Any Seattle Working Moms?

lcriordan

I am relocating in six weeks for my husbands job and am trying to find a reputable recruiter to work with (I am a CPA). Any recommendations?

Also, what do you do for childcare? Sounds like Nanny-shares are common since childcare is super expensive and hard to find. I already have to kids though so I probably won't be sharing a nanny

carlab44

I'm in Seattle! I work part time for an environmental consulting firm. Unfortunately I don't have any recommendations for recruiters, but our kids went to a daycare center (one still does, one is in elementary school). It was definitely less expensive than a nanny. 

Good luck with the move! Do you know which part of the city you are moving to?

aglenn

I'm in the Seattle area.  I can't really help with recruiters.  For child care, we have both kids in a day care center.  It is pricey, for sure, but it was the best option for us for a variety of reasons.  I have coworkers who use centers, some who use nannies or nanny shares, and some who use in-home centers, family care, or some combination thereof.  There are a lot of options and a lot will depend on where you are living and working and what your hours will be, etc.  There is a Seattle local board here that could probably offer some good advice.

82Sonia

I'm in Seattle but I can't offer any recruiter recommendations.  As far as childcare goes, it's not terribly expensive but it's not cheap either (depending on what you're used to).  We pay $1750 a month for an infant.

We worked with Annie's Nannies in the past for our childcare search but ultimately decided to stay with a center.  From nannies I know, they seem to prefer ANI over Seattle Nanny Network or Nanny Pros but I didn't have a terrific experience with them.  We were very clear with what we were willing to pay but she still only sent us $20/hr nannies and then acted like we had unrealistic expectations.   

2-Step

I'm in the Seattle area. Do you know where you'll be living? You'll find that childcare varies greatly by the area you live in/around the city. I'm in the suburbs and it's common to find good childcare for $1000-$1250 for an infant. Closer to the city it's more like $1700-$2000 and in the affluent areas like the Eastside you can pay even more. If you give us an idea of where you will be located it might help. 

lcriordan

We will start out renting probably in North Queen Anne but we will be looking to buy in either North Queen Anne, Ballard or Bellevue depending on where I find a job. Any other neighborhood recommendations? We are looking for something between Renton and Everett because my husband is at Boeing and we have heard it is common to move between the two locations and we are set on being in a decent school zone because we want to use public schools when the kids are older.

82Sonia

You're going to want to live in Bellevue or Issaquah for the school districts IMO. Steer clear of Renton and Everett. There are of course nice areas in each but as a whole, they're not great.

aglenn

We live on the Eastside, right on the Bellevue/Redmond line.  The Eastside schools are better than the Seattle schools, and the commute is actually easier going from the Eastside into Seattle than the reverse.  However, we do lack the "cool" factor and it is very suburban, so it is not popular with area natives.  You get more house and yard, though, so there are tradeoffs.

I recommend renting for a while because there are so many neighborhoods to explore and they all have a different feel.  A lot will come down to what kind of vibe you are looking for.  We relocated 5 years ago from the East coast due to DH's job and we rented for 3 years before we bought a house.  I was glad we waited because what we ended up wanting is different from where I would have been looking initially.  Good luck with the move!