Family Relocating SF to Seattle. Quality of Life!

[RVD90277]

People tell me that you should try to travel somewhere sunny at least once during the winter for vacation to help you recharge. So places like Hawaii, Las Vegas, Southern California, Arizona, etc.

Working in SLU is nice.

I have only been here for 5 months but I am enjoying it. I do tend to travel somewhat though so I am in California at least once/month for the weekend, etc.

I really think that the quality of life is better here though. Day to day, everything costs about the same as SF, LA, etc. (cost of milk, eggs, restaurants, gas, cars, etc.) but the cost of housing and no state income tax makes life overall better.

[staelisei]

We are so grateful for the timeliness of these responses, and really appreciate the remarks about neighborhoods, schools and adjusting to the weather. Thank you!

In response to your responses, how long is a drive from West Seattle to SLU during commute, or from Ballard, northern Seattle neighborhoods, or Bellevue/S. Kirkland via the 520? I heard word of a light rail in the works (?) to the eastern suburbs (thinking bigger picture). And who lives on Bainbridge Island?!

Yes, flyingsaucermom, we will plan a chat about the Bay Area. It's lovely if you can afford it. I just don't know many who are able to afford it, and we have a wide circle of friends, native and transplants. My note regarding "how much longer can we make it here" was mostly economical, with a few tablespoons of commute issues/job related stress for my husband. Your comments were quite helpful and exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you!

Vinylly - I'll be thinking about the tequila remark for days. Seattle is grateful that you don't work on their tourism board.

[kala4ever]

We just moved from the Bay Area and also have a little one who will be starting Kindergarten in the Fall, and our other little one is 3 and a half. I feel compelled to respond to your question. This response is largely based on our real estate journey in Washington. Hopefully sharing our story will help you not make similar mistakes We sold our home in the Bay Area and moved to the Seattle Area in January. We moved into a furnished home in Kirkland (on the Eastside) so as to make the transition a little easier on our children. Before moving here, we had decided on the Eastside for the schools (even though it's likely we will be sending our children to private school, just a personal preference based on my and hubby's private school experience growing up). That said, we decided to cast a wide net and our go for a home, Seattle or Eastside, in a neighborhood we felt was safe, child friendly, with excellent public and private school options/amenities, diversity and convenience of location. We told ourselves that we would find a home within a month or two to purchase. Well, that has been our biggest source of frustration since we arrived here. We are still renting, and it isn't cheap to rent in the Seattle are! Just be aware that **it is a seller's market**. This shift happened unbeknownst to us as my husband around the time my husband was signing a contract for his Director position in downtown Seattle late last year. And trust me, we had been studying the market avidly! So we arrived to find scarce inventory and bidding wars, what a shock, when just a month earlier, homes were cheaper and without hordes of people pouncing on every home. We have been here now for two months, we decided to move from the furnished house into a three bedroom apartment (in another city on the Eastide) when our household items arrived and we still had no home! Of note, most of the bidding wars we have been involved in have the winning bidder waiving all contingencies including inspection and appraisal (some competitors are willing to pay for the appraisal difference out of pocket). Our comfort zone is similar to yours, around $500,000-$570,000 on the higher end. And yes, we have pursued a home in Ballard. On a tangent, I have to say that if you are a person of color, like me, diversity her is a whole other conversation! You will not see as many African Americans, Pacific Islanders, Western Europeans, Africans, and quite a few other ethnic groups as you do in the Bay Area. Find a good realtor who will be willing to go the distance with you. Consider pre-inspections as a strategy a lot of folks use to get into a home, especially in Seattle we've noticed. For instance, I can't tell you the number of open houses we've attended in Seattle where the potential buyer already did a pre-inspection, which gives them a one up on you if it's your first time even seeing the home! Seriously, it's a zoo right now. We moved here in the Winter, and I am missing the sun, my old friends, and getting sick and tired of all the boxes around me. We only unpacked essentials since we're holding out hope for getting into a home by end of April when our lease is up. Be sure to manage your expectations. Homes in Seattle, for instance Green Lake, Ballard, and Magnolia (our favorite neighborhoods) have old houses (lots of early 1900's built) in the $500,000 range, but they tend to be old and needing work, so you better have extra money to cover the quirks. On the other hand there are some scattered town homes or new constructions that are ultra modern and but tend to unfortunately for a young family, design third bedroom on the lowest floor scenarios). The Eastside has tons of 1960's constructions, also needing work in the $500,000 range, and don't forget the nice homes will require you to beef up your offer so you can at least compete in a bidding war. We have also learned that with all this cold and wet, it's nice to have a warm, 'tight' interior, so that you're comfortable in the gloomy months. Lot of windows and facing 'the light' is a great rule of thumb. We are not giving up on purchasing a home and have faith. We also have super high standards which can be tough on a budget in the $500,000 range. I am a stay at home mom too and have the time to take on the full time job of searching for homes during the week. This will definitely help you have an edge on working fold who only have evenings and weekends to see homes. Of course we haven't won out yet, but it's still a plus that you can get out there during weekdays and see homes with your realtor. There's a wonderful drop in child care facility in downtown Bellevue (exceptionally clean, fun place for children) called Adventure Playcare in case you need care and don't have family/friends to help out. We use it very sparingly (probably three times so far), but it has been a wonderful resource to count on. I think it's great that you will be here in February should you choose to make the journey North. Better to try and get in on a home now before the late Spring/Summer rush. We do not regret our move from the Bay Area for one minute. We too were getting tired of all the stress and hassle of the Bay Area, I know you know what I mean Just be aware that the real estate market here is turning like the Bay Area. I personally think it's the over inflated cost of everything in the Bay Area that makes it so stressful for everyone trying to get ahead. Part of me wonders if the Seattle Area is slowly following suit. By the way, the Issaquah, and the Issaquah Highlands are really nice if you like the mountains. There's excellent bus service to South Lake Union from there via the Park and Ride. My husband's commute is no more than 40 minutes! We very much appreciate the green living in Washington. I think it is also a refreshing change of pace to the Bay Area too. Changing economic/real estate market, the people here seem genuinely interested in building community, family life, and seem to strive for the kind of balance we too value. Good luck! I hope that sharing our journey is helpful to you.

