Bellevue or NE Seattle neighborhoods? (Kirkland, Garfield: cul-de-sac, real estate market, townhome)

[thomas25]

Hi all,

My wife and I live in the New Jersey suburbs of NYC and have two daughters, 5 and 3. We both work from home and are avid runners and cyclists. We'd like to make a lifestyle change move (plus our property taxes are some of the worst in the country) and are strongly considering moving to Seattle. Our top priority is great public schools for our daughters. So we are looking at either the Bellevue suburb or the NE Seattle neighborhoods that are zoned for Roosevelt HS. Our budget is $800k-$1m for a 4BR house. We'd like to live in the city in the Ravenna/Bryant neighborhoods and understand that the real estate market there is on fire right now. Our question - do you think we should look at the neighborhoods on the other side of I-5 (Green Lake/Phinney Ridge/Greenwood) that are still zoned for Roosevelt? Would those make a better investment? Is our budget still possible in Ravenna/Bryant? Is Roosevelt HS much worse than the Bellevue high schools? Are any Bellevue neighborhoods in our budget? Any other thoughts on living in Bellevue v NE Seattle? We won't have a commute, so I guess that's a plus. All thoughts welcome for a family moving to the area with young children.

Thank you!
thomas25

[Gardyloo]

Originally Posted by thomas25

Hi all,

My wife and I live in the New Jersey suburbs of NYC and have two daughters, 5 and 3. We both work from home and are avid runners and cyclists. We'd like to make a lifestyle change move (plus our property taxes are some of the worst in the country) and are strongly considering moving to Seattle. Our top priority is great public schools for our daughters. So we are looking at either the Bellevue suburb or the NE Seattle neighborhoods that are zoned for Roosevelt HS. Our budget is $800k-$1m for a 4BR house. We'd like to live in the city in the Ravenna/Bryant neighborhoods and understand that the real estate market there is on fire right now. Our question - do you think we should look at the neighborhoods on the other side of I-5 (Green Lake/Phinney Ridge/Greenwood) that are still zoned for Roosevelt? Would those make a better investment? Is our budget still possible in Ravenna/Bryant? Is Roosevelt HS much worse than the Bellevue high schools? Are any Bellevue neighborhoods in our budget? Any other thoughts on living in Bellevue v NE Seattle? We won't have a commute, so I guess that's a plus. All thoughts welcome for a family moving to the area with young children.

Thank you!
thomas25

I live and raised a family in Ravenna. I think your budget and expectations are adequate, but of course the devil is in the details. Yes, the market is hot at the moment but that's the case throughout the region.

Roosevelt HS is a fine school, but with your daughters still a decade away from high school I'd pay attention to the elementary and middle school catchments as well. Bryant and Wedgwood are the two elementary schools in the area (also View Ridge and Laurelhurst on the fringes) and Eckstein Middle School - all are excellent. Seattle is a city that's undergoing some dramatic demographic change, so who's to say what a decade will bring; but for now our neighborhood has excellent schools.

I won't characterize schools as being "better" or "worse" than one another. They're different, as are the kids that attend them. Roosevelt is a big-city school, with a diverse student population drawn from all over the city. The Roosevelt/Ravenna area is full of University types, so there's a lot of parental involvement with the school. It has a terrific reputation in arts and music education, as well as strong math and science courses, so take that for what it's worth.

I can't speak to Bellevue HS; I'm sure others will chime in.

[kaday]

Originally Posted by thomas25

Hi all,

My wife and I live in the New Jersey suburbs of NYC and have two daughters, 5 and 3. We both work from home and are avid runners and cyclists. We'd like to make a lifestyle change move (plus our property taxes are some of the worst in the country) and are strongly considering moving to Seattle. Our top priority is great public schools for our daughters. So we are looking at either the Bellevue suburb or the NE Seattle neighborhoods that are zoned for Roosevelt HS. Our budget is $800k-$1m for a 4BR house. We'd like to live in the city in the Ravenna/Bryant neighborhoods and understand that the real estate market there is on fire right now. Our question - do you think we should look at the neighborhoods on the other side of I-5 (Green Lake/Phinney Ridge/Greenwood) that are still zoned for Roosevelt? Would those make a better investment? Is our budget still possible in Ravenna/Bryant? Is Roosevelt HS much worse than the Bellevue high schools? Are any Bellevue neighborhoods in our budget? Any other thoughts on living in Bellevue v NE Seattle? We won't have a commute, so I guess that's a plus. All thoughts welcome for a family moving to the area with young children.

