Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My husband works for Microsoft (and has for 15 years) and is considering applying for a position based out of the Seattle office. We have two young kids (4 and 6), are very outdoorsy, politcally liberal, and are wondering if the move would be a good a fit for us lifestyle-wise. I loathe the MA winters, but am unsure how it would be to trade the bitterly cold winters for so many rainy days. Are public schools in the Seattle area generally good? Our buying budget would be around 800K- is this reasonable for the Seattle suburbs? If you live in the Seattle area, do you enjoy the area?
You'll have no trouble finding a house with good schools in that price range. There are a couple of higher priced neighborhoods along lake washington south of 520 where the public schools aren't great, but most areas with homes in that range have above average schools.
My husband works for Microsoft (and has for 15 years) and is considering applying for a position based out of the Seattle office. We have two young kids (4 and 6), are very outdoorsy, politcally liberal, and are wondering if the move would be a good a fit for us lifestyle-wise. I loathe the MA winters, but am unsure how it would be to trade the bitterly cold winters for so many rainy days. Are public schools in the Seattle area generally good? Our buying budget would be around 800K- is this reasonable for the Seattle suburbs? If you live in the Seattle area, do you enjoy the area?
MSFT does not have an "office" per se in Seattle, but that's a matter of degree: Main, RedWest, Samm, other campuses (camp-ii?), more than 100 buildings, are largely eastside (east of Lake Washington). Just mentioning, because it will matter in the details of "where" you want to be.
However, there are several MSFT buildings in Seattle-proper, come to think of it.
Sentence 2 question: you'll fit right in.
S3: You'll have to decide that, see "Weather" thread with more than four thousand replies. I'll take rain over snow in a hot second; others disagree.
S4: discussed in great detail on other threads.
S5: Yes. At the moment.
S6: Yes, eastside, for my own reasons. In terms of "enjoyment," seems to be an amicable split between Seattle-proper folks and eastside, depending on various factors. Oh, Mercer Island sort of hits the (south) middle. Others live north or south end, but having done that for a decade and commuting eastside, never want to again due to traffic. At your budget, that probably won't be an issue: dollars-to-donuts you'll rapidly conclude Bellevue, Redmond, Issaquah or Samm are your best bets.
Or, if more-urban: Queen Anne, Ballard, Fremont, or similar. I know less about that, see details elsewhere.
YMMV, big research project ahead for you. See other threads.
MSFT does not have an "office" per se in Seattle, but that's a matter of degree: Main, RedWest, Samm, other campuses (camp-ii?), more than 100 buildings, are largely eastside (east of Lake Washington). Just mentioning, because it will matter in the details of "where" you want to be.
However, there are several MSFT buildings in Seattle-proper, come to think of it.
Sentence 2 question: you'll fit right in.
S3: You'll have to decide that, see "Weather" thread with more than four thousand replies. I'll take rain over snow in a hot second; others disagree.
S4: discussed in great detail on other threads.
S5: Yes. At the moment.
S6: Yes, eastside, for my own reasons. In terms of "enjoyment," seems to be an amicable split between Seattle-proper folks and eastside, depending on various factors. Oh, Mercer Island sort of hits the (south) middle. Others live north or south end, but having done that for a decade and commuting eastside, never want to again due to traffic. At your budget, that probably won't be an issue: dollars-to-donuts you'll rapidly conclude Bellevue, Redmond, Issaquah or Samm are your best bets.
Or, if more-urban: Queen Anne, Ballard, Fremont, or similar. I know less about that, see details elsewhere.
YMMV, big research project ahead for you. See other threads.
True, I meant the Redmond office. Thanks for the insight on the other points!
My husband works for Microsoft (and has for 15 years) and is considering applying for a position based out of the Seattle office. We have two young kids (4 and 6), are very outdoorsy, politcally liberal, and are wondering if the move would be a good a fit for us lifestyle-wise. I loathe the MA winters, but am unsure how it would be to trade the bitterly cold winters for so many rainy days. Are public schools in the Seattle area generally good? Our buying budget would be around 800K- is this reasonable for the Seattle suburbs? If you live in the Seattle area, do you enjoy the area?
Your price range will get you something quite nice in a good school district on the Eastside. Unless you're really set on getting the most for your urban buck... (Some people move here dead set on having the most 'urban' experience possible - let us know if that's the case) I'd recommend looking in Redmond first, then Bellevue, Kirkland, Woodinville, Sammamish, and Issaquah (in order of commute - they're all nice with good schools). Schools on 'The Eastside' (where most of MS is) are generally considered good, but schools in Seattle are more hit 'n miss, which is why people are looking for specifics..
