Help narrowing down small cities to raise 5 yo daughter in (Seattle: best cities, high crime)

[NorCal77]

Hello all,

We've been priced out of our local community here in Burien. After moving back here in '15 our plan was to get a feel for Burien and the different surrounding areas and hope for the economy to plateau and have more inventory. Unfortunately not much has changed and there are more shootings and crime more than ever it feels.

My daughter just graduated from her 2 year co-op school and we are going to give home schooling a go this year. If it sticks we will do this until 5th grade or so (before Middle School). Being that I work from home this allows us to be a bit mobile in our decision making (wife is a stay at home).

We are left leaning independents that would prefer to be around an open minded community, but don't mind being the minority. Politics are not as import as a safe atmosphere and healthy community.

As much as I love the convenience of being close to the city we feel we've experienced quite a bit of it already and it's lost its lustre. We've been exploring a bit the last few summers and are slowly compiling a list of cities and would love to hear your guys' thoughts on them.


Our budget is between 200-300k, 350k would be pushing it but possible.


In no specific order...

Friday Harbor- My mother has lived here for 25 years, beautiful, crime is very low, but it is a bit isolated.

Port Townsend/Sequim/Port Angeles- Father lives in PT, beautiful, old charm, crime seems low. Low rainfall in Sequim sounds great

Puyallup/Orting/Yelm- Not spent much time there but it is affordable

Olympia- Good amount of history and schools look good

Bellingham/Mt Vernon- Not spent much time there

Snohomish/Monroe- Seems fairly clean but not much time spent there

Ellensburg/Yakima- Not been there in a few decades but it looks affordable


Thanks guys I'm open to other suggestions. We're trying to day trip or spend a few nights in these cities this summer/fall to get a better understanding of them.

[thatguy950]

At that price point your best bet is central or eastern WA. Areas surrounded Ellensburg can be really great but even there prices are climbing, I’d also look at the Tri-cities as an option

[Seacove]

What about Maple Valley? Supposed to be a good area with good schools and if commute is not an issue would seem pretty ideal.

[TheOrca]

Ellensburg and Vancouver are the best cities in washington

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by Seacove

What about Maple Valley? Supposed to be a good area with good schools and if commute is not an issue would seem pretty ideal.

Yes, and for those reasons the prices there are above the OP’s budget, median $450k now. The same for other places mentioned (Bellingham, Snohomish, Monroe) and I wouldn’t want to have a kid in Yakima schools. Ellensburg might be OK if you like it hot, dry and windy, but schools are mediocre, same with Puyallup/Orting/Yelm, but in the long term that area is vulnerable to lava flows from Mt. Rainier, should it ever blow.

Sequim has decent schools and is still ( barely) within the budget.

[NorCal77]

Thanks to all that replied! We just got back from a big Sunday drive. Drove down 167 through Orting, into Graham,South Hill Puyallup, through Spanaway, and into Steilacoom.

Out of all those cities I would say I like Orting and Steilacoom the best for different reasons. Orting for it's scenic foothill town. People in Safeway seemed nice and at the coffee shop. Pretty small town. Steilacoom was nice and clean.. nice sea town that reflects that in the pricing.

Graham seemed a little depressed but didn't get to see all that much. Will keep an open mind.

Puyallup was I'd say the most populated. We walked around South Hill Mall to get an idea of things. Fairly diverse. Not as depressed as I thought it would be. Quite a bit of strip mall stores all along that same road. A bit choked up. Place has grown quite a bit from how I remember it.

Didn't bother with Spanaway as it seems a bit too depressed with bad schooling.

Originally Posted by thatguy950

At that price point your best bet is central or eastern WA. Areas surrounded Ellensburg can be really great but even there prices are climbing, I’d also look at the Tri-cities as an option

Yes we're going to plan a trip over there towards the end of the month and check things out. We've spent quite a bit of time in Cle Elum/Roslyn but not much east of there. I had friends that went to Central after HS but it's been so long I don't remember the layout.

Originally Posted by Seacove

What about Maple Valley? Supposed to be a good area with good schools and if commute is not an issue would seem pretty ideal.

I love Maple Valley and initially we were trying to live between there and the Renton Highlands to get into their school district. Unfortunately things have inflated quite a bit in this time frame.

Originally Posted by TheOrca

Ellensburg and Vancouver are the best cities in washington

Care to elaborate?

