Please help! Looking for AFFORDABLE, safe, nice suburbs/towns around Seattle. (Tacoma: sales, apartment)

[jenbabe13]

I'm an RN and my husband is an Electrical Engineer, and we have 3 school aged children. We will be moving by the end of the year to the Seattle area from Las Vegas, NV. We are mostly looking for suburbs and towns OUTSIDE of Seattle, rather than living in the city. My biggest concerns are affordability, safe neighborhoods (low crime rates), and nice neighborhoods (not ritzy or yuppy, just not very run down or dangerous).

We make about $130,000 a year, and would be renting a house/townhouse/duplex with at least 3 bedrooms. Again, we don't need to be that close to downtown Seattle; anything within an hour's drive is OK. I've read talk about towns as far south as Olympia, as far East as Issaquah, and as far north as Marysville or Port Townsend, but I'm really confused as to which of these neighborhoods are not only affordable but safe and relatively nice. I've also read a lot about neighborhoods to avoid, such as Kent, Renton, Tacoma, but I'm not sure if this is accurate. We don't mind living in small towns or suburbs away from the city and actually prefer it, so any information on these towns would be great, too.

When looking online at houses for rent around and outside Seattle, I couldn't seem to find anything less than $2500/month rent, and that really freaked me out as here in Vegas, even the largest most beautiful homes don't go over about $1500/month. Now, I know the cost of living in Seattle is much higher than here in Vegas, but I'm still worried about not finding anything within our price range of about $1500 - $2000 monthly for rent without going to a dangerous or run-down neighborhood, or without living in an apartment.

Thank you, guys!

[Ira500]

Some people dismiss entire cities as unsafe or full of bad schools when only a small percentage of those places fit that bill. That's the case with Kent and Renton( and Auburn). There are perfectly nice parts in all those towns, safe, and with decent schools. Port Townsend is going to be too far for a reasonable commute. Maple Valley has excellent schools. These are all reasonably affordable and mostly pretty nice. Up north, Lake Forest Park, Shoreline, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace would qualify as more affordable and with some charm. If you can find anything for rent in Duvall, it's more reasonably priced than Seatle or the rest of the eastside, and pretty.

[tobester]

You haven't said where you will be commuting to ... With kids, I would suggest living relatively close to your job. As Ira says, there are nice areas everywhere. I live two miles from what many consider the most dangerous neighborhood in Seattle and you'd never know it.

[Ruth4Truth]

I think you'll be able to find something inside the city. Maple Leaf neighborhood, and north of there, Pinehurst, are very quiet, relatively affordable, and family-oriented. Take a look at Lake Forest Park and Mountlake Terrace, as well.

[flyingsaucermom]

$1500-$2000 for 3 bedroom is doable. We rented a 3+bedroom SFH in one of the best school boundaries in N. Seattle (Wedgewood) for $1850 last year. Granted, it was old... really old... and my utilities were subsequently high. Good neighborhood, but it did have property crime issues (which is why we moved to the Eastside).

Where I live in Issaquah, you can rent a 3 bedrooom townhouse with pool, fitness room, park w/small playground, lots of other kids and EXCELLENT schools for about $1700 (Issaquah Highlands- Wynhaven). SFHs are much harder to find at that price, but I know many families that don't mind living in the smaller townhomes because of the community.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by jenbabe13

I'm an RN and my husband is an Electrical Engineer, and we have 3 school aged children. We will be moving by the end of the year to the Seattle area from Las Vegas, NV. We are mostly looking for suburbs and towns OUTSIDE of Seattle, rather than living in the city. My biggest concerns are affordability, safe neighborhoods (low crime rates), and nice neighborhoods (not ritzy or yuppy, just not very run down or dangerous).

We make about $130,000 a year, and would be renting a house/townhouse/duplex with at least 3 bedrooms. Again, we don't need to be that close to downtown Seattle; anything within an hour's drive is OK. I've read talk about towns as far south as Olympia, as far East as Issaquah, and as far north as Marysville or Port Townsend, but I'm really confused as to which of these neighborhoods are not only affordable but safe and relatively nice. I've also read a lot about neighborhoods to avoid, such as Kent, Renton, Tacoma, but I'm not sure if this is accurate. We don't mind living in small towns or suburbs away from the city and actually prefer it, so any information on these towns would be great, too.

When looking online at houses for rent around and outside Seattle, I couldn't seem to find anything less than $2500/month rent, and that really freaked me out as here in Vegas, even the largest most beautiful homes don't go over about $1500/month. Now, I know the cost of living in Seattle is much higher than here in Vegas, but I'm still worried about not finding anything within our price range of about $1500 - $2000 monthly for rent without going to a dangerous or run-down neighborhood, or without living in an apartment.

Thank you, guys!

