Looking for advice - relocating for jobs, but we can't figure out where to live (Seattle: health insurance, buying)

[leastprime]

IMO,
Not a practicable commute.
Schools are pretty good on Eastside. Try to find a position "Eastside" of Lake Washington rather than Olympia.
Redmond to Westlake Transit Center (core area), ~40 minutes, on express 545, which runs every ~10min during peak times.
YMMV

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Roasted-Avo

Hi there! Hubby and I are relocating with our two kids to W. Washington in the next 3-6 months. However, we are struggling to narrow down where we want to live (rent first, eventually buy). The biggest problem - his new job is in the center of Seattle, and my potential jobs (still lining things up) are mostly in the Olympia/Lacey area. Everything I've read suggests the commute between both is horrendous!

We've talked about Tacoma, but I'm really hesitant about the size (I prefer smaller, Olympia-sized cities). I'm also hesitant about safety and the school system (which has terrible ratings in Tacoma!). I want to be in an area with good schools for kids. I'd also prefer that one of us works near where kids go to school in case of a sick kid/other school day emergency, rather than have both of us commute out during the workday.

Sooo..is the Olympia to Seattle commute that terrible? Are there other places to live in between the two that might be worth checking out? Suggestions on areas with good schools?

This isn't a practical plan. Since you don't have a job lined up yet, I'd go with the suggestion above, to look on the east side of Lake Washington or the Seattle suburbs north or south. I think you'd be happier there than in Olympia, even if just for work.

What field are you in?

[rkcarguy]

My ex and kids live in the Bothell area and commuted to Northgate, she quit a $100K/year job it was so bad.
Originally when I returned the kids Sunday night(just a few years ago), traffic was pretty light. Now unless we are shooting for an 8-9pm arrival, traffic is always heavy, at best. Add in some rain and there will typically be wrecks and backed up traffic at and around the I-5/US-2 interchange.

[Roasted-Avo]

Thanks to everyone for all the insight and advice! For context (for those that asked) - I'm in the environmental field so I could get a job almost anywhere, but many of the most ideal jobs for me seem to be in the Olympia/Lacey area. It sounds like it is NOT worth the commute & drain on family though.

Another commute question - does anyone have experience or know what it's like to do a water taxi/ferry from places like Bremerton or Port Orchard into Seattle? Is it reliable and relatively quick (compared to driving)?

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Roasted-Avo

Thanks to everyone for all the insight and advice! For context (for those that asked) - I'm in the environmental field so I could get a job almost anywhere, but many of the most ideal jobs for me seem to be in the Olympia/Lacey area. It sounds like it is NOT worth the commute & drain on family though.

Another commute question - does anyone have experience or know what it's like to do a water taxi/ferry from places like Bremerton or Port Orchard into Seattle? Is it reliable and relatively quick (compared to driving)?

The ferry commute (as a passenger) is much better than driving, and is very timely and frequent. Will add to the commute expense and time, but is a reasonable alternative to living in Seattle.

Port Orchard to Bremerton would add another ferry and thus more time.

Doubt the schools are as good in Kitsap (+/-, how good is good enough?, none are excellent, tho Island County and east seattle areas have high rankings. ) Once kids get to 10th grade there is a commuity college in Bremerton, so they won't have to go to HS.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Roasted-Avo

Thanks to everyone for all the insight and advice! For context (for those that asked) - I'm in the environmental field so I could get a job almost anywhere, but many of the most ideal jobs for me seem to be in the Olympia/Lacey area. It sounds like it is NOT worth the commute & drain on family though.

Another commute question - does anyone have experience or know what it's like to do a water taxi/ferry from places like Bremerton or Port Orchard into Seattle? Is it reliable and relatively quick (compared to driving)?

I did a quick Google search and a competitor's site came up with lots of folks who do the daily ferry commute or have done. Some think it workable while others don't really like it. Overall, it looks better than driving since you're not fighting traffic the entire way. You just have to expect to spend over a hour each way when combined with waiting in line, riding across the Sound, catching a bus on the other end or riding a bike, etc... Here's one comment which you can read if you google it. I just can't link due to CD rules.

"I've been living in Bremerton and commuting to work in Seattle for 18 months. Bottom line: it's doable, but it's not a great quality of life. You do spend 3-5 hours commuting every day, and the fast ferries don't help much: getting a reservation is difficult, and walk-ons (prospective passengers without reservations) have line up at least 30 minutes before departure to have a chance at making it on the boat. Plus not all bikes fit in the fast ferry bike racks (notably those with fat tires or front fenders). Despite all this, hundreds of people make the commute every day. The boars are overall reliable; many employers subsidize ferry passes; your fellow passengers are polite, the buses in Bremerton are mostly timed around the ferry arrivals, etc. But I don't know how people do it for more than a couple years."

