tammyw Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Another really great job opportunity for DH (getting closer to making a decision - three job offers in the past two weeks). What are your thoughts on this area? Job would be in Everett. Have been told Edmonds would be a good area to live (also Mukilteo). Thoughts on this area? Dd10 loves ballet and Olympia Ballwt looks good in the area. How is this area? Pros/cons? Thanks friends! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharonM Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 I live in Everett. Work in Mukilteo. I work for the Mukilteo School Dist. Really great schools. (if you need that, but stay on the west side of town). I think its the greatest place on earth, I've lived elsewhere. Could not wait to come back here. Everett has some really nice neighborhoods, but , Mukilteo and Edmonds have some really, really nice places. I don't know about ballet though. Are you asking about Olympia or Olympic Ballet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted March 4, 2014 Author Share Posted March 4, 2014 Oh whoops - Olympic ballet. Is that the best ballet school in the area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyday Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 My parents live in Edmonds. Traffic to Everett is a bear during rush hour, so you'd need to consider carefully how much of a commute your husband could tolerate. Edmonds is a pretty cute town. Lots of walkable areas. It's got a bit of a "upscale retirement" reputation, but it's attracting younger populations in the past few years. Real estate prices astound me, but they are probably not too scary compared with SoCal! Good luck, and have fun dreaming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted March 4, 2014 Author Share Posted March 4, 2014 Would commute be longer than 40 minutes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 We aren't far from there, my son has appointments in both Lynnwood and Edmonds. Commute depends on traffic. It should be less than 40 minutes from Edmonds to the major Everett area employers but should is not always reality. I'd live in parts of Everett or Mukilteo over Edmonds any day. There are not a lot of families with young kids in Edmonds. I know more than a few families who have relocated to Shoreline or Everett from Edmonds. When we go to the parks there, I rarely see children. Just my 2 cents. It has its retirement reputation for a reason. Edmonds is as far south and west as you can get in Snohomish County. Other Snohomish county areas to look at are Bothell, Mill Creek, Mountlake Terrace (amazing community pool) and parts of Lynnwood. If you want a little less traffic and a more rural feel, you can go north or east of Everett. There are some truly lovely places to live in Snohomish County. I know nothing about ballet here besides we like to go see the PNW ballet at the Seattle Center. ;) Their school is a trek from Snohomish County though. I know people do it though, if they are at that level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyday Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 My parents live in the center of Edmonds (walking distance to downtown) and my dad has needed some appointments at Providence Everett lately (pretty much in the center of Everett). They have opted to stay in a hotel before early morning appointments, rather than risk being late. Google says that in the current (almost 8pm) traffic it would take about 30 minutes to get from their apartment to the hospital. Add the morning rush, and I would definitely think 45 minutes would be a fair estimate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 My parents live in the center of Edmonds (walking distance to downtown) and my dad has needed some appointments at Providence Everett lately (pretty much in the center of Everett). They have opted to stay in a hotel before early morning appointments, rather than risk being late. Google says that in the current (almost 8pm) traffic it would take about 30 minutes to get from their apartment to the hospital. Add the morning rush, and I would definitely think 45 minutes would be a fair estimate. That's the thing about the whole I5 corridor through King/Sno/Pierce counties. There is no rush "hour". Sometimes it randomly takes 30 minutes to get all the way from Seattle to Everett and other times it randomly takes 95 minutes. Sometimes the long commute will be what should be off peak times. Rush hour is a distant memory. It lasts all day many days. I was once offered a job in Everett and they offered off shifted schedules and 1-2 day work from home to help people cope with the traffic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyday Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 That's the thing about the whole I5 corridor through King/Sno/Pierce counties. There is no rush "hour". Sometimes it randomly takes 30 minutes to get all the way from Seattle to Everett and other times it randomly takes 95 minutes. Sometimes the long commute will be what should be off peak times. Rush hour is a distant memory. It lasts all day many days. I was once offered a job in Everett and they offered off shifted schedules and 1-2 day work from home to help people cope with the traffic. Yes, I am so averse to driving anywhere in the metro area because of