Moving to Seattle with kids
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Anonymous
| Office will be in Renton. I will need to commute there 2-3x/week. Spouse works remote and occasional travel. 2 kids in elementary, no special needs but we do need a well performing school as one child needs reading support. We like to ski so will want access to that. Living by the water seems appealing?? We don’t want to live downtown. Housing budget up to $1.6M. Advice as to where we should look? |
Anonymous
| Bellevue, Redmond |
Anonymous
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For reference, in Seattle proper at your budget, a SFH in a stable, quality elementary school zone without access to private beach and with 15 year waitlist for nearby pools will get you this:
https://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/6011-43rd-Ave-NE-98115/home/314102 Redmond and Bellevue are vast but good options. If it weren't for your job in Renton, I would suggest Shoreline or Edmonds. If you can tolerate more traffic, look further into Issaquah and the Klahanie part of Sammamish. Your budget can put you in a nicer SFH in Issaquah Highlands or Klahanie and shave 30 minutes off of your ski commute time: https://www.redfin.com/WA/Sammamish/24214-SE-40th-St-98029/home/437165 Newport Hills, Newcastle and Somerset are not glamorous but are close to the lake, easy-ish access to the airport, and you might get lucky and find something in your budget in Newport Hills. It's changing fast and feels pretty transient right now with a lot of flips, teardown and rentals: https://www.redfin.com/WA/Bellevue/12631-SE-68th-Pl-98006/home/415936 Also consider Renton Highlands. You won't be able to access a neighborhood like Maple Hills with your budget, but there are some other good possibilities. Renton will not get you the same quality of middle and high schools. This is what you can afford in Renton: https://www.redfin.com/WA/Renton/6213-SE-3rd-Pl-98059/home/246693 You'll want to think about the kind of neighborhood you want, the kind of housing compromises you'll make, and what kind of diversity you want/don't want- some neighborhoods are very homogenous like in Northern VA and you can find yourself left out. You also need to be careful about school zoning because Bellevue has some not great elementary and middle schools and some that may close. If you're looking for things like a neighborhood beach club or a swim club, there are some pools without wait lists and others that are 10-20 year lists. Many people drive 15-45 minutes to access a club without a wait list but it's a typical situation so people are welcoming. You are not going to be in a beach club neighborhood, unfortunately, but there are public beaches on Lake Washington and Lake Sammammish State Park is great. For skiing you will probably go to Snoqualmie Pass if you are in Bellevue, but once you get further south Crystal becomes more possible. It's an hour or less to Snoqualmie Pass unless the weather is terrible. But you need to arrive an hour before lifts run during lesson weeks or you won't have parking. People go to Stevens Pass from the Eastside but it's further north and not worth the effort. Buy your passes now for next year to save money. If you can describe where you are now (or a similar area), I can try to give you areas that might be a fit. You won't be living on the water, but luckily it's hard to go about your day in this area without having to go near it. |
Anonymous
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Newcastle or Issaquah
-Seattlite |
Anonymous
| Issaquah or Bellevue school districts (Newcastle area close to Renton) would be a good fit. I am in Sammamish which is in the Issaquah school district and my kids are doing great. Moved from northern VA and loving it. Close to I-90 for hiking and winter skiing. Close to Lake sammamish where we go swimming/ paddle boarding |
Anonymous
| Absolutely Bellevue. Easy access to Renton, outstanding schools, lots of neighborhood pools. Look at Woodridge for one option - great elementary school that kids walk to, two community pools with swim teams. You won't be on the water in your price range. |
Anonymous
| Also, there are fantastic lake beaches in Bellevue (Meydenbauer, Chism), Issaquah (Lake Sammamish State Park) and even a nice one in Renton (Coulon), though I would not choose to live in Renton. |
Anonymous
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You’ve gotten great advice so far, and I think the Issaquah/Highlands/Sammamish suggestions are especially good. But I would give West Seattle a close look too. The commute to Renton wouldn’t be bad, and your budget could get you a nice house maybe even with a view, certainly with proximity to parks and beaches. And West Seattle has a great sense of community and a few walkable shopping districts.
https://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/1534-46th-Ave-SW-98116/home/149995 |
Anonymous
Woodridge is great and Woodridge Swim Club is a really friendly club. It's very convenient to everything- Seattle, downtown Bellevue, Factoria, new Light Rail, etc., but also tucked away and with big, nice lots. Your price range isn't impossible but you'll need to pounce if you see something and expect to do a lot of work. |
Anonymous
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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.
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Anonymous
I’m the West Seattle PP and YES! At least worth a look so you can get the feel for the neighborhood. |
Anonymous
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This is OP, thank you all so much for these thoughtful responses! Wow, I am a little blown away by the housing costs to be honest. We are moving from Palisades. Maybe if we get enough on our home sale we can up our budget.
Skiing is important but we will take longer trips to ski in Utah. Swimming- hadn’t thought about that. Where are the good public swimming “beaches”? Anywhere else besides the Woodridge recommendation that I should look at for swim clubs? Golf - DH is into it. What are our golf options? |
Anonymous
| OP again - I’m intrigued by the West Seattle suggestions and will check that out, thank you! |
Anonymous
| 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. |
Anonymous
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!! |