Thank you!
thomas25

Hi Thomas...former Maplewood gal here.

There are other good high schools in Seattle. But you have a long time until high school. I'd say Ballard may look a lot like Roosevelt in a few years. We were pretty happy with Hamilton International for our child and friends are very pleased with Jane Adams. Ingraham has an IB and accelerated IB that are relatively new but have produced quite a few National Merit Scholars this year. Garfield is a great high school and besides being a neighborhood school it houses the kids coming out of APP (now HCC) who are essentially in the top 2% (some go to the accelerated IB). Roosevelt and Garfield both have excellent nationally recognized music programs. You probably already know about HCC (Highly Capable) but it is worth doing a little research. I would not rule out other neighborhoods that have high performing elementary schools. In fact if your preference is to be in the city than chose the best elementary school with the closest commute. Seattle is really changing and even in the 4 years I have lived here schools have changed pretty significantly. I can't speak for Bellevue from any personal experience. I am sure the schools are excellent. For us it was about the lifestyle we wanted so we stuck with the city. Today though we are dealing with a teachers strike!

[mkarch]

I wouldn't buy a house based on the High School with your kids 10 years out. Lincoln is re-opening soon and that's likely going to have a large effect on the lower north end zoning so who knows what will happen to a particular house. That said, none of the three high schools in the lower north end are likely to be 'bad' or even comparatively worse.

If I had to guess, Bellevue is probably going to see a more stable school zoning over the next 10 years. It's just not growing all that much or attracting families the way Seattle is.

[mike62pp3]

The Bellevue housing market, as well as the rest of Seattle, is seeing a huge bump in real estate prices. Our little townhome has gone up by 30% in value since we first bought it 2 years ago, and it keeps going up. With your budget, you can definitely find a home outside of Downtown Bellevue (DT Bellevue homes go for in the multi-millions). The Bellevue school district is one of the highest rated districts in Seattle and there is a reason why a lot of families want to move here. A family of four recently bought a 3bd townhome in our complex, downsizing from a larger home, just so their kids could go to BHS.

It all comes down to what you are wanting out of the area that you want to live in. Bellevue is definitely suburban but has some characteristics of a large city (it's not that big though) and it's also a short drive to DT Seattle. On the other hand, living in the Ravenna area has a more "urban city feel" than Bellevue.

[Hemlock140]

The City of Bellevue has some data that might interest you. Unless you find a home close to Green Lake or the Burke-Gilman trail I would be a bit worried about children bicycling in Seattle, with the traffic congestion it can get dangerous.

Demographics - Introduction (Official City of Bellevue Website)

[Plenus]

Bellevue would be better in my opinion. Better governed as well. The schools seem to demand more of the teachers in terms of the performance of the end product (the students).

[seasallyttle]

Bellevue schools are all very good. The traffic is becoming really bad, though. Just a few years ago you could get around very easily at any time of day in any part of Bellevue and now parts of Bellevue are near gridlocked for about half the day. And they just keep building more and more downtown and in every square inch of space around Bellevue so it will just keep getting worse every year.
Something to consider.

[homesinseattle]

Thomas, I think it comes down to what kind of place you like to live. Both NE Seattle and the Eastside are desirable places to be. My clients usually make their decision based on proximity to work and whether they are "in-town" (think coffee shops, slightly eclectic, classic homes, high Walk Score or "suburb" people (think developments, cul-de-sacs, often times more modern architecture). This isn't always the case, you can live in Kirkland, which is on the Eastside and has a quite vibrant cafe and shopping core.

[Plenus]

I know this link provides rather trivial info....but nonetheless:

Survey: Bellevue No. 2 most livable midsize city in America | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KOMO News