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MrsSparklesMcGee
member
Possibly Moving to the Area
MrsSparklesMcGee
member
Hi! My husband just received a job offer in Bellevue. We're currently in the DC area. We need to make a decision on the offer relatively soon-ish, and right now I'm trying to collect all of the information that I can. I have a ton of questions and if you have any time, I would love to hear your thoughts on any or all of the following. Thanks in advance!!
1. H's job would be in Bellevue. Housing cost (sort of) no object, would you live on the Bellevue side or the Seattle side?
2. I'm going to primarily a SAHM. Are there more activities for small children on one side or the other?
3. Does anyone belong to an active mom's group? Was it tough to get in?
4. We have a awhile to go on this one, but are the schools better in one location or the other?
5. MH went to private school and sort of has a preference to send our daughter there. Any recommendations?
6. We would be living in an apartment for a while so that we can scope this stuff out ourselves, but are there particular neighborhoods that are good for families?
7. What kind of family stuff is there to do on the weekends? Is there anywhere you can go for a weekend getaway relatively easily?
8. Favorite thing / least favorite thing about the area? Anything else we should consider?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Possibly Moving to the Area
I live in a town on the eastside of Bellevue (as reference). You can live in the burbs with or without feeling like you live in the burbs. (My neighborhood and many feel like they are in the middle of the forrest. I have deer, rabbits, eagles, owls, bobcats, bears, coyotes, occasional snakes all in my backyard sometimes daily sometimes less. We really enjoy it, but it means we can't just let young children out side by themselves.) Bellevue itself you could easily live downtown in a 10th floor apartment and walk to everything or you could live away from downtown and in a forested area and/or on a lake. My opinions are coming from growing up in a farmland area in CA and living halfway between San Francisco and Palo Alto for 6 years.
1. I feel I get a lot more (space and upgrades) for my money on the Eastside (vs. Seattle) and the commute would be easier on the Eastside.
2. I feel like Redmond, Issaquah, and Bellevue have more activities for kids but it is not to say that there are not a lot of great opportunities in Seattle. (I can get to most events in 10-20 minutes, even in rush hour traffic, and anyplace in Seattle in 45 minutes or less. From Bellevue that probably becomes 30 minutes to anything in Seattle.
3. There are a TON of mom groups. Some of the preschools will have waiting lists, but mom groups are not selective unless it is a focused group (like on AP or SAHMs)
4. Public schools are generally good in Bellevue, Issaquah, and Sammamish. There are of corse exceptions to the rule.
5. A lot of people I know send their children to Eastside Catholic and love it and prefer it to the really good schools in the area (as in they have sent their high schooler to both).
6. There are, too many to list, neighborhoods that are good for families. Just really depends on what general feel you are going for (city, burbs, country, forrest, etc.)
7. Lots of parks, farms, zoos, aquarium, gardens, kids indoor play lands/museums, festivals, parades, skiing an hour or less away, hiking, all the water sports. Great Wolf Lodge (indoor water park/hotel), weekend in Portland (3-4 ours away), Victoria & Vancouver, San Juan Islands.
8. When is snows or gets supper icy driving becomes a nightmare and everything can shut down (averages 1-2 times a year). It can be a week between sun sightings during the winter. Not having family nearby (as in an hour or 2 away) also is on my list of least favorite things about the area.
I love that I can walk outside and smell the trees and have as much space as I can handle. I love that I can get to all my favorite store in 15 minutes or less and the airport in 30. I love the cultural diversity (but I will admit there is more in Seattle then the Eastside). I LOVE the library (for its books and programs.) I love the availability of local organic &/or specialty food that is not completely over priced (on the Eastside.)
1. Raising a family now, I prefer Eastside for kids. Lots to do everywhere though.
4. Bellevue, Lake Washington, and Northshore have some of the best public school ratings in the area. You still have to research individual schools you'd live by though regardless. Seattle does have some good ones too, but harder to get into?
