Considering moving the family to Seattle (Tacoma, Everett: real estate, apartment complex, houses)

[OneKC]

We have three kids and have begun eyeing the West Coast as a more suitable place to live. We spent a week in Seattle last summer and absolutely loved it. We have friends there that love it, although they said "don't move here, its getting too crowded and is crazy expensive".

But we have grown sick and tired of Midwestern winters. We would also like to take advantage of the outdoors - forests for hiking, and I personally would love to just drive an hour to ski rather than 12 hours to Colorado to ski. It also seems like being near a booming city like Seattle might be good for our kids rather than staying in "flyover country".

I work from home so I could keep my job, and my wife is in health care and could probably get a job pretty easily (probably with a pay bump according to the salaries we have seen online). We know it is crazy expensive, but if it is possible, we would like to strongly consider it.

My questions are:
1. What neighborhoods would you recommend for families? We would send our kids to public school. Our total household income is around $160k/year.
2. Like seriously, how crazy expensive is it? Aside from housing, is everything going to cost more?
3. We are moving away due to weather, but will we regret soggy Seattle winters?
4. We mentioned we were considering moving and the oldest kid (11) was pretty against it. Any advice on helping kids transition with a move? We feel this may be the ideal time as he begins middle school next year and the other two are still pretty young.
5. Alternatively, we might consider Olympia as well since it is more affordable and might be better for my career anyway if I ever leave my job. Thoughts on Olympia? Is it too "small town" (despite being from Kansas, both of us are accustomed to larger metro areas of a million or more)

Thanks for your help! Maybe we'll be neighbors someday?

[Ruth4Truth]

Olympia is a good second choice. People are finding some nice areas outside Olympia that are more affordable, too.

If you want to be near Seattle, you can look to the north: Everett, Lynnwood, Mukilteo, Edmonds. (All NW of Seattle). Or to the NE: Lake Forest Park, or maybe Bothell. All of these have commute buses to downtown and to north Seattle (there's a hospital in the Northgate area). Lake Forest Park has a bike trail that goes to the University of Washington, past a couple of parks, and onward to other parts of the north side of town. Great for kids to explore (bigger kids, not little kids).

You could start looking up real estate in those locations, and see if any of the prices fit your budget.

Soggy is good. Soggy gives you your water supply, and nourishes plant life. For years, California was BEGGING for "soggy", PRAYING for it! Never take moisture for granted.

The main thing that bothers people is the early sunset in the winters: you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark, even if you get off at 5:00. Oh, and the traffic. But Edmonds and a few other areas have commuter trains as well as buses. West Seattle (you could check out the smaller properties there, and be sure to get a place with a finished basement for extra kid rooms) has a ferry to downtown. The hospitals are up the hill (by bus) from downtown. Just mentioning the different ways you can avoid traffic.

[mayfair]

Groceries and restaurants will cost more as well. And as for winters, that is extremely personal. They are milder, but you'll have more gray, overcast days and shorter days in winter (due to being so far north) than Kansas. Some don't mind it, for others it can cause SAD. The best school districts are, of course, in pricier areas. You might like Edmonds, and schools are decent. Be prepared for a lot of homeless people in Olympia.

[Thx-1138]

First, welcome to the PNW, coming up here was one of the best decisions I ever made.


My favorite is the Eastside, and yes, there are expensive places, but for those who are persistent you can find more affordable situations almost anywhere, and remember, the pay for local work is proportional.


There is a nice, new Swedish Medical center in Issaquah!





Houses and apartments can be expensive on the "plateau," but look at the old part of the city and Squak mountain for more affordable housing, even Maple Valley, Fall City, Snoqualmie Falls, North Bend...


I didn't know if I'd make it here, but it has paid off enormously, I was able to retire in my mid-50s!


The weather doesn't get me down at all, I love it!


In fact, I get glum when I see clear skies, knowing there are no clouds to bring us rain and support our lush foliage!


