We're looking to buy a SFH soon, my husband and I both work in downtown. I need some help is zeroing in on the area. Below are the ones we're considering : Bellevue, Kirkland, Issaquah, Sammamish, Bothell. After the cost (650-850k), easy commute and school district are most important to us. It looks like during the peak traffic times, the commute is quite comparable between all these areas (45-55 minutes). So it all depends on the school district. How is the school district in Bothell compared to the other places mentioned above? There are some new construction homes coming up in Bothell, so in terms of house size and quality, we will get a better bang for our buck in Bothell. Is it worth it to get a more expensive home in Bellevue/Sammamish /Issaquah/Kirkland just for the school district? Are there any other factors I need to consider, like the resale value for example?
In Bothell you might get a new house with a tiny backyard, high HOA, almost certainly close to a major road or a highway (means a lot of noise) and its resale value will suck. Bothell as a town sucks a lot. Look at Sammamish or Bellevue or Redmond. They're nice. But Bothell looks like a shithole ghetto.
I know people who have got new homes in Bothell. The home itself is quite nice but I haven't had a chance to explore the town much. Given our budget, basically we need to choose between a brand new big home in an okay-ish area and an older /smaller home in a great area.
Have you looked at Shoreline? Great school district, not on the Eastside. If you want to stay Eastside, you have to look at the schools themselves. Bothell has great High Schools, neighborhood schools vary.
I’d second Shoreline.
Thanks, I will check out shoreline!
Look at Green lake
Bellevue has the best schools, followed by Kirkland from your list. In terms of value, Issaquah will be the best option if you look hard enough...
Bellevue/Redmond/Kirkland/Sammamish/Issaquah/Bothell is order of good schools and prices as well. Have been in the area for 20 years. Also when the prices cools the fall is less and increases when reaching Bothell. The last time I know many of my friends in waters and sold moved to Redmond/Sammamish. Hope helps
Great, thank you all for your inputs. I am going to focus my search primarily in the Sammamish /Kirkland /Bellevue areas for now, followed by Shoreline /Bothell.
New homes come with premium prices plus tax will be high. It’s like buying a new car.