5. DH went to private catholic, so we looked into it. If you have bucks to spend (think $40,000/year)...then sure! We couldn't swing it though.
6.Education Hill, Finn Hill, Woodinville, English Hill...but I only know those because we were looking in that Kirkland/Redmond area. Bellevue has an older feel to some neighborhoods on the east side, and the west side tends to be more "money" families.
1. H's job would be in Bellevue. Housing cost (sort of) no object, would you live on the Bellevue side or the Seattle side?
2. I'm going to primarily a SAHM. Are there more activities for small children on one side or the other?
3. Does anyone belong to an active mom's group? Was it tough to get in?
4. We have a awhile to go on this one, but are the schools better in one location or the other?
5. MH went to private school and sort of has a preference to send our daughter there. Any recommendations?
6. We would be living in an apartment for a while so that we can scope this stuff out ourselves, but are there particular neighborhoods that are good for families?
7. Tons! Especially if you love nature. Then national parks, Vancouver, Canada, Portland, etc are just a short trip away as well.
8. House prices probably aren't going anywhere for a while yet. You could always consider renting longer until the stagnation ends.Also, we found it took a long time to make friends here...not sure why that is. Our co-rec soccer teams and church ended up being were we met friends we hang out with, etc. So get involved!
Good luck with your decision.
1. H's job would be in Bellevue. Housing cost (sort of) no object, would you live on the Bellevue side or the Seattle side? I live just north of Seattle and love it. BUT I used to work in downtown Bellevue and it is a long commute if you dont have flexible hours.
2. I'm going to primarily a SAHM. Are there more activities for small children on one side or the other? I think they are fairly equal.
3. Does anyone belong to an active mom's group? Was it tough to get in? Sorry I'm not help on this one.
4. We have a awhile to go on this one, but are the schools better in one location or the other? I think the Bellevue High School was named one of the best public schools in the nation a couple years back... but I agree with pp it can depend on the area, so as I was looking at houses I would check out the school info too.
5. MH went to private school and sort of has a preference to send our daughter there. Any recommendations? Private schools are very pricey and not easy to get into from what I understand. I have heard good things about Lakeside and Epiphany.
6. We would be living in an apartment for a while so that we can scope this stuff out ourselves, but are there particular neighborhoods that are good for families? Not sure on this one especially if you are talking eastside.
7. What kind of family stuff is there to do on the weekends? Is there anywhere you can go for a weekend getaway relatively easily? There is always something to do on the weekends here, especially during the summer. And all sorts of fun weekend day trips, from old military forts, forests to explore, museums. In the summer there are lots of activities in local parks. I think weekend getaways are easy because you are driving distance to portland or vancouver. You can go to a mountain resort or an island lodge. The Oregon coast is beautiful and fun, we go there for the weekend sometimes. Lots of choices.
8. Favorite thing / least favorite thing about the area? Anything else we should consider? I agree with pp that snow shuts down the region. And it does rain or is cloudy here a lot. BUT it's gorgeous in the summer not crazy humid or crazy hot for more than a few days in the summer, like other areas of the country. Oh and 520 just recently became a toll bridge so if your husband is looking at commute times, if he's taking 520 keep in mind it's going to cost $6 (or close) a day during peak commuting time. And the recent tolling has added traffic to I90.
Good luck!
Number two
6. We live in Wallingford (north Seattle) and we think it's great for families. We have friends who are raising families all over the city. It kind of depends on what you want in a neighborhood.7. There are tons of great parks in the area. Weekends -- there's a lavender festival in the springtime a couple hours north, you can visit the Olympic peninsula, there are several decent ski areas around, there's lots of outdoorsey stuff. Farmers markets are excellent and several are year-round, and there's often entertainment for kids at markets as well as at other festivals.8. It's an area with a lot of natural beauty. Great restaurants, excellent wine. Quite progressive in many ways. My least favorite thing is that people seem to complain a lot, about weather, traffic, whatever. But I think those things are way better than other places I've lived, so I just smile and nod.