Need serious advice. Family considering moving to Seattle from Chicago IL area.

[socalmommie]

Dear SakuraZ69

I agree a few of the responses have been defensive & a couple could be described as snotty. The Seattle area tends to pride itself on upward mobility & educational level, thus comments in Latin... yay for prep school! My recommendation is to let it roll off your back - when we were researching for our move 2-3 years ago, I also ran across some interesting assumptions and statements... if nothing else, it kinda made me laugh. Clearly you are very articulate & well-written - I don't doubt you would be an asset to an employer seeking a hard-working, educated person to add to their staff.

That said, we've been here for less than 2 years, but I can give you some generalities & insights from a newcomer.

JOBS - Yes, many people move here for high-tech jobs; our move was also motivated by a tech job, but for a healthcare company & not one of the biggies (Google, MS). There is tremendous growth & also a lot of housing development - if one of you specializes in cabinetry & countertop installation/fabrication, this is probably a great place to be right now if you can connect to the right people. The guy who installed our cabinets started out as a migrant worker from Eastern Europe - he worked an entry-level job & learned as he went; he now owns his own factory & has contracts with some of the better-known builders in the area - I never asked, but I would guess he didn't have much more than a high school diploma. Hard work, intelligence, kindness & a go-getter spirit almost always pay off. I know several people who work in service/support roles commute south from Marysville, but I personally wouldn't recommend that as a great place to live. The crime rates are high, the meth epidemic is intense & the commute is brutal. There are service jobs EVERYWHERE & one must remember that as tech companies grow, not everyone has to be a programmer or project manager - admin staff make the world go round. I would recommend getting your resume together, connecting to colleagues & others on LinkedIn & lining up interviews or meet & greets when you come in the Spring.

HOUSING - No lie, the folks on here are right - Bellevue & Kirkland are two of the most expensive areas on the Eastside to consider, but they're not the only ones with good schools. We're in the Northshore school district and are very happy. Honestly I don't know what rental prices are, but if schooling is your priority, I recommend checking out sites like greatschools.org & finding schools that rate in the 7-10 range, then looking at housing stock in those areas. Places I would recommend looking, given a $2500 max - Snohomish, Bothell (although you might only be able to get a 2BR apartment), Renton, Issaquah/Sammamish, Monroe & Duvall. If one of the main jobs is located in Bellevue, traffic is a nightmare & you wouldn't want to be too far from that. I don't know what sports your children play, but Bellevue & Bothell are known for strong football programs.

TRANSPORTATION - This really depends on where you end up living in relation to your jobs. There are some great commuter buses that could save you the hassle/expense of driving & parking in the city, however you'll often need a car to get to the park & drive locations where those bus stops are located. This is probably a decision best made AFTER you've secured jobs & housing. Personally, after being an L.A. driver my whole life, I find WA drivers to be a little aggravating, but I'm slowly chilling out & turning into "one of them." hahaha

COST OF LIVING - Gas prices have gone up recently & I've paid over $3/gal this week. That has more to do with OPEC and goings-on above my paygrade, but if our gas prices have gone up, so have yours. Gas in WA is still significantly cheaper than in SoCal. Other things that have been cheaper (and I don't know how you could use this as a tool of comparison, but here goes) - car insurance (WAY cheaper), homeowner's insurance (less than half) & utilities (our electric bill is a FRACTION of what it was in SoCal). We pay more for services (housekeeping, gardening, general home improvement projects) here than in CA. There is also NO STATE INCOME TAX. 2016 is the first year we will be able to enjoy that fully, but that's exciting.

HEALTHCARE - I can't advise you on an endocrinologist, but I can say there is ample quality healthcare in the area. Children's Hospital in Seattle is excellent, Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland is great & I've heard varied reviews of Swedish Healthcare. The Seattle area has no shortage of medical professionals!! Again, you may want to find a handful after doing some online research & set up interviews, just as one would to find a pediatrician or OB/GYN before having kiddos. If your child uses a pump, I'm sure you can also keep the lines of communication open with your current doctor until you're settled in. He/she may also be able to recommend a clinic.