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

Yes, and for those reasons the prices there are above the OP’s budget, median $450k now. The same for other places mentioned (Bellingham, Snohomish, Monroe) and I wouldn’t want to have a kid in Yakima schools. Ellensburg might be OK if you like it hot, dry and windy, but schools are mediocre, same with Puyallup/Orting/Yelm, but in the long term that area is vulnerable to lava flows from Mt. Rainier, should it ever blow.

Sequim has decent schools and is still ( barely) within the budget.

Yakima schools that bad? Low funding? I'm a bit reluctant to go across the pass because of the heat and the added expense of AC in the summer. Ideally would like to stick between the Olympics and Cascades for more moderate weather.

[Diana Holbrook]

You can still find places in that budget in Olympia, and in many of the small surrounding towns. I would consider:

Shelton and some of the small towns going up Hwy 3 - Belfair, Allyn. There may be other rural communities out on the Peninsula that are affordable but not TOO far to venture into TOWN once in awhile. You just get more for your money in Shelton than you would in Olympia. You can still find a nice place in your budget.

Just South of Olympia is Rochester and Tenino... and you get a little more bang for your buck here, without being too far from Olympia when needed. I live in Rochester... and Tenino has a nice small town feel. I happen to know some people who are active in the homeschooling and coop school groups here. Not overly political either. And you can find nice places with big county yards around $300 still.


IF You want to become small town people.

[NorCal77]

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

You can still find places in that budget in Olympia, and in many of the small surrounding towns. I would consider:

Shelton and some of the small towns going up Hwy 3 - Belfair, Allyn. There may be other rural communities out on the Peninsula that are affordable but not TOO far to venture into TOWN once in awhile. You just get more for your money in Shelton than you would in Olympia. You can still find a nice place in your budget.

Just South of Olympia is Rochester and Tenino... and you get a little more bang for your buck here, without being too far from Olympia when needed. I live in Rochester... and Tenino has a nice small town feel. I happen to know some people who are active in the homeschooling and coop school groups here. Not overly political either. And you can find nice places with big county yards around $300 still.


IF You want to become small town people.

Thanks for the reply.

I looked up the areas you mentioned and got them on my radar! I think we're gonna stay in Olympia for a couple nights this month to get a better sense of all the areas around Olympia and going up the peninsula along hwy 3.

Are there any places in Olympia or around that we should rule out as being bad crime/school wise?


Also does anyone know just how far the rain shadow in Sequim reaches? Sure would be nice to be a bit dryer

[Diana Holbrook]

The only places I would really rule out would be RIGHT downtown Olympia and right in the homeless jungle areas mostly near the freeway in town, where the homeless camps have been. And that said, the last time I drove through Olympia, it looked a LOT better. The big parking lot sanctioned homeless "camp" that sat downtown with a fence around it last year is gone. I don't know what the solution to the problem is, but it's not that. That was terrible. Now, I think most of them have moved out under bridges and in some of the other woods camps out of sight. Maybe not cured, but I'm sure the downtown businesses are relieved and it's out of sight. Just like Seattle, the homeless issue is real, but it's not a depressed econonmy issue. There's lots of jobs and money here. It's a drug addiction issue.

There isn't real high crime anywhere, but I think the days of leaving things unlocked should be long past, be prudent and I think you'll be safe anywhere... there aren't *dangerous* parts of any of these towns, Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, South Thurston County rural communities or Shelton and Peninsula communities.

I went to Tumwater schools, so I'm biased even if Olympia might test slightly better. I think they're all pretty good. I don't think the small town schools in Rochester and Tenino are bad, they just probably have less resources than the bigger class A schools do. Depends what you are looking for... Small classes, or big band or sports scholarships?

I tend to think the rain shadow is a setup for disappointment, and it doesn't rain near enough here in summer... it's already dry and it's only the first of August.

DO check it out. Check out Tenino and the outlying areas, and Rochester, although Rochester doesn't have the cute old town core that Tenino does. We do have a new Mariott right by the freeway though.

[prosin]

Chimicum/Port Hadlock/Irondale (maybe even Quilcene?): Would that be a possibility? Closer to PT for Father (I'm assuming your child's grandfather?) OK, it's further from the "city" as you like, but this location would still put you less than 2 hours from Seattle (but not on a Sunday, for sure).

I hear good things about Chimicum schools, but I cannot speak to the neighborhoods themselves as I live in Kitsap. My impression is most of the area is a live-and-let-live society overall, but I do see Trump/MAGA signs occasionally.

I wish I could recommend my town, but it's Median has also skyrocketed outside your price range.