Moving from Japan - 120K enough to live in Issaquah w/ 3 kids?

[khammo01]

Hey there - thanks for the bump.

We visited the area in late March / early April and ended up deciding on a new house in Bothell area which is still under construction.

When we visited the Issaquah area, I liked it a lot but my wife felt 'isolated' because there is only 'stuff' in one direction (downtown Issaquah area), rather than in various directions like the Bothell area (Lynwood, downtown Woodinville, Kirkland, Bellevue, etc.).

We also discovered that the closest Japanese grocery was Bellevue and it wasn't a very good one at that. There are a couple Japanese/Asian supermarkets around Bothell.

We also realized that we didn't need to pay an easy commuting premium since I'll be working at home full time. This could backfire depending on what the wife wants to do during the day or if I have a career change. The average price per square foot around Klahanie area was over $200; in most parts of Bothell it is less than $180.

So we got a place near the Canyon Park interchange on I 405, unbelievably low new construction price of $141 per square foot. We were able to get a place about 30% bigger than originally expected, choose a house with a floorplan that meets our requirements, and we caught the builder early enough to make several changes and choose colors/styles. The builder agreed to give us wall to wall hardwood flooring on the main level, fencing around the property and upgrade bathroom fixtures for us.
Oh, and the house has a view of the Olympic mountain range.

The house is 3400 square feet (I had been hoping to get up to 2400), but 1000 of that is a walk-in basement. We have kids so that will be perfect for use as a rec room /play area. Upstairs there is a great room instead of formal living/dining and there is also a nice sized den for my home office. The builder agreed to install french doors.

There are four bedroom and the laundry room on the upper level.

The main compromise point for the property is that it's a flag shaped lot, so the driveway is fairly narrow. The back yard is decent size for new construction, however.

Anyway - the new house is scheduled for completion/closing by June 30 - perfect timing for our plans and for meeting the housing tax credit.

Thanks for the advice of everyone who responded to this thread.

[Inkpoe]

Great news!

And Welcome home!

[mrsincredible]

Do you mind if I PM you to get more info about your builder and neighborhood? Our family situation sounds a lot like yours - husband expects to make $110k and we are a family of 5 with my oldest in Kindergarten this year. Except he will be commuting to either Redmond or Downtown Seattle. What you ended up getting sounds ideal for our family.

We're planning a trip to come check Seattle out over 4th of July weekend for only 3 days so I really have to plan carefully what we want to do and see to make the most of our productivity.

[sofia76]

Congrats, Khammo - wishing you a smooth moving experience and happy new homecoming!

[gaga0505]

Khamm001, Congradulations on such great finding!!
Do u mind sharing the cost of your house? (u can PM me if u dont feel comfortable list the info in public)

I'm also planning to move to Seattle next year, and will be in town during the last week of July to check out neighborhoods. Bothell and Mill Creek is my top choice too. I'm a asian, glad to hear you said Bothell has some asian supermarket,,could u tell me their locations?

[khammo01]

Hello - thanks for your interest.
Ok, I will give a range. We paid between 450 and 500K for our house, which I think was a really good deal considering the range of prices for the area and how much house/lot we got. This is in the Canyon Park/North Creek area of Bothell. There are a lot of new properties around and it is more convenient/closer in than Mill Creek. It is a very diverse area as well. Most of our neighbors are Asians/Indians. I hope you consider the area.

The big Asian supermarket is "H Mart" and it is across the street from Alderwood Mall at Lynnwood. H Mart is a really huge Korean supermarket - and much more reasonable prices than the Japanese Uwajimaya.
The area is also filled with tons of other stores such as Kohls, Lowes, Target, furniture stores, etc. etc. This is just 15-20 minutes away, maybe the same distance from Mill Creek as well. We can take the freeway and be there in 15 minutes, or a really pleasant back road and be there in 20. I'm not sure how you'd get there from Mill Creek or how long it would take.

There is a nice supermarket called Central Market just on the west side of Mill Creek, next to Bothell Everett Highway. This is not an Asian supermarket, but it is Japanese-owned so it has a relatively large Japanese/Asian food section. More pricey than H-Mart but still cheaper than Uwajimaya.

[tigger865]

As you may have noticed there are lots of people who have opinions about the plateau/eastside. I commute from Issaquah to Dtn in 25 minutes by bus - not exactly horrible. I do know that commuters from North or South 405 spend allot more time in thier cars. Traffic is always bad.
Klahanie is a great place to raise a family and is very walkable, you will feel safe. The pool, tennis courts, parks and school district are fantastic. It is a very family friendly area. I have traveled North, South, West for sports and I would not live anywhere else, even though the housing may be cheaper.