(Upper) Queen Ann/Bellevue/Mercer Island for young family (Seattle: to rent, condos)

[Remiollie]

Hi I've been browsing through the forum trying to figure out where to live with DH relocate to Seattle in May.

We are a family of 4 with 2 young kids (2 & 4) and have been living in the city for our whole life, so we'd still prefer to stay in a relatively more urban areas with VERY good school district. (Not totally urban urban but the combination of parks+superb schools+coffee shops would be in the top of our list). DH works in SLU area. We're hoping to settle in the areas allow as short commute time as possible (max 30 mins including the traffic). The plan is to rent a place (condo, house, no preference) in the beginning with budget 3-4k and then buy our own maybe in a year at around 800k-1mm. The following are in our short list and I'd appreciate your opinion so I can share a even shorter list with the relocation agent before we go for a house hunting trip next month.

- Queen Ann: this is the area DH and myself are most leaning toward after researching on line. I know Upper Queen Ann seems to be more family friendly but is there any specific area I should look for or avoid (east, west, north Queen Ann)? This is how Zillow divide the district and I feel dizzy after cross check all the addresses.... Also, is there any reputable preschools I can send the boys?

- Bellevue: Seems to be a relatively bigger district compared with others. Is there any specific area we can take a look at in terms of walkability, family friendliness and choices of good school? Clyde Hill? Northern part of Bellevue?

- Mercer Island: I can't rule it out because of the good reputation for the public schools in MI. I heard downtown MI has everything and quite convenient. Should we still keep our radar in this area?

[beautifulseattlehomes]

The combination of excellent elementary schools, a civilized commute and true urban living make Queen Anne a great choice. That being said not a lot of people would use the word superb to describe the Seattle Public Schools but there are schools within the district that are excellent. Queen Anne is home to two of the best elementary schools in the city. The area is filled with beautiful homes some with gorgeous views!

Mercer Island and Bellevue both have excellent schools and their districts have great reputations. Neither place would be considered urban per se though Bellevue does have a downtown core filled with stores, restaurants and many new high end condos.

Our traffic, in my humble opinion, has gotten much worse in the last two years so quality of life versus commute would be a big factor to take into consideration.

Both Coe and Queen Anne ES are great. I have toured both and walked away thinking they were impressive and run extremely well with huge parent involvement.

[kaday]

Originally Posted by Remiollie

Hi I've been browsing through the forum trying to figure out where to live with DH relocate to Seattle in May.

We are a family of 4 with 2 young kids (2 & 4) and have been living in the city for our whole life, so we'd still prefer to stay in a relatively more urban areas with VERY good school district. (Not totally urban urban but the combination of parks+superb schools+coffee shops would be in the top of our list). DH works in SLU area. We're hoping to settle in the areas allow as short commute time as possible (max 30 mins including the traffic). The plan is to rent a place (condo, house, no preference) in the beginning with budget 3-4k and then buy our own maybe in a year at around 800k-1mm. The following are in our short list and I'd appreciate your opinion so I can share a even shorter list with the relocation agent before we go for a house hunting trip next month.

- Queen Ann: this is the area DH and myself are most leaning toward after researching on line. I know Upper Queen Ann seems to be more family friendly but is there any specific area I should look for or avoid (east, west, north Queen Ann)? This is how Zillow divide the district and I feel dizzy after cross check all the addresses.... Also, is there any reputable preschools I can send the boys?

- Bellevue: Seems to be a relatively bigger district compared with others. Is there any specific area we can take a look at in terms of walkability, family friendliness and choices of good school? Clyde Hill? Northern part of Bellevue?

- Mercer Island: I can't rule it out because of the good reputation for the public schools in MI. I heard downtown MI has everything and quite convenient. Should we still keep our radar in this area?

There isn't really any place in Upper Queen Anne that is a bad choice. Closer to the "Ave" is better for walkability but the downside to that is congestion and limited parking. That being said most streets are walkable to schools, parks, and at least a coffee shop or grocery. My preference too was urban and Queen Anne was a good compromise for me. I enjoy living here very much. People are neighborly, kids run between the houses for play dates, Halloween is awesome. I would say Queen Anne is kid friendly but not kid centric. There is something for everyone here. We have a fair amount of older residents on our street mixed with new families, non traditional families, and DINKS. I enjoy that my kids garden with our elderly neighbors. Its a nice connection to another generation. It is just a really nice mix.

