't feel the pressure to do what everyone else was doing, because I didn't know anyone else when I moved here. We just sat down and picked a few things here and there and left behind our crazy overscheduled Austin life. That doesn't say anything about Austin but a lot about our personal choice to buck the overscheduling trend when we moved. It's good to break ties sometimes to give you a new perspective. Our kids each play one sport at at time and take piano and it's worked for us. As they get older, they will have to do less as school becomes more demanding but hopefully they will have experienced enough to make the best choice for them. This schedule leaves plenty of time for all the fun things to do in the Seattle area. As for the rain, we hiked on Saturday in the pouring rain off of Exit 20 - Tiger Mtn - Bus Loop. We put on our waterproof gear and had a great old time. We also have tons of kids in our neighborhood in Sammamish and they run in a big old pack and ride bikes each night until 6pm. If it's raining too hard, one mom adopts them and they play games (not video!). I live on a street with many stay at home or work from home moms. I think that pretty much describes life in most suburbs but we certainly love the area we live in for that reason.

[violetvale]

Originally Posted by mamamaya

We're considering a move from the bay area to the seattle area. We're worried that some of the things we struggle with here are just going to be the same wherever else we go in the US. They are things we most likely wouldn't get a sense of without living there but maybe some of you can help me out here:

SUV's: are these as predominant as they are in CA (and maybe the rest of the country?) We'd really like to get far away from them but maybe you can only do that in europe.

Kids: kids here are ridiculously overscheduled and we rarely ever see kids playing on the street with neighborhood friends, even in a very family oriented neighborhood. Is seattle the same or are there real family friendly neighborhoods with kids playing in the parks, streets, etc? Again, maybe Europe is the only place this happens anymore...

I'm sure I'll come up with more q's but that's it for now...

Hey, maybe we can be neighbors! We are looking to find the same sort of utopia - and we are starting to think towards Europe too!

[JDTD]

Originally Posted by mamamaya

We're considering a move from the bay area to the seattle area. We're worried that some of the things we struggle with here are just going to be the same wherever else we go in the US. They are things we most likely wouldn't get a sense of without living there but maybe some of you can help me out here:

SUV's: are these as predominant as they are in CA (and maybe the rest of the country?) We'd really like to get far away from them but maybe you can only do that in europe.

Kids: kids here are ridiculously overscheduled and we rarely ever see kids playing on the street with neighborhood friends, even in a very family oriented neighborhood. Is seattle the same or are there real family friendly neighborhoods with kids playing in the parks, streets, etc? Again, maybe Europe is the only place this happens anymore...

I'm sure I'll come up with more q's but that's it for now...

Point/question 1: Can you explain to me the evil of an SUV since the engines in these are often the same as a compareable truck? Maybe I'm wrong, but can't you find a Ford Truck with the exact same motor as a Ford Excursion/Expedition, etc, a full sized Chevy/GMC Truck with the exact motor as a Tahoe/Yukon and a Dodge Truck with the exact motor as a Durango. Is this what you are getting at, or are you talking sheer size, because trucks are just as big. I don't even own an SUV, and I'd like to know the answer to this. These companies also often the same motor in their full-size vans, and full-size vans are huge. Now...If you have a family and like to do "stuff" around here (mountains, water, etc.), you may need a 4x4 (something not offered with some/most vans, etc.). You may also want to pull a trailer not capable of being pulled by something small but want the seating area for your family. An SUV might only be the logical answer. "I only see one person driving around in these" you say. You might not know that person just dropped off five kids at school (the same five kids they take skiing, camping or boating on the weekend). These are only a few examples (I can go on). Enlighten me please. I don't own an SUV and want to know the answer to this. For the life of me, I also cannot figure out why, A. SUV's became evil since they were around for years and years (Trail-Duster, Travel-all, Suburban, Bronco, Ram Charger, etc.) before they became evil, and B. why this would be a factor in moving to a place, because they probably aren't going away and they are everywhere (except apparently Europe).

Point/question 2: Kids ridiculously overscheduled? What do you mean by this? Parents have control over what their kids do. Maybe you don't see kids in the park any longer because, when they play baseball, they play it on a video game (because their parents let them). Enlighten me on these issues please. I seriously would like to know what you think. I'm not just saying this.

Maybe I'm way out of wack here. Help me out.

[JDTD]

Originally Posted by seattlenextyear

That's because # SUVs have no correlation with #offroad excursions. Plus, from experience, I know you can drive a Cavalier through blizzards, ice patches, snow, small streams, up mountains and through mud. You can drive a Z3 to any hiking destination listed in NWsource. 4-wheel drive is such a racket.

The only thing I've found you need an SUV/truck for is driving on sand dunes or hauling stuff.

Do you even live here yet? I'm not keeping up. Okay...you are wrong. I grew up in the country (in WA), and 4 wheel drive bailed me out so many times I can't even count. How many times have I had to pull people out of a snow-bank or someone stuck in the mud? A lot. Sure...you can drive your Z3 into the mountains, but just pray that you don't find yourself in a place where you get stuck (because you may never get your car out and will have to hope that either your phone has service or someone with a 4x4 comes by to help). As for the last sentence...there you go (and many, many other things to include the fact that you can't pile five kids into a Z3). It's like insurance...you hate to have to pay for it, but you sure appreciate it when you need it. I put my truck in 4wheel drive at least 10 times this year enjoying the great outdoors. And no...i'm not one of those people who just goes out 4wheelin'. Each time was a practical application.