[RVD90277]

wow, this was pretty tough to read without line spaces so i just sort of skimmed it. but i think the OP might be settled in by now.

in any case, i've also sort of been in the market here and there for the past 6 months. i think the $500k market is very tight. inventory is pretty low and when something pops up, it usually goes quickly.

at the $1m range home also get picked up fairly quickly if it's priced right. i think that above $1m, most homes tend to linger on for awhile...

[kala4ever]

This was my first post on city-data. Sorry about the line spacing thing, that was silly. I'll make sure to make future posts more readable!

[ctr88]

I lived in the Bay Area for 16 years (did not have kids) and I think Seattle is a great move. If you like the great outdoors the mountains in Seattle are a lot closer than SF, and real wilderness is a lot closer. I've gone skiing up here a few times and I'n blown away how easy it is to get to great skiing vs. the crushing 4hr (if you are lucky) drive up to Lake Tahoe ski resorts from SF.

Also, if you lived in SF proper, there is not as huge of a difference in weather as people think. Seattle is not that far off the Richmond and Sunset districts in terms of weather. And I think Seattle actually gets a better summer than SF. SF is very foggy and cold much of the year anyway, it's not exactly San Diego. Yes if you get out of SF to Marin, East bay, South Bay...there is a big difference in weather vs. Seattle. Seattle also has a much greener feel and more trees and better parks than SF IMO. Also so much of Cali has a brown landscape most of the year, especially summers. Where Seattle is super green in springs and summers, and still somewhat green in winters (minus the bare broadleaf trees).

[RustinginSeattle]

I used to commute from west Ballard to SLU. It took me 15-20 minutes. I always took the backroads, so in 7 miles I calculated that I went through 8 traffic lights and 9 stop signs. On the otherhand, my commute was always 15-20 minutes. I never really dealt with bad traffic. People in Shoreline can get downtown on i5 in 10 minutes or 45 minutes, depending on traffic. Ballard to downtown is a nice commute, but going anywhere else (say the eastside) from Ballard takes a long time.