Moving-Needing to move about 1hr of Seattle (Tacoma, Bremerton: renting, low crime)

[TyBruce]

I will be moving very shortly to WA, but am still not positive on the where.
I am not a city person, and therefore do not want to be anywhere right around it.
Seattle's the most beautiful city I've ever been in, but still, No.
I do though, want to move within an hour of Seattle.
I am looking for a nature place. I currently live 20 minutes away from shopping malls, tucked away between protected forests. I'm looking to find a place that still believes we need trees more than a shopping plaza or Walmart.
And also, is it impossible to ask for a low crime rate? One of the firsts places I looked into, was Port Orchard, and their crime rate seemed quite high. Then I looked at Shelton (I know, more than an hour, but I like what I saw online about it), but according to online statistics, they're not so great either with the crime rate. I am coming to the area on 28 of Jan, to come look at places, but I'm truly at a loss. There's just so much area within an hour's distance from the city. Hoping someone else might help me narrow down where to look?
Thanks in advance for any help.

-----Also, still considering Shelton, as I plan on renting a while anyhow. In case I choose the wrong place at first. Could always move once she's done with high school.

[Seacove]

Maybe I'm wrong but I would be surprised if a small town outside of Seattle had the resources to send a private tutor to student's homes, medical condition or not. I don't even know if Seattle does that. If you are getting that now, why not stay there until she's out of school?

An hour out of Seattle can still be within the Seattle metro depending on weekday traffic. Do you mean 60 miles outside of Seattle? Obviously that opens up a lot of area but if you were to want to commute to Seattle, it could be as much as two plus hours during the week.

[TyBruce]

It's not a matter of choice.
As for why not stay here? I live in a not so great place, where she goes to a place that has some serious race problems. I'd like very Much to get away from that. Also, my husband's parents (worked there) lost their small business (where he worked-he's working temp elsewhere for now) and it will be better financially to move there. If I can get her to a better place such as WA, it will be better for the both of us. Oh, and I just officially sold my house here today.
I've been to WA many times, but when I go I'm not doing typical tourist junk. I spend days hiking in mountains and rainforests. I don't know much about certain areas, as I've only stayed in Tacoma, Bremerton, and hiking throughout the ONP.
Thanks for any thoughts! Definitely trying to find a 'low crime rate' area. As I don't really want anything bad to happen as soon as I get there.

[amaiunmei]

You may want to make some calls before you move out here, especially to DSHS and/or local school systems.

The state legislature was very recently held in contempt of court for under-funding public education in Washington state.

Supreme Court holds state in contempt over school funding | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KOMO News

To this day, there has been no agreement on how to move forward with funding. To this day, there are sizable differences between poorer and rural districts vs. wealthier districts.

There is no federal law stating that the application of 504 plans needs to be the same from state to state; it is entirely possible that you could be leaving a fairly decent situation and entering a situation that is less favorable overall than what you are used to.

IEP plans are very popular in this area, and you may want to consider one for your daughter. Again, I would suggest that you contact DSHS for more info.

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by amaiunmei

There is no federal law stating that the application of 504 plans needs to be the same from state to state; it is entirely possible that you could be leaving a fairly decent situation and entering a situation that is less favorable overall than what you are used to.

IEP plans are very popular in this area, and you may want to consider one for your daughter. Again, I would suggest that you contact DSHS for more info.

That's what I thought...

[dubfan]

To get to Seacove's point, are you talking about an hour out of Seattle with traffic or without it? If you're talking an hour with traffic, your range is going to be restricted to close-in suburbs that probably won't fit your criteria.

[mev]

We have been employed with school districts in Washington for 20 years and I have never heard of a teacher visiting a student's home for educational purposes.

[CrazyDonkey]

Be sure to read this article on culinary schools:

The scandal of $50,000 culinary 'degrees' | Crosscut.com

Community colleges, often derided as college-lite, also provide a respectable, well-rounded culinary education, and not just "knife skills." The programs at two of Seattle's community colleges, at the Central campus (called Seattle Culinary Academy) and at South Seattle, are particularly well regarded, primarily because their instructors have excellent reputations as chefs. South also has an excellent wine technology program.


The biggest reason to attend a community college, however, is probably the cost: 10 to 20 percent of what the for-profit schools charge. A student who attends full-time for seven quarters will earn an Associate of Applied Science degree for no more than $10,000. More students at community colleges stick with the entire program, too, while students at for-profit schools are more likely to quit. What's more, community college programs have a better reputation with restaurant managers, who are happy to hire graduates for entry-level positions.


[...]


Restaurant life is a culture apart, with a swagger like the Marines, and it helps a lot if you don't do drugs and can speak a little Spanish. If you seriously want to get into the restaurant business, and if you realize that your chances of starring on "Iron Chef" are about the same as being named MVP of the Superbowl, then just start working in restaurants. Dishwasher or busser, yes. Minimum wage, yes. School? A very big maybe. "Community college, for the theory and the math," suggests an industry veteran, "but keep your nighttime job in the kitchen."

[prosin]

Port Orchard's crime rate is higher than Shelton's? Most crime around the Kitsap Peninsula is property crime (car prowls and the like). Person-on-person crime is along the lines of a bad drug deal or domestic violence; in other words, the persons are known to each other. Stranger-on-stranger crime (minus property crime) is rare.

Please wait out the last year on her schooling, then make the change. Every respondent so far is correct in that you will not find better individual service for your daughter than what you have now.

Reconsider PO, only because Olympic College in Bremerton has a great, affordable Culinary Arts program. (Note: OC is in the process of updating its Web site. It is possible this link will be invalid in a couple of days.)

Culinary Arts Institute Home [Olympic College]

[TyBruce]

Thank you for all the replies and for all the words and specifics on PO and Shelton. I simply saw those figures and statistics and got instantly worried. I don't want to move for a better life, just to have some sort of violent crime upon one of us.