Advice for Family moving from Bay Area

[DBurns]

Welcome to Washington!

My husband and I moved here after growing up 23 years in Oakland and Berkeley. We are also a mixed race family and diversity is very high on our list of priorities. We have been in West Seattle for almost 15 years and have owned a business here in WS for the last 5. Needless to say, we are huge fans of WS and our kids have grown up here, going to both private and public schools. They are now in high school, 2 different ones, to match their individual needs! I must admit that I yearn to be “home” in the Bay Area almost daily, (as my husband’s Giants game is on my living room TV at this moment) it mostly has to do with the people we have there, and less to do with the actual place…

I would love to answer any questions you might have specifically about West Seattle, and really can’t say much about the East Side (Bellevue), as we are not fans… specifically the diversity (economic as well as cultural) just never appeared to be appealing.

If you would like to email me please feel free – my name is Donna Burns and I am at

giannonispizza at aol dot com

I have also posted on these forums quite a few times I think about schools, and there are tons of articles/postings on here about WS schools – you are very right to say that this Blog is a great part of our great community!

Okay – back to the yard now – work to be done!

GOOD LUCK!!

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[Diane]

Welcome to WA; I also moved here from bay area, 14 yrs ago, from Sunnyvale; 10 yrs in bay area; partly driven out by insanely high cost of housing in late 90’s in Silicon Valley; 1st moved to Newcastle, on south edge of Bellevue; (got nearly identical apt for 1/2 the cost, and here I had panoramic views of Lake WA); but, after 18 mos of driving into Seattle for everything, and discovering West Seattle, there was no looking back; had to move here; there are many very cool neighborhoods in Seattle; lots of diversity, mixed race, adopted kids; you will love it here

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[2 Much Whine]

I spent two glorious summer days in the Bay area when it was too cold to swim in the hotel pool and I think you’ll find our weather very similar.

I think you can find positives and negatives with each area but as a Seattle native we’re pretty fond of the West Seattle diversity, small-town vibe and its proximity to downtown. We’ve never been a fan of Bellevue however they tend to have better schools (as far as official test scores and rankings) and I think their sports teams typically are better funded and perform better. With that being said, we’ve been very happy with the education our kids have received in West Seattle – you get out of school what you put into it.

We wouldn’t think of living anywhere else.

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[kennerdoloman]

I went to Pathfinder for elementary school. It’s an alternative K-8 school, but please don’t let the stigma surrounding “alternative” drive you away. I thrived at that school. I truly feel that every teacher really cares about each of their students. The style of learning, at least in the K-5 (I attended Madison for middle school, while my younger sister was there for all nine years), is expeditionary; so, the kids get their big topic of the year (the one I remember the most was in fifth grade – Struggle and Resistance, meaning we covered the Civil Rights Movement, Japanese Internment, Women’s Suffrage, etc.), and learn around that. It really engaged me and I looked forward to school every day from Pathfinder.

Please strongly consider Pathfinder for your kids. You won’t be disappointed.

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[Bonnie]

I don’t think you’d be able to get 3 kids into Pathfinder. It would be worth it to try but I doubt all 3 would get in.

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[evergreen]

Public schools will offer you way more diversity. West Seattle is a wonderful place to live, it offers so much, so I would recommend finding a house you love here & then just put the kids into your neighborhood school. Bellevue tests better, but quality of living is higher here if you value a small town feel within a big city. Also, lots of parks, nature, water everywhere. Great community.

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[MovingtoSeattle]

I really appreciate all the generosity here in the comments. Thanks, Donna, for your email! We’re going to do an exploratory trip soon, and I’m looking forward to checking out the west side in person.

Sharon

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[JoB]

can i suggest that you consider a vacation rental home in west seattle for your exploratory trip?

there is nothing like it to get the feel of what it would be like to live in an area…

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[Char]

Parts of Bellevue are more diverse than the middle-class areas of West Seattle – many educated people from all over the world eg in tech jobs. And many of the schools top notch, in comparison to west seattle. And people do move out of the neighborhood because of schools. Even Mercer Island is more diverse. Do your homework on schools, start with Great Schools.com. Do your homework on diversity, try putting in zip code, eg ‘98116 zip code’. i find west seattle a bit insular, but i think its an affliction of most of the city. capitol hill is more diverse, if your child is in honors program garfield HS is great, i hear. we moved here 2 years ago and are now leaving the neighborhood, for various reasons, including schools. if your kids are not that interested in school maybe they need a higher performing peer group – you may find that on the east side. still, you cant beat the small town feel of the junction, the walkability of some of the hoods, and the wonderful outdoor opportunities here, I will miss the smell of puget sound. And the blog, of course. Good luck in your search for a home.

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