mystery slowdowns! Shift change at Boeing, though, makes for some predictable traffic in the Everett area. Fortunately I think it is not just at 8 and 5, they try to stagger their shifts from what I understand. Public transit becomes attractive...but Edmonds is so out of the way that I doubt there are good transit solutions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Another really great job opportunity for DH (getting closer to making a decision - three job offers in the past two weeks). What are your thoughts on this area? Job would be in Everett. Have been told Edmonds would be a good area to live (also Mukilteo). Thoughts on this area? Dd10 loves ballet and Olympia Ballwt looks good in the area. How is this area? Pros/cons? Thanks friends! depends upon where in Edmonds or mukelteo. you don't want to be anywhere near the waterfront as you'd be dealing with ferry traffic all. day. long. and nightmares on the weekend, especially in summer. if you're not near the waterfront (meaning up on the hill), or any major arterials, you should be okay. there are nice areas close to Everett. lake stevens, mill creek, etc. if you go north, housing is cheaper, and there are some okay areas. you can look on redfin.com to get current mls listing information. (maybe 24 hours behind) put in your requirements, budget and see what it spits out. you are not going to go from Everett to Olympia for anything on a regular basis unless you plan on living in your car and investing in oil futures. (it's at least 2 hours each way when there is no traffic.) If you live south of Everett, you will pay more, but you will have more options for services, etc. you will also have the "reverse" commute so shouldn't have to deal with traffic as much. I will add just one caveat. if your dh is an engineer and will be working at boeing - buy somewhere in the middle. do NOT count on him always being in Everett. engineers get moved around all the time. I warned my brother, he didn't listen and bought in mill creek because it was so close. can't say I didn't warn him. he ended up commuting from there to kent. horrid drive. eta: PNB probably has a branch ballet school in that neck of the woods. but there are also some good small, independent ballet schools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Community Transit probably has some decent options into Everett if you go to the Mountlake Terrace Park and Ride right off I5. Once upon a time my family moved from Queen Anne to Everett when I was 16. I refused to change schools. I caught community transit from Everett Mall Way to the UW and then another bus from UW to south Seattle. Now THAT was a commute! There were many nights I lived out of my backpack and crashed with friends and then trekked home on the weekends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 oh Lynnwood. they have the most amazing community pool. it has slides, and a 'river' for a raft. they also have the bucket that tips and dumps. and a toddler beach. eta: that area is also the "convergence" zone for weather. cold air from the north and moist air from the south will collide and give you snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 oh Lynnwood. they have the most amazing community pool. it has slides, and a 'river' for a raft. they also have the bucket that tips and dumps. and a toddler beach. I think they got jealous of the Mountlake Terrace pool and built a super nice one of their own. Both are really great community pools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twooakharborhicks Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 I did almost 10 years with Pacific Northwest Ballet, you'll find nothing better in my opinion. We are way, way up north from Everett now and I don't miss the commutes that's for sure but all of Washington is gorgeous and I will never, ever leave :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted March 4, 2014 Author Share Posted March 4, 2014 I did almost 10 years with Pacific Northwest Ballet, you'll find nothing better in my opinion. We are way, way up north from Everett now and I don't miss the commutes that's for sure but all of Washington is gorgeous and I will never, ever leave :) Yes, it looks like an amazing ballet school. But I don't see how we could make that work if DH worked in Everett (considering how far away from PNB we'd have to live, right? Too bad though :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted March 7, 2014 Author Share Posted March 7, 2014 Thanks to another boardie, I found a realtor who could help me out. She also recommended Woodinville. Anyone know much about that area? One nice thing is that Pacific Northwest Ballet has another location in Bellevue, so we could actually get to that studio location for ballet. Very nice! And it seems the commute wouldn't be terrible to Everett from that area. Would love more thoughts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted March 7, 2014 Author Share Posted March 7, 2014 Woodinville can be a decent commute but it can also be a nightmare to Everett. It's a really spread-out place, and so you'd have to be very clear about where *specifically* in Woodinville you are looking. I know where the PNB site is in Bellevue, and it's not really *super* convenient from *many parts* of Woodinville. I'd rather risk staying on the I-5 corridor, and leave