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Old 06-09-2008, 11:47 PM
 
2 posts, read 3,400 times
Reputation: 10

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Wow! It's always interesting to me to read other Seattleites take on the greater Puget Sound area. I moved here with my husband and 2 young children from San Diego (via Colorado) a couple years ago. I find the general area to be very friendly and I would say that 2 of my neighbors are great friends of mine. You know the kind - walk in the house without really knocking, dump the kids off for a quick run to the store, etc.

I think one thing every Seattleite will agree on is that traffic totally sucks. If you are even a bit concerned that the commute will be an issue - it will be. Public transit is bad in comparison to the east coast but manageable if close to the downtown area.

I would suggest you look in West Seattle- there are some really nice neighborhoods where you will get more for your money than in the areas just north of downtown. Easy public transportation to downtown and since it's a little bit more affordable there are lots of families with children. The schools aren't as good as Bryant, View Ridge, etc. but you'll get a lot more house for your budget.

Personally - I would stay away from living on the islands if you are commuting daily - it's a seriously long grind (and the houses are not cheaper). Plus the state is having major funding issues with the ferries - who knows how much the ferry ride will cost in the next few years. Bellevue/Issaquah is the suburbs - nice places but the commute into the city is pretty bad.

We moved to Kirkland which is the suburbs but we work/worked at Microsoft so we were actually 5-10 minutes away from work.

We had a fantastic real estate agent who also has young kids. We thought she was really knowledgeable about the different communities in the area and understood what was important to us. Let me know if you are interested in her contact info.
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Old 06-10-2008, 07:14 AM
 
Location: Los Angeles
5,861 posts, read 15,209,909 times
Reputation: 6757
First of all take it from me who moved here from D.C. and commuted to Tyson's Corner, Capitol Hill, Bethesda and Gaithersburg, Seattle's traffic is no comparison to the D.C. area's traffic. Second, there are so many family friendly neighborhoods in and around Seattle and I find this area not to be as stressful as D.C. In fact I found Seattle to be one of the less stressful cities I ever lived in.
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Old 06-10-2008, 06:33 PM
 
Location: Greater Seattle, WA Metro Area
1,930 posts, read 6,524,729 times
Reputation: 907
Hello,

I am a mother of two boys that moved here last summer from Austin, TX. Our priorities were good schools, family friendly, reasonable commute all for that low, low price of around $600K. (Side note...okay, originally we thought $450K but were quickly enlightened by our realtor...I cried and almost threw up...but a year later, we're okay). We currently live in Sammamish (Issaquah Schools) and my husband works downtown. His commute is generally 45-55 minutes either carpooling or on the bus. We live in the Pine Lake area which is the south end of Sammamish and about 2-3 miles off of I-90 and have found it to be really friendly and family oriented. We get together regularly with neighbors (even in the winter) and I have found it easy to make friends out here...many people that live out here moved here from somewhere else so they are eager to meet folks as well. Generally, what they call "the Plateau" is family oriented and friendly with good schools (particularly Issaquah schools though I think Lake Washington schools are well regarded also). We liked Bellevue and Mercer Island and they certainly have good schools but they are very expensive. We have found Sammamish to be a good fit for our needs. Skiing is 40 minutes door to door and we can be at Pine Lake in 2-3 minutes and Lake Sammamish in 5-7 minutes, out to hike at Tiger Mtn in about 10-15 minutes and downtown pretty quickly on a weekend in 20-25 minutes, which we do frequently. I have never lived in DC but worked in Bethesda a lot and I don't think the Seattle traffic is nearly as bad though we do not have a Metro. My husband lived in NYC for 5 years and thinks Seattle has a pretty good bus system. You also asked about the weather...I think you might find it preferable to DC because it doesn't have such intense variations in either direction. That being said, if lack of variation bothers you, it might be hard. I have been missing the heat and sun in TX but started light therapy and it helped me so much. Dare I say I am getting used to the weather here? All in all, beautiful place to live. We are enjoying it very much. Seattle always seemed like a neat city to me and it has not disappointed.

Last edited by texastrigirl; 06-10-2008 at 06:37 PM.. Reason: spelling correct
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Old 06-10-2008, 06:42 PM
 
Location: Greater Seattle, WA Metro Area
1,930 posts, read 6,524,729 times
Reputation: 907
Also, I will answer the what to with small kids Q. Indoors? We got passes to the Aquarium and Zoo, Children's Museum and Science Center and use them all heavily. There are also community centers in many areas with indoor running rooms and climbing structures and you can generally find bounce houses or inflatable wonderland type places. Our kids were 4 and 7 when we moved and we find that unless it's really raining hard (which is not typical) they just put their rain gear on and head out. Outdoors? Sky is the limit! I have never lived in a city that has so many amazing and beautiful parks. We ski, we hike, we canoe...the kids love it here!
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Old 07-26-2008, 03:48 AM
 
7 posts, read 21,636 times
Reputation: 10
Default ??

[quote=megd;4050182]Wow! It's always interesting to me to read other Seattleites take on the greater Puget Sound area. I moved here with my husband and 2 young children from San Diego (via Colorado) a couple years ago. I find the general area to be very friendly and I would say that 2 of my neighbors are great friends of mine. You know the kind - walk in the house without really knocking, dump the kids off for a quick run to the store, etc.

I think one thing every Seattleite will agree on is that traffic totally sucks. If you are even a bit concerned that the commute will be an issue - it will be. Public transit is bad in comparison to the east coast but manageable if close to the downtown area.

I would suggest you look in West Seattle- there are some really nice neighborhoods where you will get more for your money than in the areas just north of downtown. Easy public transportation to downtown and since it's a little bit more affordable there are lots of families with children. The schools aren't as good as Bryant, View Ridge, etc. but you'll get a lot more house for your budget.

Personally - I would stay away from living on the islands if you are


Hello:

I am relocating to Seattle from CA, and looking for networking and employement opts. Can you help me with any recommendations with MS. My field is HR, I just completed an advanced degree in Human resource mgt. Will appreciate any assistance from you

Thanks
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