Hi All. Family and I are relocating from Phoenix to either Seattle or Portland area in the next month. We are looking at the Snoqualmie/North Bend area in Washington, as it seems to be close to everything we like, mtb/road biking, snow skiing, whitewater kayaking. Kids will be entering the 4th grade in the Fall. I travel for work, so no daily commute. We considered Bend,OR...but it would of involved to much overnight travel. Need to be fairly close to a major airport and close to either Portland or Seattle (as i have major customers in both places). Portland is an option, but seems to be farther away from skiing. Any ideas...both good or bad and general comments are appreciated. Thanks!!!
Moving from Arizona to Washington or Oregon !Help!
alsek
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Hi All. Family and I are relocating from Phoenix to either Seattle or Portland area in the next month. We are looking at the Snoqualmie/North Bend area in Washington, as it seems to be close to everything we like, mtb/road biking, snow skiing, whitewater kayaking. Kids will be entering the 4th grade in the Fall. I travel for work, so no daily commute. We considered Bend,OR...but it would of involved to much overnight travel. Need to be fairly close to a major airport and close to either Portland or Seattle (as i have major customers in both places). Portland is an option, but seems to be farther away from skiing. Any ideas...both good or bad and general comments are appreciated. Thanks!!!
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I am biased towards living in Seattle, but all the good riding is on the eastside (east of Lake Washington) for the most part. I think the schools are considered good over there. Northbend to Seatac Airport is no peach though. Keep in mind we have a lot of crazy stuff going on here now. The tunnel project, the 520 tolling/expansion project. light rail expansion, just to name a few. Best thing though: Whistler is about a four hour drive! Good luck...
Issaquah. Mtn biking right out your door, good road loops, close to crystal or the summit for skiing, put ins for the Green and middle middle not far and still relatively close to the Sky for kayaking. Easy airport access as long as you can time your flights to avoid rush hour.
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Maple Valley is another option that is close to lots of trails and not far from the mountains. Since you are moving from Arizona think about buying a fender for winter riding and don't run into our trees!!! 
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I just bought a house near issaquah, and grew up in Oregon. I think you will have a lot more riding right out your door in Issaquah than portland proper. But if you did outskirts of portland like Sandy or maybe even vancouver you could have similiar access to places like sandy ridge/hood river or larch mt/st helens.
I prefer washington since it seems like more riding in a smaller area, but Oregon is great. As far as airport goes, not sure on that one besides what you'll find with google maps.
I prefer washington since it seems like more riding in a smaller area, but Oregon is great. As far as airport goes, not sure on that one besides what you'll find with google maps.
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Issaquah is probably your best bet. Depending on where you live, it also gives you two routes to the airport.
North Bend gets literally 50% more rain than Seattle: 59" vs 38". It also doesn't get you closer to much mountain biking or white water. It does get you closer to skiing at Snoqualmie Summit but it's further to either Crystal or Stevens.
In rush hour, allow an easy hour to get to SeaTac from Issaquah. Two people helps, but not as much as you'd want, since one of the choke points is from I-90 onto 405.
North Bend adds another 15 minutes but traffic rarely affects that part of the trip much.
North Bend gets literally 50% more rain than Seattle: 59" vs 38". It also doesn't get you closer to much mountain biking or white water. It does get you closer to skiing at Snoqualmie Summit but it's further to either Crystal or Stevens.
In rush hour, allow an easy hour to get to SeaTac from Issaquah. Two people helps, but not as much as you'd want, since one of the choke points is from I-90 onto 405.
North Bend adds another 15 minutes but traffic rarely affects that part of the trip much.
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I live in Renton and worked in North Bend for years. On average it was 40 minutes to and from North Bend. The airport with no traffic is 10 minutes futher and double that during rush hour. There are a lot of "back roads" you can take, but even during non-rush hour times it's close to an hour to the airport from North Bend.
Issaquah is basically half the distance/time, but it not a cheap area to live, and the city is split in half by I-90, so traffic thru town can really suck.
Another good area to look at might be Newcastle, Kennydale and Renton. They are all 10-20 minutes from the airport, 20 minutes from downtown Seattle, and have easy access to the mountains and a lot of bike trails.
Maple Valley and Black Diamond are nice places too and closer to biking/skiing etc., but about 45 minutes from the airport.
Issaquah is basically half the distance/time, but it not a cheap area to live, and the city is split in half by I-90, so traffic thru town can really suck.
Another good area to look at might be Newcastle, Kennydale and Renton. They are all 10-20 minutes from the airport, 20 minutes from downtown Seattle, and have easy access to the mountains and a lot of bike trails.
Maple Valley and Black Diamond are nice places too and closer to biking/skiing etc., but about 45 minutes from the airport.
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I should probably have clarified that my "Issaquah" answer was based on the given spread of Snoqualmie to North Bend.
For airport and MTB and ski access, near 405 close to but south of I-90 is clearly a win. Not sure about the WW kayaking thing from down there though.
I still say when you consider schools for your kids, then all around Bellevue comes out the best but I ... I ... I just moved ... to Clyde Hill.
(still Bellevue School District, though.)
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In either case, make sure you can deal with the rain. In general, there's more mtb close to town in Seattle than PDX, by a lot. But if you road ride, Portland has much better access to good road riding than seattle. Not to mention OR has more bike racers per capita then pretty much the entire US, and has the biggest cross races in the county. A few visits will confirm that portlandia is actually a documentary. The portland airport is also nice and small, easy to get around. But Seattle isn't bad either. Keep in mind OR has a high income tax rate, but no sales tax, where WA has high sales tax, but no income tax. That generally will make WA more beneficial if you're middle class or higher.
