Moving to Seattle with kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ll throw out an alternate neighborhood. West Seattle. We love it here and it really feels like a community. It has a bit more eclectic beach vibe than the suburbs in the east town. It’s on the puget sound, so salt water beach access. Lots of houses with great views between 1M and 2M. The north end (about thistle ave and N) has decent public schools - great elementaries but just ok for middle and HS. Good parochial school with a great reading support program. 90 min to skiing, 20 to downtown seattle on weekends for exploring (zoos museums etc), 25 to airport, 30 to Renton with a reverse commute.

Somebody already recommended this 🤡

[Anonymous]

Yeah, agreeing with others about short summer seasons. There's really only a few weeks a year where I was like it's naked legs and dresses and sandals time. And maybe a few days where I would even consider going swimming, but the water is cold! Lake swimming is a better option than Sound swimming, but again, cold murky water. (we are back on the east coast now, this girl needs her summers)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, agreeing with others about short summer seasons. There's really only a few weeks a year where I was like it's naked legs and dresses and sandals time. And maybe a few days where I would even consider going swimming, but the water is cold! Lake swimming is a better option than Sound swimming, but again, cold murky water. (we are back on the east coast now, this girl needs her summers)

Lake Sammamish is murky but Lake Washington is delightful and usually very clean! My kid is in the lake with her friends every single day from June through the 3rd week of September. They have a beautiful amount of freedom in the water compared to my childhood in the confines of a pool (although they all swim at pools, too). I swim in the lake most days in the summer, but have friends who are in there daily through the winter. I've swam next to gorgeous fish, under eagles and ospreys, and alongside otters. September out here is our bonus summer, and many years it's nicer than the rest of the summer season.

Summers are a big change from the east coast and are more like coastal Maine than anywhere else on the east coast. I definitely struggle with the cool evenings, and don't love having to layer in the summer. June is cold. There are a lot of positives that make up for it, like no humidity and never, ever getting mosquito bites. We leave doors and windows open and don't worry about for the doors. Only in the past few years have we had the occasional biting mosquito. Mostly they just fly around and are harmless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just remember, the outdoor swimming season in Seattle is extremely short. Summer weather doesn’t really start until after July 4th and is over by early/mid Sept.

Have to agree with this PP—summer swim isn’t really a “thing” in Seattle like it is in other parts of the country, certainly not something one would choose a community for. (There are a couple other private swim clubs—Klahaya in Edmonds, Wedgwood in North Seattle, but those are too far from Renton.) There’s a great outdoor public pool at Lincoln Park in West Seattle, and I like to take my kids wading at various local beaches, but especially Alki (West Seattle) and Coulon (Renton), but Coulon has been closed some recent summers because of water quality issues. I even take them down to Angle Lake (SeaTac) occasionally. As far as water activities go, boating is probably more popular than swimming, and there are endless opportunities to get in a kayak or on a standup paddleboard.

I hope your family loves Seattle!!

Disagree- my child and most of her classmates are in summer swim leagues and they are just as rowdy and fun as mine growing up in the midwest. Most are not as big or intense as DC/VA, which is a positive. Look at the two summer swim leagues to map out pools and swim clubs and check waitlists- Greater Seattle Summer Swim League (it has a north and south division), and Midlakes Swim League (mostly Eastside teams). Midlakes and a few teams in the south division of GSSSL have dive teams, but the north division of GSSSL does not. Midlakes has pools that don't currently have waitlists and a few of them have memberships starting at $500/summer. Our Eastside club has members from Woodinville to West Seattle.

Public pools are beautiful but there are only 2 outdoor ones in the city of Seattle. Kirkland also has a great outdoor public pool. At both you'll need to arrive early to get entrance to a swim session on a nice day.

