Moving to Seattle worth it? (Bellevue, Bothell: rentals, daycare, house prices)

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by toast987

Need honest opinions please. My husband and me have a combined income of 400K and we have 2 kids, one in middle school and one will start elementary in about 2 years from now. My husband recently got a job offer in Seattle and given that it is a Tech hub and I am in IT it is really a great place for me to move career wise. Currently I work remotely from a small town in Midwest and not having the needed professional growth because of the remote situation. Move to Seattle will definitely be great for my career! But I keep on seeing these negative comments online about expensive housing and high cost of living in Seattle. That has really scared me off.

What is your opinion? With our current combined salary and a potential increase in case I switch jobs after moving there, will we have a comfortable life? We are looking to stay in Bellevue or Lake Washington District because of good schools there and also because of reasonable commute to Seattle city. All your opinions are welcome, even brutal ones :-)

Hi toast, Depends what makes you happy. I drove with my family to a ski mountain (Crystal) in about 1 1/2 hours yesterday, hiked to an icicle filled waterfall after that then went to a really tasty Malaysian restaurant in Seattle in the evening. That kind of thing makes me happy. My sister lives in Ashland City (just west of Nashville) BTW. Yeah, it's rather expensive here but a pretty wonderful place to live, IMO. A smaller home in East Bellevue (near I-90) in a place like Lake Hills might work for you school and commute wise. The mid century architecture of that area is generally well-built, large lots with mature trees/landscape and presents pretty good value for money.

[Gardyloo]

Apart from housing, I don't think you're going to find the cost of living all that bad. Utilities tend to be average or cheaper than other places, and note especially there's seldom the need for air conditioning in the summer, but if you have it, you won't need it very much. Plus, unlike Tennessee (or Kentucky, depending on where you actually live) there's no state income tax in Washington, and while sales and property taxes are higher than in other places, the aggregate tax burden is not very high compared to other places, especially east coast and California.

With jobs on each side of Lake Washington, you'll need to pick some place that's easily commutable. I'd probably pick the east side as getting to the UW from most parts of Bellevue or Kirkland is fairly easy using public transit over the SR 520 bridge. Or, while it's tolled, a car commute is not impossible provided you live fairly close to the lake. (Farther east, such as Redmond, the traffic on the highway east of the bridge can be bad.)

On renting v. buying, given your household I'd probably be inclined to look for a house to purchase. However if you're moving during the winter there isn't a lot of inventory, so choices might be better if you're able to wait for the spring. When would this move occur?

[JOinGA]

Originally Posted by toast987

Thanks all. We are also confused whether to buy or rent initially. Any suggestions?

RENT! My daughter and SIL moved from Tennessee to Seattle last spring. They decided to rent for a year in Bothell, thinking that was where they would eventually buy. They are now looking to purchase, but not in Bothell. They have found other areas they like better.

I will warn that my daughter had a heck of a time finding a suitable rental. They fortunately came upon one that the owners had tried to sell before deciding to rent it, so it was clean and in good condition. She found that many of the rentals that look good on the internet, do not look nearly as good in person. The good ones get snapped up quickly.

[toast987]

Originally Posted by Gardyloo

Apart from housing, I don't think you're going to find the cost of living all that bad. Utilities tend to be average or cheaper than other places, and note especially there's seldom the need for air conditioning in the summer, but if you have it, you won't need it very much. Plus, unlike Tennessee (or Kentucky, depending on where you actually live) there's no state income tax in Washington, and while sales and property taxes are higher than in other places, the aggregate tax burden is not very high compared to other places, especially east coast and California.

With jobs on each side of Lake Washington, you'll need to pick some place that's easily commutable. I'd probably pick the east side as getting to the UW from most parts of Bellevue or Kirkland is fairly easy using public transit over the SR 520 bridge. Or, while it's tolled, a car commute is not impossible provided you live fairly close to the lake. (Farther east, such as Redmond, the traffic on the highway east of the bridge can be bad.)

On renting v. buying, given your household I'd probably be inclined to look for a house to purchase. However if you're moving during the winter there isn't a lot of inventory, so choices might be better if you're able to wait for the spring. When would this move occur?

Thanks. We are targeting for spring/summer. Is the housing market better in that timeframe?

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by toast987

Thanks. We are targeting for spring/summer. Is the housing market better in that timeframe?

I think it evens out, more inventory but more people looking. I always remind my clients, you just need one good place.

[Hemlock140]

Some of the median family incomes for Bellevue and Lake Washington School Districts are below. Note that they are all less than half your projected income. With new homes available at 1.3 million, and existing at $600-900k you should be fine anywhere you want to live on the Eastside other than Medina and Clyde Hill.

Sammamish $182,000
Bellevue $105,000
Kirkland $90,000
Redmond $99,000

[Gaylord_Focker]

400k will do well here, but imagine how well it would do in Nashville. Would you consider that?

[toast987]

Originally Posted by Gaylord_Focker

400k will do well here, but imagine how well it would do in Nashville. Would you consider that?

Would have considered Nashville if we were staying there. Currently we are in a town with hardly anything to do

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

Some of the median family incomes for Bellevue and Lake Washington School Districts are below. Note that they are all less than half your projected income. With new homes available at 1.3 million, and existing at $600-900k you should be fine anywhere you want to live on the Eastside other than Medina and Clyde Hill.

Sammamish $182,000
Bellevue $105,000
Kirkland $90,000
Redmond $99,000

Hemlock, these numbers may be true but keep in mind this includes lots of renters and also people who purchased their homes some time ago when prices were lower. OP, what kind of neighborhoods/nearby amenities/walkability, etc. do you like and what are you thinking for a house budget? That may help the forum suggest more specific locations for you. Staying close to easy I-90 access, in general, would be best for Seattle commutes. Not sure your budget would support (would depend on your current home equity and down payment), but you may want to consider Mercer Island as well. The schools are top notch, very central location with fairly easy Seattle (and Bellevue) commutes. Another thing to consider, light rail will be completed in a couple years linking Seattle to Mercer Island, Bellevue and Redmond.

[toast987]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

Hemlock, these numbers may be true but keep in mind this includes lots of renters and also people who purchased their homes some time ago when prices were lower. OP, what kind of neighborhoods/nearby amenities/walkability, etc. do you like and what are you thinking for a house budget? That may help the forum suggest more specific locations for you. Staying close to easy I-90 access, in general, would be best for Seattle commutes. Not sure your budget would support (would depend on your current home equity and down payment), but you may want to consider Mercer Island as well. The schools are top notch, very central location with fairly easy Seattle (and Bellevue) commutes. Another thing to consider, light rail will be completed in a couple years linking Seattle to Mercer Island, Bellevue and Redmond.

Our only requirement is good schools and daycares around. My older one is in 4th grade and younger one is 2 years. We need good elementary, middle and high school in the area. House budget up to 1M

Isn’t Mercer Island more expensive than Bellevue?