I’m moving to Seattle with my family soon. I’ll be working at Facebook (South Lake Union), and I’m not sure where is the best place to live to balance great elementary schools, reasonable commute time and good housing (we are planning on buying a house ~1M) I’d really appreciate your thoughts and recommendations! Thanks!
Good luck trying to find anything in the city at any price. East side might be easier. Schools better on the east side. There are no reasonable commutes.
Are you looking for public or private schools? Best private and you should aim for Madison Valley/Park or Madrona. Best public and you should look in NE Seattle—Laurelhurst, Bryant, Ravenna.
The best school district in the state is the Bellevue school district. Lakeshore and Northshore are close behind. Seattle school district is way down the list.
I have 3 kids. AFAIK private schools are 30k / year per child. Do you think the level is way higher than a good public school?
If OP is comparing to the bay area, ignore all of the above. Seattle traffic is great, housing is cheap, schools are awesome. Kirkland schools are OK, lots of younger and older folks, singles, retirees. Schools are not the top priority. Commute is acceptable from south Kirkland. Bellevue schools are better, Bellevue downtown is lively and growing, commute a bit better (light rail will help in a couple of years). Queen Anne is probably the closest good neighborhood, but I wouldn't recommend seattle public schools (again, not bad, but my bar is high). You should calculate what $3k-4k a month buys you for mortgage : that's the break even price for how much more you should pay for a house with great schools. Accept this and it will be less painful.
Stay clear of Seattle schools. Try Mercer Island (7 miles and easy commute), Bellevue or Issaquah. Kirkland will be about 45 min each way, plus tolls, plus the schools aren’t all that great and they’re aging.
Is it possible to buy on Mercer for max budget $1m?
I’m sure it’s possible. The problem is inventory. There simply nothing for sale
Go north! It’s what I did. The commute into the Facebook office is so much easier coming down through Fremont rather than through downtown. Shoreline has good schools and a Facebook shuttle. 40 mins door to door and I was able to buy 3 br for 550k
Yes, shoreline is a good buy right now with the light rail coming in a few years.
I've lived in and around Seattle my whole life. Was both in Seattle and Shoreline public schools. Living in the city is not worth it anymore IMO. I'd say go just a bit north, like Shoreline or Lake Forest Park. 1M will get you a LOT more house there without adding much to commute. And from personal experience growing up here Shoreline schools were much better than Seattle. I ended up moving out of Cap Hill and bought way up in Lynnwood and even there the commute isn't horrible as long as I time it right. With a 10-7 schedule my commute is usually under 30 min each way.
Thanks for your comment. Going east (Bellevue / Kirkland) is not better thank going north?
More expensive on the east side. Houses and school district not as nice in shoreline, north Seattle, Lynwood. Bigger lots on the east side. Mostly much newer housing.
Living in Seattle gets you more of an urban feel, especially if you like to walk places though. You can maximize for the light rail, live in the city and have good public schools (Roosevelt HS for instance is a good public Seattle option). Just depends on what you’re trying to balance.
Seattle talks a lot of nonsense about its schools, but they aren't that bad. Especially in the north. Your children's outcomes will be heavily based on your own investments in their resources and exposure to opportunity. That out the way, North Seattle is the place you ought to be. Fremont, Ballard, Greenwood/lake, North Beach, Blue Ridge...all great possibilities for you and your family. Welcome!
Redmond. Education Hill area.
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What is your definition of reasonable commute time?..I think you might find it difficult to meet all that criteria for 1M.
Less than 30 mins would be great. What about 1.5M for the house? What’s the commute time from Kirkland or Bellevue to SLU? Thanks
I haven’t done the commute for a couple years. Working on the east side now. But when I was commuting it was pretty easy except for the last mile or two. Getting into SLU is a nightmare. Getting out in the evening is a nightmare. Just trying to turn on to Mercer Ave can take 15 minute. Once you are out it’s ok. Buses don’t actually run to SLU so you have to hike about 10 blocks. I hope they give you parking. When I left parking was about $380 a month. I’m sure it’s gone up.