Re: Politics. I'm moderate, maybe semi-conservative here - my Midwest family considers me a bleeding-heart-tree-hugging-long-hair-hippie. Not sure how liberal you are, but you'll probably be in good company.
Outdoors - we got it. The Cascades are just to the east, the Olympics are to the west, the Puget Sound is at our doorstep and there are 4 lakes in the metro area, and not little ones either (ok, Greenlake is kinda little). This area is chock full of outdoorsy things to do, and the eastside is very close to the Cascades. The closest ski area is ~45-60 minutes away, and the closest trails are <20 minutes. Of course, all those mountains and water make for some geographic considerations which is one of the reasons Seattle is do darn dense and expensive. You can't just build anywhere here.
Which brings us to the last question; How do you feel about going outside when it's raining? Or looks like it might rain? Or looks like it just finished raining and might rain again? Do you stay inside til it's 'nice'? Or do you just put on your water proof coat and keep on doing whatever you planned on doing? If you're not one of the latter, you may go a little stir crazy if you keep waiting for weather that's not likely to happen. The cloud cover can be low, dark and gloomy. We're not that far from Canada, so despite the mild temps, the days are short in the winter because we're pretty far north. Some people seriously (not exaggerating) lose it (mentally) after a couple winters here. Please be brutally honest with yourself because it ain't pretty to watch people lose it, and there's not a darn thing anyone can do about the weather. Although all of that may have sounded negative, it's not my intention to be discouraging, which brings us to the next point...
Some of us actually moved here for the weather. The rain is drizzly and usually light. It's always the right temperature for physical activity - not too hot, not too cold. The grey clouds are soothing. The air is misty and cool on your face. Evergreens in the mist look like something out of Norse mythology, and our forests are straight outta Lord of the Rings. The air almost always smells fresh and full of growing things. There is very little wind and few insects. Yes, we do get a few crappy days, the periodic windstorm, and maybe a couple days of snow, but overall it's pretty darn mild. We're called 'The Emerald City' for a reason. This is an absolute gardener's paradise. Summers make you feel blessed to live here.
It's a big step to consider, so best wishes on figuring out your next steps!
Before we moved I thought it would rain every day, but it's not even close. And it's more cloudy-misty than torrential showers. Summer is just beautiful here. It's actually been quite sunny here lately. It was like this last March, too, and people told me not to get used to it. Well, I'm sort of getting used to it! I don't think I've ever felt like it's bitterly cold here, and I'm a Socal native. I've only been here two winters, though.
Public schools are pretty good in some spots; read the anecdotal stuff as well as the test scores, as it's been pretty spot-on for us. The biggest problem I've found is class sizes and ratios. Still, the NE has been great as far as commute to Redmond (the 520 toll road is nice to have), and the schools are good in Bryant/Ravenna, Wedgwood, View Ridge. You could also look at Laurelhurst, Montlake, Madison Park and maybe North Capitol Hill. Lots of great neighborhoods with great schools that are close to 520. You'll find lots of liberals, but also some PC goofiness sometimes.
The schools are generally better on the Eastside, though some find it sort of sterile and charmless. I didn't like it over there when we first moved here but it's definitely grown on me. You'd get a larger lot and house over there. Either way, sounds like you have a good budget for just about anywhere that fits your criteria. Good luck!
Don't default to the eastside. On balance, the schools are better there, but there are plenty of good public schools in Seattle. I know plenty of Microsoft folks who commute just fine from Seattle, either driving, using the (frequent, convenient) Sound Transit buses, or the private Connector shuttles.
In your price range, look at Madison Park, Laurelhurst, Windermere, View Ridge, Bryant. If you're willing to make an even longer commute, you can be on the Puget Sound side - North Beach, Sunset Hill, Ballard. Seattle Public schools tend to be best in North Seattle in general, and North East Seattle specifically, but there are good schools all over.
The ability to walk in Seattle neighborhoods is unmatched on the Eastside. Many small 'business centers' (usually just a strip of commercial activity, sometimes quite a bit more as in Madison Park, Ballard, Fremont, UVillage) exist in every neighborhood. The eastside is by definition suburban, for better and worse. Bigger lots, yes. Drive everywhere, you bet.
If you're outdoors-inclined, you'll love it. The skiing here makes East cost skiing look laughable. The terrain is big mountain western stuff, the snow copious, and you don't have to drive 6 hours to get to it. 45 minutes from okay skiing (great skiing on a small scale at Alpental), 90 minutes from terrific skiing (Crystal Mountain, Stevens Pass to a lesser degree), and 5 hours from one of the best resorts on the planet (Whistler). Plus the killer small areas - White Pass, Mission Ridge, Mt. Baker.