Good luck to you in your move. Although we also moved away from dear friends & family, I believe it was the right choice for our family. Even though we came from a safe area with excellent schools (by CA standards), I find that the level of education & funding within our new school district is far higher with more opportunities to explore music and athletics, even at the grade school level. No matter where you live, there will be people living at a higher standard and those at a lower standard - who cares? What matters is doing the best thing for your family.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by socalmommie

HOUSING - No lie, the folks on here are right - Bellevue & Kirkland are two of the most expensive areas on the Eastside to consider, but they're not the only ones with good schools. We're in the Northshore school district and are very happy. Honestly I don't know what rental prices are, but if schooling is your priority, I recommend checking out sites like greatschools.org & finding schools that rate in the 7-10 range, then looking at housing stock in those areas. Places I would recommend looking, given a $2500 max - Snohomish, Bothell (although you might only be able to get a 2BR apartment), Renton, Issaquah/Sammamish, Monroe & Duvall. If one of the main jobs is located in Bellevue, traffic is a nightmare & you wouldn't want to be too far from that. I don't know what sports your children play, but Bellevue & Bothell are known for strong football programs.

Also realize that, while Bellevue and Kirkland are expensive:

East Bellevue (Overlake, Crossroads, Lake Hills, etc.) and South Bellevue (Eastgate, Factoria, Newport Hills, Somerset, etc.) can be less expensive than West Bellevue.

North Kirkland (Norkirk, Rose Hill, Finn Hill, Juanita, Totem Lake, Kingsgate, etc.) can be less expensive than Kirkland proper.

Note that GreatSchools.org does not "rate" schools - its rankings here are 100% based on test scores, which can be highly correlated with family income, and can be distorted by ESL students and/or parents opting their kids out of taking state-mandated exams. Relying on GreatSchools tends to funnel prospective buyers/renters into the most expensive/homogenous neighborhoods.

[carroll4628]

JOBS - There are service/labor jobs Everywhere on the Eastside. I'm in Redmond and within 3 miles I have a large construction materials company (Cadman) that is ALWAYS looking for Class C drivers. We have the GenieLift Company making fork-lifts, Fastenal making mechanical parts, the regional FedEX and UPS warehouses and the regional post office - ALWAYS looking for help. Folks here work the night shift at Boeing in Everett (to avoid the traffic). All the grocery stores, retail stores and autoshops are looking for employees (and not just seasonal). Amazon Fresh is looking for people in Bellevue. The problem is the wages versus the COL in the area.

HOUSING - There are "run down areas" of Kirkland that would fit your requirements as being safe with good schools (all schools in the Lake Washington School District are good IMO). I honestly don't think Kirkland has ANY scary part - old, perhaps, but not unsafe. Closer to the cities = more expensive = more public transportation.

TRANSPORTATION - You can take the bus from ANYWHERE if you're in walking distance to the bus stop. Friends live in Redmond Ridge (way on the eastside) with 1 car. He takes the bus from Redmond Ridge to Seattle for work. Kids take bus to school (and do carpools to after school sports). She takes bus to work in Bellevue after kids are off to school. Car stays in the garage until the weekend. You can make it work with less cars if 1-2 people can commute to work. (I see UPS drivers use the bus to get to work nearly every day.)

COST OF LIVING - Let's talk about kids. Rec Soccer is $125 for Fall season. 6 week indoor season is $250. 6 weeks of swim lessons are $180 (at the YMCA if you can get in). Select Baseball is $275/month for 9 months. Parkour Classes (like gymnastics) are $125/month. Piano lessons are ~ $20/30 per 30/45 minute lesson. Kids are in school, so you don't need childcare (because that can be $800-$1200+ per month).

HEALTHCARE - What insurance you have is the biggest factor. My husband works for AT&T (a large global company) and WE don't have the same doctor choices as our neighbors that work for Microsoft (go figure). We're in the Swedish bag. Overlake, Evergreen, Swedish, Seattle Children's, UW Medicine...plenty of medicine to go around.

As another poster said, "No matter where you live, there will be people living at a higher standard and those at a lower standard - who cares?" That is what makes living here so wonderful for us, the economic and cultural diversity in the schools is amazing. The culture here isn't to push problems (like homelessness, drug addiction) under the rug (like they do in Dallas). Most people at least acknowledge the problems and folks try to find solutions. It teaches my kids, that nothing is going to happen if you don't TRY something. It might not work, but you try something. It's not perfect, it's not utopia, but it's worth the cost.