Looking for a large lot, strong community feeling, hiking/parks, & great schools (Seattle: appointed)

[faile626]

Advice needed! I've been reading this forum and finding plenty of good info, but I can't resist starting my own thread...

My family is moving back to Washington State this summer after a long hiatus in Maryland. My husband grew up in Montlake Terrace, and we lived together in the U District, Lynnwood, and finally Northgate after college. So we've been around, but our situation and priorities now are very different. We have a toddler and more money to spend on housing.

His family lives in Bothell, and we'd like very much to settle within a short drive (say, 25-minute drive in non-rush hour conditions). We both will work from home, so we have options in abundance.

We'd like a large lot (say, 1 acre+) where our son can play to his heart's content and we can have some privacy and freedom to improve as we please. But we'd also like to have a local park where I can meet neighborhood stay-at-home-parents and form new friendships to help me keep my sanity. I'm not sure if I can find both of those qualities in one property.

We like to hike on the weekends. We also like good food and (I feel like these two go together) a liberal approach to politics. Our housing budget extends to $800,000, although we'd be happier spending less, like around $600,000.

I'm seriously looking at Bothell (of course), Woodinville, Issaquah, Sammamish, Edmonds, and Multikteo. Bellevue and Kirkland don't have many properties with larger lots, or if they do, they aren't in our price range. Redmond may be an option, but for some reason, I just haven't found many actual listings there that fit our basic needs.

Bothell: My concern about Bothell is that it has always felt "old" to me, but that may be because my in-laws live there. It may also be a bit close to Lynnwood, which felt trashy to us when we lived there. It seems to have a strong school system and a pleasant downtown area, however.

Woodinville: doesn't seem to have a strong town center, but do individual neighborhoods form their own communities instead? Lots of larger properties in Woodinville, but I feel like they're all quite a ways out there...I don't wan to abandon Seattle entirely.

Issaquah/Sammamish: feel very far away from Bothell, but otherwise might suit nicely?

Edmonds: love the downtown, love being close to the open water, and several larger properties for sale. But I've never lived there. What's it like?

Multikteo: is there a downtown? I know very little about this area.

Your thoughts? Thank you in advance!

[shaylahc]

I live in Woodinville and love it. Unfortunately anytime you want "land", it's going to lessen the sense of community....in smaller n'hoods you see the kids out pal-ing around and playing at each other's houses. That is much harder to do if you live in the "country". I don't think you need to go too far out to find some land....not sure what your budget is, but in the Hollywood Hills area there are big lots with big houses on them.

I think if community is important to you, you should stick with a neighborhood, especially one that has lots of kids (as it sounds like you have a young child).

[shaylahc]

Oh and Mukilteo has air traffic noise. I was sitting at a store in Mukilteo once when I saw a giant Boeing jet headed straight for us....I about peed myself lol. Turns out it was landing at the Boeing airfield right behind me. My ears even popped when it flew overhead.

I think Mukilteo is beautiful (especially if you could get a house facing the sound) but I don't think I could live with the air traffic noise.

[eskercurve]

Originally Posted by shaylahc

Oh and Mukilteo has air traffic noise. I was sitting at a store in Mukilteo once when I saw a giant Boeing jet headed straight for us....I about peed myself lol. Turns out it was landing at the Boeing airfield right behind me. My ears even popped when it flew overhead.

I think Mukilteo is beautiful (especially if you could get a house facing the sound) but I don't think I could live with the air traffic noise.

If you're talking about the Paine field, the only places that have appreciable noise are the businesses along Mukilteo Speedway. If you are north of Paine field, you hardly notice it at all, and no, it's not like the Blues Brothers "they go by so often you'll hardly notice them" sorta thing, it really is not that bad. Wouldn't be a really popular neighborhood with a very high average house price and excellent schools if it was. I know several who live a couple miles to the west and it is barely noticeable to them.

Mukilteo doesn't have a booming downtown though. Besides the businesses on the speedway, downtown / the waterfront is basically a park. There's an awesome brewery (Diamond Knot) that serves excellent food, a couple nice restaurants and a couple coffee houses and bakeries in town but most people admit that the money "passes through Mukilteo" to Whidbey. So it's not particularly active, not particularly vibrant. Stunning views though; sad the city leaders can't get the right vision for it.

Good luck finding a place on 1 acre though. Honestly though why do you need a lot that big? Plenty of parks and recreation areas around.

[Ira500]

My cousin lives near downtown Edmonds and absolutely loves it.
You mentioned having a toddler but didn't mention schools. Is that a huge factor, or will you go private or home school?
Snohomish is a place where you'll find the large lots and the downtown area is a kick in the pants ( I like it.) Vibrant and historic. Artists. Farmers. Alternative healers. Bikers.And good hiking is close. There's a good bakery. But I don't think the schools are especially good.