You've got to embrace the gray & damp - and there is ample equipment to make it easy to do so. If you do, you'll love it here. If you hide from it, you'll find plenty of threads from the disenchanted on this board. You'll spot the common theme quickly - anything less than sun & warm causes total disenchantment.
roadstrailstris,
Do you like Sudbury and are you looking for the same 'feel'? Wife and I lived in Westford, grew up and still have family in Bedford and have lived in Seattle area on and off for past 20 years. We actually looked at homes in Sudbury but built in Westford.
Suggest for similar feel to Sudbury (suburban homes tucked into woods with trails and offering very good public elementary schools) and with good commute to MSFT Redmond that you look to:
1. Woodinville (Hollywood Hill, Wellington, Lake of the Woods, Reintree, various other neighborhoods)
2. Redmond (around Sunrise Elementary)
These areas also offer some very good independent (private) school alternatives. You haven't asked about specific areas in Seattle or the Eastside (east of Lake Washington) yet, but I'll go on about it in case it helps you or someone else someday. I realize that this is a counterpoint to SaltyDawg's thoughts about Seattle School District, but I'm stepping back from that rather localized thinking to how someone from the Boston area might interpret Seattle school quality.
One thing to be aware of, especially considering top schools for your young family will be of interest, is that pronouncements about school quality is a very regional thing, tending to evoke sometimes misguided civic pride. This is especially true for the public primary schools in the greater Seattle area. However, Seattle area public schools are nowhere close to the nationally recognized rankings of Concord/Acton/Boxboro/Westford schools in your area. Yes, there are one or two high schools that make it into the top 20% nationally, but they do so through virtue of their 'select' programs which attract the top students in the district. As you know, in Massachusetts, the schools are very localized, with each town having its own school system, which typically means one each elementary, middle, and high school. In Washington state, schools are organized by districts, and the districts in the Seattle metro area are huge, each attempting to serve the needs of a very diverse population with many schools spread out over a large area.
The best analogy for a "small town" school system that we have in Seattle would be Mercer Island school district, a well-funded entity to itself. However, you might be disappointed in what your $800k will buy on the island, compared to your Sudbury home. Next best are Lake Washington school district (roughly Redmond, Kirkland) and Northshore district (roughly Woodinville, Bothell).
There are several very good independent schools if you don't want to be tied down to a school district.
roadstrailstris,
Do you like Sudbury and are you looking for the same 'feel'? Wife and I lived in Westford, grew up and still have family in Bedford and have lived in Seattle area on and off for past 20 years. We actually looked at homes in Sudbury but built in Westford.
Suggest for similar feel to Sudbury (suburban homes tucked into woods with trails and offering very good public elementary schools) and with good commute to MSFT Redmond that you look to:
1. Woodinville (Hollywood Hill, Wellington, Lake of the Woods, Reintree, various other neighborhoods)
2. Redmond (around Sunrise Elementary)
These areas also offer some very good independent (private) school alternatives. You haven't asked about specific areas in Seattle or the Eastside (east of Lake Washington) yet, but I'll go on about it in case it helps you or someone else someday. I realize that this is a counterpoint to SaltyDawg's thoughts about Seattle School District, but I'm stepping back from that rather localized thinking to how someone from the Boston area might interpret Seattle school quality.
One thing to be aware of, especially considering top schools for your young family will be of interest, is that pronouncements about school quality is a very regional thing, tending to evoke sometimes misguided civic pride. This is especially true for the public primary schools in the greater Seattle area. However, Seattle area public schools are nowhere close to the nationally recognized rankings of Concord/Acton/Boxboro/Westford schools in your area. Yes, there are one or two high schools that make it into the top 20% nationally, but they do so through virtue of their 'select' programs which attract the top students in the district. As you know, in Massachusetts, the schools are very localized, with each town having its own school system, which typically means one each elementary, middle, and high school. In Washington state, schools are organized by districts, and the districts in the Seattle metro area are huge, each attempting to serve the needs of a very diverse population with many schools spread out over a large area.
The best analogy for a "small town" school system that we have in Seattle would be Mercer Island school district, a well-funded entity to itself. However, you might be disappointed in what your $800k will buy on the island, compared to your Sudbury home. Next best are Lake Washington school district (roughly Redmond, Kirkland) and Northshore district (roughly Woodinville, Bothell).
There are several very good independent schools if you don't want to be tied down to a school district.
We love Sudbury and would be looking for a similar feel. Thanks for all of the great info!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