That doesn't sound very realistic with small children who may need to be picked up at random times if/when its a ~ 1.5 hour commute (waiting in line, bus, boat ride) to get to them. Imagine the hundreds of thousands who go through the same thought process, some without kids. Also, during winter storms, the Sound can get a bit rough with wind and waves. But most of the time its not too bad and the views are beautiful.

Derek

[Wile E. Coyote]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

I did a quick Google search and a competitor's site came up with lots of folks who do the daily ferry commute or have done. Some think it workable while others don't really like it. Overall, it looks better than driving since you're not fighting traffic the entire way. You just have to expect to spend over a hour each way when combined with waiting in line, riding across the Sound, catching a bus on the other end or riding a bike, etc... Here's one comment which you can read if you google it. I just can't link due to CD rules.

"I've been living in Bremerton and commuting to work in Seattle for 18 months. Bottom line: it's doable, but it's not a great quality of life. You do spend 3-5 hours commuting every day, and the fast ferries don't help much: getting a reservation is difficult, and walk-ons (prospective passengers without reservations) have line up at least 30 minutes before departure to have a chance at making it on the boat. Plus not all bikes fit in the fast ferry bike racks (notably those with fat tires or front fenders). Despite all this, hundreds of people make the commute every day. The boars are overall reliable; many employers subsidize ferry passes; your fellow passengers are polite, the buses in Bremerton are mostly timed around the ferry arrivals, etc. But I don't know how people do it for more than a couple years."

That doesn't sound very realistic with small children who may need to be picked up at random times if/when its a ~ 1.5 hour commute (waiting in line, bus, boat ride) to get to them. Imagine the hundreds of thousands who go through the same thought process, some without kids. Also, during winter storms, the Sound can get a bit rough with wind and waves. But most of the time its not too bad and the views are beautiful.

Derek

Sounds like Hell on Earth.

Why don't you move to Alaska OP? Anchorage has environmental jobs. Or Portland or I guess anywhere north of the 45th parallel

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Wile E. Coyote

Sounds like Hell on Earth.

Why don't you move to Alaska OP? Anchorage has environmental jobs. Or Portland or I guess anywhere north of the 45th parallel

I get that people want to further their careers while having a family. I did it for while living in LA and its not fun when combined with nightmarish gridlocked traffic. If you do that stuff long enough commuting for over a hour each way every day it will mark you for life. There will come a point when you realize its time to stop the insanity and find a better way.

In the case of Seattle, the friends I know who make it work best live closer in. Mass transit can work in part or even riding one's bike if close enough. But living on the outskirts and attempting to commute in isn't going to work well for any sort of decent QOL especially with small kids at home. I'd rather live in a shack and have more quality time with family vs. many wasted hours fighting traffic.

Derek

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by Roasted-Avo

Another commute question - does anyone have experience or know what it's like to do a water taxi/ferry from places like Bremerton or Port Orchard into Seattle? Is it reliable and relatively quick (compared to driving)?

That only makes sense if you are commuting to downtown Seattle and can just walk to your job from the ferry terminal. If you are commuting to somewhere else in the Seattle metro area then it will be an extraordinarily long commute as you will be connecting to public transit in Seattle and all the connection times will kill you. Especially the return trip if you take a bus back to downtown Seattle from your workplace and then miss the ferry home by 5 min you get to wait an extra 2+ hours in Seattle for the next ferry.

And if you want to drive it is a marathon 2+ hour drive around the sound, across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and then up to Seattle

I would not do it on purpose.

[Diana Holbrook]

I commuted Olympia to Seattle 2-3 days a week 20 years ago. THEN, I left at six to get to the office in Belltown by 8:30-9:00, depending how lucky I got....

If I could leave at 3 (which was the plan, per my schedule), I could get home to oly by 5. If I was delayed and didn't leave until 4:00, I wouldn't get home til after 7:00.

I was young and uncomplicated by spouses, children, pets or a farm then... I would never do it if I had others counting on me. Back then, if there was a wreck, I could stop off and have a meal and a cocoa and relax a while until it cleared. I had no where else to be. You're driving through the commutes of two cities, several towns and a military base.

I think the commute improved a lot during and right after covid, but more employers are calling people back in, and it will grow to fill the void in time, I think.

I would keep working the possibilities. If someone HAS to work in Seattle, I would live as close as possible to that job. Trying to plan a life around commuting in or out of town now just sounds like a headache...