If the Seattle is the main area you want to focus on and you're looking at anything within an hour's drive, you'll have to factor in our traffic. Which means looking anything south of Tacoma, north of Everett, east just past Issaquah is out-- unless you're willing to brave an hour plus commute. Port Townsend is an unrealistic place to be looking at, from a commuter aspect. Bainbridge Island, Poulsbo, Kingston (and Bremerton)-- and that general idea would make a lot more sense. But the ferry life is a very expensive proposition, unless you're willing to consider doing only a walk-on and using the public transit on the peninsula side.

As mentioned by a PP, your budget is totally do-able, even within Seattle Proper. What sources are you looking at? Looking at Craigslist, there's a considerable amount to check out in the Seattle area.

[Blondebaerde]

At $130K household income, you have options, if that's the question. Not the end of the world.

Short answer: Maple Valley, Enumclaw, and Black Diamond are possibilities, and not super-expensive. Smaller, a bit out there, and an hour or away from Seattle (maybe more, during commute hours). The latter two are small towns. Maple Valley, suburbia. Maple Valley made one of those "top 10" lists recently for "best place to raise a family." Might want to explore that.

Maple Valley seems interesting to me, I've had cause to explore it lately. Runs the gamut from trailer parks to mansions, and a lot of it just seems like nice duplex and smaller homes on small plots (suburbia). Nice enough place for families, IMO.

Closer-in but not in Seattle-proper: Kirkland, Mercer Island, and Bellevue are nice. But as you say, that might bust out your budget.

Other possibilities: Lynnwood, Edmonds, Bothell, and Mill Creek (north side suburbs). Or Newcastle, Renton Highlands (south side). The above are suburbia, not rural. With the hustle and bustle associated therein.

Olympia is sixty miles away, not really an option connecting to Seattle. Port Townsend, a ferry ride and long slog on rural 2-lane. Uh uh. The Peninsula (Kitsap) is great for getting away from it all: Poulsbo, Silverdale, etc. but it does take effort to cross the water to Seattle.

The news indicates Vegas is the worst housing market in the country. Looked a bit bereft and forlorn when I was out there cruising around the other month, off the strip. Can't say I'm surprised top-end rentals in Vegas are $1,500, whereas in Seattle similar will run $2,500. Seattle appears to have a reasonably-healthy economy vs. Vegas. The laws of economics strike again, I suppose.

Not sure how Seattle compares to Vegas in terms of cost of living: that's a good question and would look at the stats in as much granularity as possible (indices for major groups of expenses: property purchases, property taxes, income taxes, sales tax, rentals, food, gasoline, utilities, child care, higher education, etc.) Might give you enough info to make a budget, and estimate costs, figure out what has to give and where to meet your criteria.

[Seacove]

I had to go to Las Vegas last month and in places it looks frozen in time. A mall that started construction in 2008 stopped and looks pretty sad Construction on Summerlin mall set to move forward - www.ktnv.com. Since it looks like it's starting again this year or next, maybe the Las Vegas COL will start going up in a couple of years. As others have said, you will want to live as close to your work as you can since 20 miles is often over an hour commute during rush hour but there are places in your budget. You will just need to be persistent on Craigs List because people have said here the rental market is tight.

[Caramel_21]

As someone who has moved many times from state to state and being a RN during those moves, I would advise that you try to land a job or at least some interviews before you get here. I am not sure of your field of nursing or what you are looking for but a stint at Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland or Swedish Hospital in Issaquah might satisfy your commute time for work, the affordability factor for living as well as good schools for the kids. If you are working in an office or for an agency then, I'd go for best schools for the money. I think then Issaquah would qualify. (Can't help on the Electrical Engineer side of things- maybe Boeing in which case Issaquah wouldn't be horrible depending on which Boeing location). Kirkland is probably a bit more costly and the commute north can be a problem during rush hour. Schools are good there, too and you could likely find something in the upper end of your price range. HOUSING IS COSTLY HERE- but you can find something is you can be patient or make a few road trips before the whole family moves here.
As others have said traffic here is quite heavy on all major roadways in the Seattle area, so keep that in mind. We were lucky enough to be in corporate housing in Bellevue while we looked for a house. We moved from Florida to Denver which took some adjusting for the cost of housing, then to the greater Seattle area- which further shocked us. We finally settled in Newcastle- just south of Bellevue near Renton, 20-25 min from Seattle without traffic, maybe 45-1 hr with heavy traffic and Issaquah school district- but if you decide on Newcastle which is a small,peaceful community be sure you are in the Issaquah school district- just better opportunities for kids. Renton schools are improving but their reputation has not caught up yet.
Farther out Renton or Maple Valley would likely also be affordable- just check out the schools and travel situation. Kent, further south on the Eastside, has affordable places to live- not sure about the schools or safety of the area- I would be surprised if you couldn't find nice, safe areas to live.
Seattle proper has wonderful neighborhoods and millions of people live in them- depends what you want for you and your family. Not all schools are wonderful or neighborhoods. Get a good realtor, too, that helps. Good luck