Lake Stevens or Monroe (Seattle, Bellingham: renting, chapel, home)

[OcularBeauty]

Hello,

I am currently living in North Carolina. I am here temporarily while my husband finishes his MBA from UNC Chapel Hill. We have three children. My son who is five is autistic. We lived in Sonoma County Ca before moving here and my son had good services. We have had to remove him from school here and are trying to find the best place to have him in school when we move. My husband is currenly looking for a job in the Seattle or Redmond area. We have Grandparents in the area who can help with the children and give us a much needed break. We lost a lot when we sold our home in CA and are renting a home here. I have been looking for an affordable area that has good schools for my son. I have been looking at Monroe and Lake Stevens. My son loves the water also mountain air. I am hoping for more of a smaller town feal. Please let me know any info that could be helpful to our search.

Thank You,

Julie

[allforcats]

Hi Ocular. If you have some flexibility to consider being south of Seattle, this is a City-Data thread that might be of interest in your search for an affordable, small-town feel with services for autistic children.
https://www.city-data.com/forum/washi...ml#post3789360

[OcularBeauty]

I had thought about south of Seattle but haven't heard great things about the area. I heard that living East is preferable but that is too expensive unless my husband gets a huge salary bump. I also have family in Bellingham so being in the middle would not be bad. I have heard wonderful things about Camas also but have not seen as many job postings since the recession. If you have any good areas let me know I am researching now as I pack the house. I expect we will bemoving in July or August. My husband will fly back here for Graduation in Sept. We want to get the areas and schools lined up ahead of time.

Julie

[vanbao]

Originally Posted by OcularBeauty

I had thought about south of Seattle but haven't heard great things about the area. I heard that living East is preferable but that is too expensive unless my husband gets a huge salary bump. I also have family in Bellingham so being in the middle would not be bad. I have heard wonderful things about Camas also but have not seen as many job postings since the recession. If you have any good areas let me know I am researching now as I pack the house. I expect we will bemoving in July or August. My husband will fly back here for Graduation in Sept. We want to get the areas and schools lined up ahead of time.
Julie

Both of these cities are good. Monroe is growing very fast after the highway leading to it was fixed. Monroe has the small town feel while Lake Steven can be very expensive, particularly around the lake area.

You might also consider Snohomish as well. This is a very small city and very convenient.