All of elementary schools are great. Well funded due to extensive fundraising by parents. Lots of extras. Middle school can be tricky but it will probably look very different by the time your kids are there. There are also k-8 schools with great reputations close by.

I have heard it mentioned that the streets that end with W have better views than those that end in N but I have not really noticed.

The North part of Queen Anne is a very short commute to Amazon. My spouse did it in 10 minutes when he used to work there. Also it is close to Ballard, Whole Foods and walkable to Fremont (Sunday Market is a fun stroll).

There is yahoo group "queen anne moms and dads" which has a lot of information on it. There are several threads about preschools. A few neighbors send their kids to Sweet Pea Cottage but I know nothing about it except it is considered artsy.

[Remiollie]

Thank you beautifulseattlehomes and kaday for the useful info! I start to feel a bit more confident about our choice (at least we got to enjoy the beautiful summer in Seattle before worry about the gloomy winter....)

Please keep suggestions coming in. Am trying to finalize the to-do list for our house hunting trip in April. Thanks again!

[NorthWetter]

The best public school districts in the area are on the Eastside (Bellevue, Issaquah school districts). However, you typically want to live on the side of Lake Washington that you work - otherwise you're fighting traffic on the bridges during your commute.

Upper Queen Anne is a nice neighborhood with a few blocks of commerce on Queen Anne Ave. It's also very convenient to downtown, but on the same hand, gets some property crime because of that (check out Seattle crime maps). That's obviously the trade-off for living in a more urban area.

Be advised that housing inventory is very low right now in desirable neighborhoods in the entire Seattle metro area, so be prepared for a bit of a search.

Like others have alluded to, plan on sending your kids to private school when they get older if you want to live in Seattle proper.

[SaltyDawg]

The idea that you have to send your kids to private school when they hit high school is actually kind of offensive.

Seattle is a huge district. It has many, obvious flaws. It also can serve smart, well-to-do kids really, really well, and also expose them to what actually comprises the society that they live in.

Yes, the North Seattle schools get the bulk of the thumbs-up, but give the district credit for putting high-end programs in the less "desirable" schools.

I wish people would realize that their involvement in their kids' school has as much impact as their wallet does in sending them to a private one. I can't tell you how many private school kids I attended university with that were incredibly skewed in their views of how the world actually works.

[NorthWetter]

In all fairness, SaltyDawg, the OP said that they wanted "VERY good schools." I'm not saying that Seattle doesn't have pockets of good schools that a child could get a quality education from.

[beautifulseattlehomes]

As to high school in Seattle, which is a long way off for the OP...Both Garfield and Roosevelt have solid reputations and Ingraham HS has the IB program. Ballard HS has specialized schools within the school such as their Biotech Program. And the district itself has any number of alternative programs such as Running Start! For the truly gifted and top tier student, the University of Washington has early entrance programs that ease exceptionally brilliant 14, 15 and 16 year olds into the university for a year and then matriculate them in as full fledged university students (at less than half the cost of any private HS in Seattle)!

[fnh]

I agree with this ^^^, I wouldn't broadly dismiss the public schools in Seattle at the middle and high school level. DC's violin teacher here in Houston (@ Rice Shepherd School of Music) grew up Upper Queen Anne and attended Washington Middle and Garfield High schools in the Central District (2004 grad I think). She has positive things to say about her education there and went on to college and grad school at highly regarded schools, and Seattle Public Schools have only been improving in recent years according to our parent friends there. More and more affluent/educated families are choosing to live in Seattle rather than moving to the eastside suburbs for schools as they once did.

[seattlefun]

Originally Posted by SaltyDawg

The idea that you have to send your kids to private school when they hit high school is actually kind of offensive.

Seattle is a huge district. It has many, obvious flaws. It also can serve smart, well-to-do kids really, really well, and also expose them to what actually comprises the society that they live in.

Yes, the North Seattle schools get the bulk of the thumbs-up, but give the district credit for putting high-end programs in the less "desirable" schools.

I wish people would realize that their involvement in their kids' school has as much impact as their wallet does in sending them to a private one. I can't tell you how many private school kids I attended university with that were incredibly skewed in their views of how the world actually works.

Offensive to whom?

I am extremely involved with my kids life and grades. He has straight A's and I'm sure if I left him up to his own devices his grades and life would suffer. Parents are supposed to guide. That's what I do! However, with that being said I want my kid to go to the BEST possible school that he can go to. I prefer public. But, if private was the only answer than that is where I'd put him. Regarding your comment about "how the world actually works".... Everyone's reality on how the world really works is different.