It also "drizzles" much more often than it rains and we get very little snow in winter.


Thx

[elkotronics]

Hey, THX-1138, do you know how the Swedish Hospital RN's strike came out?

[Thx-1138]

Originally Posted by elkotronics

Hey, THX-1138, do you know how the Swedish Hospital RN's strike came out?

No sir, I haven't been following it, but isn't there a thread set on it here?


Maybe I saw it at another forum.


And I haven't watched local news in more than 20 years. (I like my classic movies and TV, they don't make them like they used to.)


Back on weather, there are benefits to our amount of precipitation...





Clouds give us cooler summers and mild winters, I would feel naked around here without them.


But, for all we get, you never hear about floods and other problems the rest of the country gets on a routine basis now. No hurricanes, tornadoes, no inch of ice breaking the trees, no prolonged power outages...


We get power outages, usually they last minutes to a few hours and we might get one a year... In 30 years I've been here the longest was about 12 hours and that happened one time, usually an hour or two.


Thx

[Ruth4Truth]

Yes, try Issaquah and Samamish, too, OP.

Thx, what do you mean by "we get power outages"? Who's "we": the entire greater Seattle area, or are you speaking about Issaquah, specifically? I never experienced a power outage ever, in Seattle.

[Thx-1138]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Yes, try Issaquah and Samamish, too, OP.

Thx, what do you mean by "we get power outages"? Who's "we": the entire greater Seattle area, or are you speaking about Issaquah, specifically? I never experienced a power outage ever, in Seattle.

I'm talking about the Eastside Ruth, Issaquah, Maple Valley, High Point...


I don't recall one in Greenwood or West Seattle or Downtown for the two years I lived there.


I have a friend in Penn, they get floods every other year that back up the toilets and their power goes out frequently.


I've been to Kansas a few times, but just going through, but I did live in Twin Falls Idaho, probably much like Kansas and I couldn't stand that weather either.


The cold wind blows, nothing to stop it or even slow it down, it blows right through you!


Thx

[CrazyDonkey]

For multiple hospitals (and clinics), look at Everett, Tacoma, and Olympia and surrounding areas.

[flyingsaucermom]

Originally Posted by Thx-1138

No sir, I haven't been following it, but isn't there a thread set on it here?


Maybe I saw it at another forum.


And I haven't watched local news in more than 20 years. (I like my classic movies and TV, they don't make them like they used to.)


Back on weather, there are benefits to our amount of precipitation...


[URL="https://postimages.org/"][/URL]


Clouds give us cooler summers and mild winters, I would feel naked around here without them.


But, for all we get, you never hear about floods and other problems the rest of the country gets on a routine basis now. No hurricanes, tornadoes, no inch of ice breaking the trees, no prolonged power outages...


We get power outages, usually they last minutes to a few hours and we might get one a year... In 30 years I've been here the longest was about 12 hours and that happened one time, usually an hour or two.


Thx

Where I live in Issaquah has had multiple power outages every year since I moved here. They've lasted up to 30 hours. They happen in all types of weather, including middle of the bright, sunny summer and I rant on PSE and get called out about my "first world gripe". We are particularly susceptible to losing power during wind storms, which frequently happen between October and December. Some of those windstorms have hurricane force: [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Northwest_windstorm[/url]

Talk about floods... Issaquah just had record-breaking flooding this week! They had to evacuate an apartment complex. Major roads were closed. Schools were delayed. The fish hatchery was 4 inches from losing millions of baby salmon.

Out in Snoqualmie Valley they are having a heck of a time. Some powerless Carnation residents took up refuge at one of my regular coffee shops when I was there. Read online how Jubilee Farms suffered their 5th flood since October... and they're only expected to get one every 2-3 years...

And you didn't mention wildfire. You were here August and September 2017 and 2018 right? Remember the weeks of smoke? All of us without A/C (that's a lot of us) had to sit in stifling indoor heat without our box fans because the air was too polluted to open the windows.