Bothell's changing. Very close to the downtown area, Paul Allen's development company is building a couple of thousand housing units, along with retail and office space. It should have some kind of transformative effect on the town

[faile626]

@shaylahc, Thank you for posting. That's very encouraging that you see kids outside playing in Woodinville! That's what I hope for -- I think what lots of parents hope for. You've hit the nail on the head, though: the more space we want, the more space we put between us and our neighbors. It's a trade-off, and it's a tough balance to strike. The Hollywood Hills area looks enticing. I think our budget could just barely get us in there. I worry that the uber-rich neighborhoods might not have that same neighborly feeling, though. Like, if those houses are such complete palaces of luxury and entertainment, complete with their own pastures and jumping rings, then why would the kids ever leave? (Not that my goal is to have my kid leave; I mostly want neighbors for my OWN sake, at least until I get him into school and can go back to work!)

Good to know that there are places in Mukilteo that have airplane noise, too. That's the sort of thing I wouldn't consider until I heard it. But it sounds like eskercurve indicates it's not a big issue for most residents, which is a plus, but eskercurve's description of Mukilteo's "downtown" does slide it down the list for me, probably too far to seriously keep considering.

@eskercurve, Thank you for your insight! We're looking at acre+ lots because we'd like to install a tennis court / basketball court, and ideally have space for a soccer field, or at least a good-sized flat area suitable for a short game. Our circle of friends loves sports, and we hope to host lots of parties at which we play our favorite games without having to reserve space at a field or trek the whole party to the nearest tennis complex.

We would like this house to be our last house, which I know is putting a great deal of pressure on the decision, but I spent my childhood moving from place to place, and I'm tired of it. I'd like to give my son -- and myself -- a real, permanent home.

[faile626]

@Ira500: Hooray for a good report from Edmonds! I've not spent much time there, but the vibe felt good, and I love that it really has a downtown. And I'm such a sucker for Rick Steves. I always wanted to work for them...

I like the sound of Snohomish! I'll have to map it to see what the drive is from Bothell...

I do have a toddler, and schools are a HUGE factor. I've considered choosing the progression of schools first and the house second, but it seems a little extreme to be so specific when many schools seem to be of high quality in the Seattle/Eastside area.

Whether we go private or public will depend on where we live, I think, and how he responds to whatever school we put him in first. I've been reading about the schools on the Eastside, mostly, and have been pleased to see that most districts seem to have excellent schools. I mean, that can't be totally true, but my initial readings have been positive.

I think Bothell is getting a new high school soon, which means it won't be new by the time my toddler goes to high school, but still. It's a good sign. I also read that Washington recently voted to proceed with a charter school system, which means the face of education in Washington could look drastically different in five years.

I didn't know that about Paul Allen's development project. I'll have to ask my relatives about it. Do you think the changes happening in Bothell are positive?

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by faile626

I didn't know that about Paul Allen's development project. I'll have to ask my relatives about it. Do you think the changes happening in Bothell are positive?

Honestly I think the best aspect of Bothell is that it's cheap considering the quality of the schools. It does seem a little old and dead though. I drove through yesterday and the downtown section just doesn't seem like much is going on and it's very empty. 2 restaurants (in addition to the Ranch Drive In) looked semi-busy, but the street itself is even uglier than I remember it. Very little flowers and the 'flag' poles that line it had nothing on them. This could very well change in a few years when the landing is re-developed, but right now it's nothing to write home about.

[shaylahc]

My impression of Bothell is that it is where everyone is moving to. It's growing by leaps and bounds, which can be a good thing and a bad thing. Good because there are newer amenities (I saw something the other day about a booming retail plan for Bothell). Bad because crowding means less resources to go around.

The thing I love about Woodinville is that it feels small. It IS small....I think the total count for population stands around 10K. There isn't much growth here at all, and the houses and neighborhoods tend to be older with more land. The schools (at least the elementary and middle where my children go) are older.....when I first drove by them I was a little disappointed because they don't look like much from the outside. But the quality of education is excellent, and it really feels a bit "retro" in terms of education. I see kids walking to school in the mornings, the school campuses are very laid back, with small children walking between buildings and it all feels very safe and small and "old school". I always see kids out riding bikes and exploring the wooded lots and it just feels very much like it did when I was a kid---safe and simple. I love it that the downtown is very close, close enough that my kids can walk down to buy a Slurpee at the 7-11. I love the library. It is rarely ever congested. I feel like I have the best of both worlds in that it's a "small" place, but it's close to all the things we love. We often go to Whidbey or over to San Juan Island to go to the beaches, hiking and exploring. I always love coming back to Woodinville where it's quiet.

Oh and in the summer you will see hot air balloons flying overhead every day. I LOVE that!!! Some of them fly low right over our house. It is so neat, and the kids love it.

I HTH and good luck on your search! We are renting, but if I had $600-800K to spend on a house, I'd look at buying in Woodinville. It is more expensive than surrounding areas, but worth it IMHO.