Moving from Seattle to Eastside (Bellevue, Redmond: apartments, condos, homes)

[seattletoeast]

We have a 3 year old daughter and are looking to move to Woodinville or Redmond from Seattle. We have factored in commute - it's more important for us to have some land and better schools. I've seen a lot of folks who are moving from out of state - but anyone out there who took the leap from the big city to the Eastside? We are (hopefully!) still 'cool' we just want a different lifestyle for our child. It would be great to hear from people in Woodinville or Redmond who have done similar. Anyone? Thanks!

[CityGirl72]

We are either moving or moving to the Eastside for the exact same reason - schools for the kids

We live in Greenwood/Greenlake area (before kids Fremont) - and it's just not kid friendly enough.

So we get it - and it took us many years to admit our life has changed and it's better to be in the 'burbs for the kids

[jwb123]

Yes, when we were in the area - we did the same thing. Luckily though, we were already working on the eastside....

We went from a busy and vibrant Capital Hill life, to Magnolia ... and then to Redmond and Issaquah.

I get it too! We still drove into Seattle often for fun things, but it was nice to have some space.

[Topaz]

We moved from Ballard to Issaquah. We were really happy with our larger, newer, more affordable Issaquah house. We loved the scenery in Issaquah and the proximity to the mountains. We ended up moving out of state for multiple reasons but had we stayed, the Issaquah schools were excellent.

The one big unexpected loss was that our Seattle friends never wanted to cross the bridge. They would say they would come visit us but would always cancel at the last minute. If I had it to do over, I would work harder right off the bat to make new friends on the Eastside.

[SaltyDawg]

Curious, CityGirl - what do you find not kid-friendly about Greenlake? I see more kdis running around this area than I can shake a stick at. Huge park, community center, pool (indoor though), good elementary school with Bagley, lots of places to walk... what isn't kid-friendly about it?

[pwright1]

I also wonder. The truth is there are many kid friendly neighborhoods in Seattle. Greenlake is one and also Mount Baker is another. I see tons of kids, plenty of parks and playgrounds, good neighborhood schools and plenty of kids walking to school. This might sound unbelievable but I see kids with leomonade stands in the summertime especially during the Seafair hydroplane races in the summer. I also see beautiful homes with yards. I see my neighbors kids playing in their yard all the time. Living in Seattle is not all about being hip, single and living in a loft. There are more single family homes in Seattle than condos and apartments combined. Of course everyone is entitled to live where they want.

[SeattleExpert]

i am 29 and live on capitol hill and do triple-takes when i see children in my neighborhood. not that i think it is wrong at all, i just personally wouldn't be able to sleep at night if i had a child growing up in the city. i myself have almost been run over by drivers not paying attention to me crossing the street - so just couldn't imagine children trying to ride their bikes around this town. i grew up in issaquah and did face a lot of close-mindedness and racism, but i think that over the years this has changed a lot. my parents still live in issaquah and i honestly think it's a great place if not the best place to raise a family (unless you can afford a place like madison park). check out the issaquah highlands. i don't care how 'cool' or 'uncool' it looks to us seattlelites - it is safe, family- and children-oriented, and peaceful and did i mention safe? with great schools.

topaz is right about one thing though, it will be extremely tough to get your 'westside' friends to visit you. i have yet to cross the bridge for any of my friends engagements. i just figure eastsiders are more used to commuting, so they can come to me

[pwright1]

Seattleexpert, why just Madison Park? And as far as Capitol Hill I use to live there also. The great thing about Capitol Hill is that its dense in some areas and very residential in others with kids riding bikes, playing in their yards or playing at Volunteer Park. What about Seward Park? Residential, quiet, nice homes with yards, a giant park steps away with playgrounds. The Mount Baker area has more kids than any other Seattle neighborhood. Hunter Blvd. has a park right in the middle of the street. Mount Baker Park has a nice playground with tennis courts. I see kids all over the place. Again, people can choose to live where they want but this thing about Seattle not being kid friendly is absolutely ridiculous.

[jwb123]

I was always uncomfortable taking my kids to Volunteer Park... it's ok-ish in the day time, but we have had some really weird (and un-kid friendly) experiences there.

[newcastle]

When I was in college, Volunteer Park was great in the day (I agree with the previous post) but had a very different crowd at night (people literally hiding in the bushes having sex). I would not raise my kids near Capitol Hill. Greenlake is a really nice area and so is Magnolia. I even think the area arond the Arboretum is a nice neighborhood for kids-even though it is close to UW.

My wife lived in Magnolia and I lived in Bellevue and then we both lived in Issaquah. I hated living on the Eastside, and our friends never came and visited us. They said it was way too far. We both live out of state now and sometimes get homesick for Seattle.