Where is a good place in washington to live and raise children??

Question

My husband and I have grown up in north Idaho. We are looking for a little change after completeing school. We have two children (2 boys ages 3 and 6 months) We were thinking of moving somewhere around seattle however we do not know a lot about anything (DAYCARE IS A BIG ONE, schools, employment, renting) I was wondering if anyone knows of a good out laying city to seattle to raise there children in that we could also financialy survive in. He is going to school for culinary arts and I am going for cosmetology and nail tech. any advise will be appreciated as we are just researching and it will be a little over a year before a big move thank you

Answer 1

Okay, here is my (admittedly biased) opinion. LOL!

Consider and visit Bellingham, WA. It is a small city of about 80,000 population, with an area population of around 120,000. It is a really cool city, just an hour south of Vancouver, B.C. (one of the most beautiful and awesome cities in the world) and an hour and a half north of Seattle.

Bellingham has most the amenities of a larger city, including great dining, spa's, tourist resorts, museums, childrens activities, lots of great parks, and live entertainment .. from stage theater to orchestral to clubs. The advantages are that you won't spend hours a day commuting to day care, work, and shopping. Most anyplace you want to go you can get there in 10-12 minutes or less, even during peak traffic!

Also, because it is situated between these two great cities (Vancouver, B,C. and Seattle), you have easy access to all the super attractions both of those places have. It's really a way to get the best of all worlds.

Here are some links to get you started:
http://www.bellingham.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellingham,_Washington
http://www.cob.org/index.htm
http://www.bellingham.org/content/content.asp?ContentId=143
http://www.wunderground.com/US/WA/Bellingham.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Bellingham-Washington.html

P.S. ... The Greater Vancouver Zoo, while being mediocre as zoo's go (compared to the worlds best zoo's), is a scant half hour from Bellingham up Meridian Road, and open year round, it's a great place for kids, and has very reasonable season passes!

Answer 2

Shoreline, WA is a great place for kids. It's just north of Seattle, a beach town with a bit of a wild west feel to it - but the public schools are fantastic. I think a lot of people move here because of that! That also means that it's a very family-based town, too, with lots of day care, a great kids' program run for the city (I went rock climbing, hiking, camping, river rafting... so much with the city when I was a kid! Then both when we got older my brother and I worked for it, teaching tennis and swimming lessons.) The only drawback I can think of housing - it's pretty pricey.

Bellingham is a really nice city, too - and I think as you get farther from Seattle it's not quite so expensive to live.

Answer 3

Realistically, almost every area would be great. Some people may have bias opinions because they have lived their entire life (or a good portion) in one particular area over the other. Like any city or town, Seattle and its neighboring suburbs have some good and not so good neighborhoods.

Your best bet is to maybe spend a two-three week vacation all around Seattle and explore the different parts of the city/suburbs which fit your lifestyle. Stay in a motel/hotel, with a friend, etc. -- make a vacation out of it before you make your decision to move. Also, before you rent or buy, consult with a Realtor who can provide additional assistance on your living needs.

Answer 4

I lived in Redmond from the time I was born to age 8, Mercer Island 8-12 and Leavenworth from 12-16 that is now. I would have to say that Mercer Island is a community that is all about the kids, they have the some of best public schools in the state but it is a very fast paced program. If your husband is going to be a chef, he could defitely find work in Bellevue's growing dining scene.

Mercer Island is becoming very expensive though so you might not be able to afford it. That's why my family and I moved.So overall I would suggest Bellevue or somewhere close to that on the Eastside.

Answer 5

there is Renton and Redmond and Kirland and Everet and Snohomish area's are all nice just stay away from the Tacoma area it stinks all the time and it has high crime in fact there was a major shooting at a school 2 days ago in Tacoma. Tacoma has been rated in the past for most deppressing cities in the nation because of its high crime rate. One of the best things to do is to probably google Seattle Suburbs to get some ideas. By the way parking in Downtown Seattle is a nightmare and so is traffic everywhere. Portland has alot better public transportation system then Seattle and the Parking in Downtown Portland is not as bad and difficult.

Answer 6

Tacoma. It's close to the University of Washington, nice place to live (except for the rain that makes that state famous) and there are many good schools there.

Answer 7

move to oak harbor washington its beautiful, nothin bad happens and its fun!! theres a pool, skatebarn, skatepark, laoon, a huge park, etc......

Answer 8

Why are you seeking this change? Stay in Idaho if you can, as opposed to Seattle.

Answer 9

the white house

Answer 10

the white house.