public transit as an option to the Seattle school, myself. Or go to the Mountake Terrace/Edmonds/Lynnwood area as a halfway point. That may be just me. If you want acreage, I'd look in the Snohomish/Lake Stevens area. Pull up a map of the areas you are looking in and look very specifically at the routes you would have available for travel. You can even use the mapping features to estimate drive times at different times of day. Thank you for the info! This is the house I found that I liked: 7610 225th St SE, Woodinville, WAHow would that area be for commuting? Honestly, we're not really public transportation people :( I did do a search on google maps and the commute seemed really reasonable (like 20 minutes to the ballet, 30 minutes from Everett). Am I missing something though? I found an amazing house in Snohomish, but it seems really removed from everything (on Three Lakes), which is what we don't want. My kids are very into doing lots of classes and having access to amenities. I like having access to various shopping, organic grocery stores, etc. This is so hard because everyone seems to have a different opinion, and they all seem to conflict with each other! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 What you are missing is traffic from 7 - 9 am and from 3 - 6 pm which can double those commute times - or more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted March 7, 2014 Author Share Posted March 7, 2014 What you are missing is traffic from 7 - 9 am and from 3 - 6 pm which can double those commute times - or more. Right, but I did it at 4pm and it gave the commute times with traffic. I figured it was because we'd be going against traffic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted March 7, 2014 Author Share Posted March 7, 2014 Thank you Patty Joanna! This is exactly what I need to hear. Especially about ballet :) What would you recommend as our top three locations we should consider? It sounds like you really know what you are talking about. I really appreciate any advice!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyday Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Honestly, whenever you move to a new area, it's the right choice, like 90% of the time, to rent for a year before you decide where and what to buy. Will your husband be doing a second-look interview? Can you and the family go out, meet a realtor, drive around a little and get a feel for the area before you make huge decisions? I've made several long-distance moves but never completely sight-unseen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted March 7, 2014 Author Share Posted March 7, 2014 We will absolutely go and visit if this is a move we are going to make. No buying a house sight unseen! But we are trying to figure our the best places to consider at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 you'd really want to check on drive times for your dh to work. don't trust google for times. consider alternate routes, not just the freeway. (or even an alternate route to the freeway instead of taking 522 south to 405 and then heading north. Woodinville is nice - it is very spread out. there are also parts of bothell that are immediately adjacent. it varies more than Woodinville. generally, they are decent to good/nice areas. Woodinville especially really took off for growth in the 70's/80's. before that it was very sleepy small town. Mill creek also has some nice neighborhoods, and some very eclectic areas. I have noticed the market is starting to pick up for inventory. a couple weeks go, it was pretty slim. people do live in Woodinville and commute to Everett as well as seattle. it is an area in the midst of many of one of the secular homeschool groups that get together for activities. if you're running kids into/out-of Bellevue, there are two-man carpool lanes, and it can make a HUGE difference to commute times. there are carpool lanes all the way up and down 405, including carpool exit only in some places. lake stevens, and especially Snohomish are more rural - they will have more opportunities for horseback riding, and such, but not as many artistic endeavors close in. oh - there is a homeschool bookstore just off of 405 in totem-lake/Kirkland. about 124th st. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted March 7, 2014 Author Share Posted March 7, 2014 Our price point is about $3500 per month (give or take). Hope that helps :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted March 9, 2014 Author Share Posted March 9, 2014 Are there any local homeschool groups in this area? I've started getting excited a out the possibility! DH doesn't have his time set to go there yet, but I think I'm going to go with him so that I can look at homes during his meetings. A really nice thing - my dad is a 4-5 hour drive away in Canada and our kids would finally have a bit of famiky around, for the first time EVER! