Looking for square footage

[CAMama]

Fairwood area in Renton. Easy commute to the airport... probably 45min-1hr to downtown Seattle by car or you can take the Sounder from Kent or Tukwila. Good schools if you're in the Kent School district, they do all day kindergarten and Carriage Crest does Spanish Immersion. Houses that large are less than $400,000 if you get an older one and they would have a couple of rooms that could work as playrooms. Newer builds are $450-500, but usually slightly smaller and not as much yard.

[CrazyDonkey]

The only easy commutes are from within Seattle or from Bellevue proper. Commuting from Kirkland can be relatively easy if you're willing to pay the 520 toll or carpool.

Zillow shows two houses for sale in the Olympic Hills area of Seattle that meet your price and sq. ft. requirements, one "as is" (6 bedrooms), the other with the Zestimate $80,000 under the list (5 bedrooms). Schools are 5 (elem.), 9 (middle), and 8 (high).

There is one "total fixer" for sale in Bellevue that meets your price/sq. ft. - schools are 9 (elem.), 9 (middle), and 7 (high).

To really improve your selection, you'll need to look at houses in the $650-700,000 range, or drop your desired sq. ft. (to 2,500, for instance).

On the commute, it can pay to look at alternatives to the SOV: park-n-rides/express buses, commuter rail, light rail, car/vanpools.

[Boxkicker]

Rock Creek Reserve - Available Plans - Hultquist Homes

New community in Maple Valley right across the street from the new High School finishing in 2017.

[Ira500]

I'll second what CAMama said. Renton, in the Kent school district. Lots of house for the money(for the Seattle area). Either near Carriage Crest or Ridgewood Elementary schools. Easy commute? Not so easy. 45 minutes to downtown, less to the airport. Maple Valley is also a relative bargain with good schools. But if you're commuting during the wrong hours, HWY 169 can crawl.

[angelenogirl]

Have you opened up Redfin, plugged in that square footage and looked at the areas that seem reasonable as far as commute? All the listings will tell you about specific schools and their districts. I've seen the occasional large house in Edmonds, Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, Bothell, Juanita in that price range. Decent commutes, good to great schools.

[josie13]

Originally Posted by ny.denver

Hi! My family is moving to the area this summer. We are moving from a 3300 sq ft house and we are getting the impression that house of this size don't exist in the greater Seattle area in our price range. Is this true? Ideally, we are looking for a safe suburb, with great schools, that is an easy commute to both downtown Seattle and the airport, where we can buy something for around $500K. Where do you suggest?

One of the reason I think we are having a hard time is because I dont think you have basements in Seattle. Right? Maybe my question should be where do you put a playroom for little ones in a house without a basement? Anyway, any advice on where to go is much appreciated

I've toured houses with really nicely finished basements on the Eastside. But you're right, they're more the exception than the rule.

Never having had a basement, my kids played in the family room, where I could keep an eye on them, or in one another's bedrooms. Oh, and when they got older, they had game systems in the media room, and played in there on the big screen.

[ny.denver]

Thank you everyone for the great advice. We are now looking into Bothell because of the schools. I assume the commute will be bad but at least our kids will be smart. Is Bothell a stereotypical suburb?

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by ny.denver

Thank you everyone for the great advice. We are now looking into Bothell because of the schools. I assume the commute will be bad but at least our kids will be smart. Is Bothell a stereotypical suburb?

The King County part more resembles a typical suburb, while the areas further north are more like a place a bunch of random developers came and built homes. There's not much cohesion in that section since the roads were all laid out then the area was mostly farms.

[CrazyDonkey]

There are a couple 4bd/3,000+ sq/ft houses listed for under $500,000 in Shoreline, which would give you great schools and a somewhat easier commute.

Shoreline WA Single Family Homes For Sale - 2 Homes | Zillow

Note: Zillow might not always report the latest Great School scores. It scores Shorecrest High School in the Shoreline SD as a 7, while Great Schools now scores it as a 9, for instance.

Kenmore also has pretty good schools. For instance (8-Elem, 9-JrHi, 10-Hi):

16332 Inglewood Ln NE, Kenmore, WA 98028 is For Sale | Zillow

Kenmore WA Single Family Homes For Sale - 8 Homes | Zillow

Lake Forest Park also has very good schools. Prices for Bothell, Kenmore, Lake Forest Park, and Shoreline look to be $600,000+ for what you're looking for, with only a handful at $600,000-.