Best area to raise a family? (Seattle, Shoreline: renting, homes, good schools)

[Jenny70503]

My husband is possibly relocating to the Seattle area for work and I'm trying to find the perfect area to check out housing in. We're going to be renting, and are hoping to spend $3500 or less per month in rent. We're a family of 9 with kids aged newborn to 13, so we're looking for decent schools (honestly, we're coming from Louisiana, so "good" is probably adequate instead of "fantastic", where they will likely already be behind in comparison) and somewhere that there is a yard. Husband is planning to use public transportation to and from work, so access to that is important. I was considering Shoreline, but have read mixed reviews. Any suggestions?

[robrath]

I wouldn't discount your children's abilities so fast just because they are from the south. School ratings can be found on a variety of websites and their district boundaries if you wanted to narrow down by specific schools. $3500 will probably find some SFHs in the Bothell/Kenmore/Lake Forest Park/Shoreline areas just fine, as long as you aren't expecting something like a 7 bedroom 4 bath place.






Lots of homes have "yards", as long as you aren't picky on the size of the yard or whether it is fully usable (trees/brush/etc). There are a lot of public parks and open spaces within a short driving distance of all those places I've mentioned where you can get plenty of open grassy play space if you wanted to.


Where will your husband be working? That will help narrow down areas with a reasonable commute.

[homesinseattle]

Wow. 9 kids. You need square footage. Shoreline is a fine choice, more affordable than Seattle proper and consistently good schools. Depending on where hubby's job is, you might also consider Edmonds, Bothell, Mukilteo.