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted March 9, 2014 Author Share Posted March 9, 2014 There are homeschool groups around. I used to know more about them but I'm kinda out of that loop now. My answer depends on what it is you want from a homeschool group. Many of them are listed on WHO 's site. Thank you. We would mostly like to find new homeschool friends, fun homeschool activities to get involved in, and a way to find out about good field trips, classes, etc. here in San Diego, there is a yahoo group and there are lots of postings of various outings, recommendations, classes, etc. Also, are there any good art classes in the area? My dd11 takes fabulous art classes here and we will be sad to lose those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 teaching parents association is more for activities are more the north end (north of lake Washington) so the location is good for you. they hold their monthly meetings in Redmond. (to decide on actitivites.) it's a good sized group. you can also do a yahoo search of homeschool groups in this area. there is a classical conversations group up there somewhere. eta: there is a ton of stuff available for diy field trips. boeing factory tour, bangor sub base, ft Nisqually in Tacoma, grand coulee dam in eastern Washington, etc. mts' and salt water beaches close by. just to scratch the surface. when doing geology, north cascades highway is extremely geologically diverse as far as types of rock, and very beautiful. closed for the winter. Are there any local homeschool groups in this area? I've started getting excited a out the possibility! DH doesn't have his time set to go there yet, but I think I'm going to go with him so that I can look at homes during his meetings.A really nice thing - my dad is a 4-5 hour drive away in Canada and our kids would finally have a bit of famiky around, for the first time EVER! homeschool potpourri is a homeschool bookstore in totem lake, just off 405. they have new, used, and consignment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 I've heard that there are good art classes at the Bellevue Arts Museum. I have friends who love them. We haven't taken any though so don't have a first hand opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Thanks to another boardie, I found a realtor who could help me out. She also recommended Woodinville. Anyone know much about that area? One nice thing is that Pacific Northwest Ballet has another location in Bellevue, so we could actually get to that studio location for ballet. Very nice! And it seems the commute wouldn't be terrible to Everett from that area. Would love more thoughts! The 405 corridor between Woodinville and Bellevue is a nightmare. You'd likely be better on the express bus from Woodinville to Seattle to go to the PNB, truly. Woodinville is nice but quite expensive relative to similar nearby areas. A little more of a rural feeling. Great parks, good recreation system. I not infrequently ride my bike to downtown Woodinville for shopping and various errands. We'd consider living there but will probably end up somewhere a bit more affordable when we buy again. I like Woodinville a lot more than Redmond or Kirkland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted March 15, 2014 Author Share Posted March 15, 2014 I'm hoping we'll be going up there in the next couple of weeks. We've decided I'll go with DH while the kids stay home with friends for two days, so I can check out the area. Still feeling a little confused, but I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraciWA Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 I live about 45 minutes north of Everett. I would recommend looking north of Marysville. Lovely area and not a bad commute! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reesegirl Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Hi, I grew up in Woodinville, in fact, my parents still live on 224th st SE. I know the subdivision that you are looking at. Woodinville is a great place to live but the traffic is problematic. My brother lives just a couple of miles up from this area at Echo Lake. He was a school teacher for many years working in Kirkland. By the time he retired 5 years ago his commute in the a.m. from Echo Lake down 522 to I-405 and on to Kirkland was 55 minutes....in the middle of the day you could do this in about 15 to 20 minutes. My sister lives really close to Crossroads in Bellevue and when I am visiting my parents I go down to Woodinville, take the Woodinville -Redmond hwy, then cross the valley and eventually passing Marymore Park until I get to her house above Lake Sammamish. This usually takes about 25-30 minutes in the middle of the afternoon. I would rather take the back roads to her house in Bellevue than the freeway. One thing that my parents were unhappy with was a press release in the Woodinville Weekly of someone trying to open a marijuana distribution facility on 224th. I am not sure if this is going through or not but this residence is very close to the neighborhood you are looking at. If it does go through it is sure to increase traffic on this road. Also a sports complex is going in at Wellington Hills Golf Course which is just a mile down the road and that will increase traffic on 75th st. There are signs at the beginning of 75th st. that state that the road is not intended for through traffic but I don't think that stops people from using it as a connector. Woodinville has changed a lot in the last 30 years! When I graduated from high school there wasn't even a high school in town...I graduated from Bothell high. Anyway, when I saw your post and the address I had to come out of lurking and replied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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