[Anonymous]

In West Seattle you can do outdoor swim at the pool PP mentioned but it isn’t a club scene. The Arbor Heights club has a wait list that’s 10 years long. If you want that your choices are likely Bellevue Club (nice but no golf) or Rainier Golf and Country Club (it is old and not nice but fun young family pool scene). There are indoor swim leagues if that’s what you are after. Lots of golf options including public courses around the city. Seattle is a great city for all the sports you mention so I hope you find yourself loving it, OP

[Anonymous]

It's been a little while since we were there (and our kids were not in school yet), but we loved Greenwood and Green Lake.

[Anonymous]

Chiming in to agree that summer swim is a pretty popular and very fun on the Eastside (Midlakes league). Woodridge has Woodridge and Norwood Swim Clubs, Triangle, Samena, Phantom Lakes, etc. are nearby. Woodridge is heated and open much of the year for team swimming, and from Memorial Day through September for recreational swim. Enatai (Triangle pool area) is another fantastic Bellevue neighborhood with easy access to Bellevue/Seattle/Renton, public beaches and zoned for Bellevue High School.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you end up in Bellevue, look at the Bellevue Club. It does not offer golf but is a really beautiful athletic club with excellent exercise facilities, child care, restaurants, indoor/outdoor pools, tennis, basketball courts, indoor track, etc. It is located just off 405, in West Bellevue and very near the Surrey Downs/Woodridge neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

Renton is not Seattle. At all. West Seattle is nice. Traffic is awful. You need to be fairly close. It’s seriously a disaster. If you live in Bellevue it could easily take you 1.5 hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's been a little while since we were there (and our kids were not in school yet), but we loved Greenwood and Green Lake.

The neighborhood has gone so downhill. It’s not pleasant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Renton is not Seattle. At all. West Seattle is nice. Traffic is awful. You need to be fairly close. It’s seriously a disaster. If you live in Bellevue it could easily take you 1.5 hours.

Sry I meant if you live in Seattle. My in laws live in maple valley - no to that- and it takes SO long from there, which is near Kent. I’m always blown away by how bad traffic has gotten in the area in general. I grew up there and went to college and grad school at Uw and many friends are still there. They all live in Bellevue or Mercer island or Madison park.

[Anonymous]

OP here - I genuinely appreciate all these thoughtful responses they are SO helpful! Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Tacoma - up and coming

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Renton is not Seattle. At all. West Seattle is nice. Traffic is awful. You need to be fairly close. It’s seriously a disaster. If you live in Bellevue it could easily take you 1.5 hours.

Sry I meant if you live in Seattle. My in laws live in maple valley - no to that- and it takes SO long from there, which is near Kent. I’m always blown away by how bad traffic has gotten in the area in general. I grew up there and went to college and grad school at Uw and many friends are still there. They all live in Bellevue or Mercer island or Madison park.

Your friends are rich. OP can buy a teardown on Mercer Island or a 2-bedroom condo, and maybe an apartment in Madison Park.

Seattle is huge north to south and Kent is vast from west to East. Plenty of areas that used to be a reasonable commute from will take 90 minutes in bad summer traffic, but that's normal now in many parts of the country.

There are plenty of places where people live in Seattle proper or other places that are perfectly reasonable commutes to Renton. Don't be discouraged, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Renton is not Seattle. At all. West Seattle is nice. Traffic is awful. You need to be fairly close. It’s seriously a disaster. If you live in Bellevue it could easily take you 1.5 hours.

Sry I meant if you live in Seattle. My in laws live in maple valley - no to that- and it takes SO long from there, which is near Kent. I’m always blown away by how bad traffic has gotten in the area in general. I grew up there and went to college and grad school at Uw and many friends are still there. They all live in Bellevue or Mercer island or Madison park.

Your friends are rich. OP can buy a teardown on Mercer Island or a 2-bedroom condo, and maybe an apartment in Madison Park.

Seattle is huge north to south and Kent is vast from west to East. Plenty of areas that used to be a reasonable commute from will take 90 minutes in bad summer traffic, but that's normal now in many parts of the country.

There are plenty of places where people live in Seattle proper or other places that are perfectly reasonable commutes to Renton. Don't be discouraged, OP.

I don’t think it’s “normal” now for a commute to take 90 minutes!