Hey folks, I am curious to hear about some of you who came from a european big city such as Paris, Luxembourg, Berlin, London and relocated in the US How was the transition, do you miss anything? Any cultural shock ? Also additional question I'm a family man so eastside (bellevue) looks good except real estate prices.. I plan to put my kids in public schools (south of bellevue schools have very good marks, I don't know if it is trustworthy) I saw that there is big sport infrastructures in schools (tennis, baseball etc) are kids doing any of those sports with public school ? Or do you have to subscribe / pay for it ? Tc 285k us (90k eu)
As far as school activities go. Get ready to bleed. Welcome to 'merica educational system.
Paris, Luxemburg, Berlin, and London have nothing in common. It also rhymes. Where are you relocating from? I hated Seattle as a single guy 10 years back, i hope it will be better for you
I worked in Paris and Luxembourg and found them nearly the same, grey cities where I don't want to spend time outside of work, I am more a family house guy from suburbs, loving nature more than cities. And moving as a family of 4
Oh Seattle will be gray as well! :) You'll love the nature there, 3 national parks east, south, and west + Vancouver going north. Hiking is great. Enjoy!
Is it true you can’t get by without cars in Seattle? Like there are non existent tubes/subway/buses?
Not true, a lot of people live without cars. You can rent them for the weekend to hiking or skiing. There are some buses to hiking trails.
Seattle area has one of the world’s most developed bus systems, so you can definitely get anywhere by bus. It’s just a bit slower than using a subway system that you’d find in other cities. We also have a light rail (similar to SF’s BART) which goes among other places straight to the airport.
Regarding Bellevue schools, Newport high school and Bellevue high school are both very good, I wouldn’t worry there. In regards to sports, you have to pay for your child to participate in the sport, but it’s pretty cheap. On the order of $200 for the 3 month season. They’ll have daily practice and weekly competitions with transportation provided.
Thanks that's the kind of informations that I was looking for, I am indeed looking at newport neighborhood, also my kids are a lot younger for now so I was wondering if sport are included the same way at elementary schools ?
I don’t think school sports start until middle school, but the kids should have a Physical Education (abbreviated PE) class during school, I think twice a week. They’ll also be able to play outside a lot during recess, but usually if a game gets organized it’s soccer or tag (at least in my experience) You can also look in to a sports club, it’ll prepare them well for dominating middle/high school sports. I was on a club swim team (joined when I was 6) and there was just no competition between non-club swimmers and club swimmers, and I’d imagine it’s the same for other sports. Clubs tend to be much pricier, however.
Bellevue may be too expensive for $285K for family of 4. Difficult to buy a home. Renting, you’ll probably need to choose apartment where you may not enjoy as you’re seeking suburban lifestyle of big house and cars.
Even if it sounds crazy I plan to spend 4000-4500$ rent in housing, that should allow me to have a 4 bedroom house in south of seattle. With my wife taking care of children and public school it seems ok for our budget.. I have no hope of buying before 4 years anyway so it will let me time to think about it or move to a lower cost of living area
I was wrong about rental houses in Bellevue. It looks like you can find decent houses in $3500-$4000 range
Sports activities are primarily rec leagues that you pay for but are not overly expensive. Only the top players are on public high school sports teams. I lived in Redmond and my children went to private schools because the academics were better
Moved from Amsterdam to Seattle, not missing much except being able to bike everywhere
You won’t get a culture shock. You’ll be fine. Best of luck.
We’re in Somerset, happy with elementary but not great support for gifted kids. Happy to chat about specifics.
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What’s your yoe
10, i've been coasting in random contractor companies in France, I just realised there is big TC in the US, so leetcoded and got offer
If you don’t mind me asking, what visa didn’t you need to make the move?