As a Snoqualmie resident, IMO it's hard to beat the area. Issaquah is close to town, but much higher priced and fewer riding options from the door. Henry's Ridge has all of us beat as far as trail access from the door though.
As a Snoqualmie resident, IMO it's hard to beat the area. Issaquah is close to town, but much higher priced and fewer riding options from the door. Henry's Ridge has all of us beat as far as trail access from the door though.
If you considered a Bend size town, you should look at Bellingham. Lots of MTBing yaking, snow sports, good schools and if you want you can fly right out of Bellingham.
If you can just laugh at all the hipster dufuses, and not let them bother you, I think you'll like it.
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I live in Snoqualmie and don't really want to leave. Its a pretty rad family community with plenty of outdoor things to do. How old are your kids. The city went though a big population boom with the new neighborhood in the past decade. Seems like the majority of the families have kids in the 12 and under range. The schools weren't the best for awhile, but they have been making strides at the elementary school level. largely because of the increase in population and thus money. I'm not sure how much better the HS has gotten, but i remember reading about it a year or so ago that they were also making some strides.
I typically allow an hour to an hour and a half to get to the airport. There's no real direct route from Snoqualmie. i90 is an easy drive, but i405 is terrible. if you're heading to Sea Tac in the morning, you'd be going opposite direction so the traffic shouldn't be too bad. even at the interchange. coming from Sea Tac (northbound i405) will not be fun between 7a-7p.
I think Snoqualmie is pretty well located for outdoors activities. Plenty of hiking along the i90 corridor. Also lots of mtb opportunities within a 20 minute drive: Duthie Hill/Grand Ridge, Tokul (if you want to pay), Tolt, Middle Fork Snoqualmie, Tiger. For skiing, Snoqualmie Pass is 25 minutes away and both Crystal Mountain and Stevens Pass ski areas are ~2 hrs. Nice thing about snoqualmie and Crystl is that they're managed by the same company. for $480 you can buy and unlimited season pass to Snoqualmie that has 5 free days at Crystal Mt. The nice thing about Stevens pass is that they also have mountain biking in the summer time. That started last year with 2 bike trails and they're aiming for 4 trails completed this year. There is also some rock climbing in the area along i90. I've never done it, but i've had invites in the past.
to be honest though, I do most of my riding after work at Duthie Hill in Issaquah. Its on my way home from work and my buddy lives 5 minutes by bike from there. He will usually serve up dinner and beer afterwards. My goal is to get out to tiger mountain this year as I've never been.
the things I don't like? Wind. This is a problem depending on how your house is situated. I don't get much wind, but my friend has replaced panels on his fence 4 times in the past 7 years. Power outtages. It used to be really really bad. Now we only lose power about 1x a winter. Of course, this last time, it was out for 4 days. There was major snow followed by an ice storm so it was a bit extreme. Also, seems like an investment in time to go into issaquah for something on a weeknight. Things are just a little bit further when you live out in snoqualmie.
Overall, I plan on staying in the area for awhile. I don't particularly want to give up the easy access to mountain biking and skiing/snowboarding.
sorry for the long winded response.
-joel
I typically allow an hour to an hour and a half to get to the airport. There's no real direct route from Snoqualmie. i90 is an easy drive, but i405 is terrible. if you're heading to Sea Tac in the morning, you'd be going opposite direction so the traffic shouldn't be too bad. even at the interchange. coming from Sea Tac (northbound i405) will not be fun between 7a-7p.
I think Snoqualmie is pretty well located for outdoors activities. Plenty of hiking along the i90 corridor. Also lots of mtb opportunities within a 20 minute drive: Duthie Hill/Grand Ridge, Tokul (if you want to pay), Tolt, Middle Fork Snoqualmie, Tiger. For skiing, Snoqualmie Pass is 25 minutes away and both Crystal Mountain and Stevens Pass ski areas are ~2 hrs. Nice thing about snoqualmie and Crystl is that they're managed by the same company. for $480 you can buy and unlimited season pass to Snoqualmie that has 5 free days at Crystal Mt. The nice thing about Stevens pass is that they also have mountain biking in the summer time. That started last year with 2 bike trails and they're aiming for 4 trails completed this year. There is also some rock climbing in the area along i90. I've never done it, but i've had invites in the past.
to be honest though, I do most of my riding after work at Duthie Hill in Issaquah. Its on my way home from work and my buddy lives 5 minutes by bike from there. He will usually serve up dinner and beer afterwards.
My goal is to get out to tiger mountain this year as I've never been.the things I don't like? Wind. This is a problem depending on how your house is situated. I don't get much wind, but my friend has replaced panels on his fence 4 times in the past 7 years. Power outtages. It used to be really really bad. Now we only lose power about 1x a winter. Of course, this last time, it was out for 4 days. There was major snow followed by an ice storm so it was a bit extreme. Also, seems like an investment in time to go into issaquah for something on a weeknight. Things are just a little bit further when you live out in snoqualmie.
Overall, I plan on staying in the area for awhile. I don't particularly want to give up the easy access to mountain biking and skiing/snowboarding.
sorry for the long winded response.
-joel
Great info...I appreciate all the insight on the area. My girls are 8 yrs old, would be nice to be able to run them up for snow skiing after school in the winter. Can anyone comment on the general road riding in the area...on the map it looks descent, heading north up to Carnation etc. As for the wind, guessing living "off" Snoqualmie ridge might help ?
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Wind: Im sure the ridge has more wind than down lower. Neighborhoods are better up here though, and the lowest portions of Snoqualmie and North Bend flood occasionally.
road riding tends to be to the north down the sno valley, for me at least. I just try to stay off the two main highways and on the backroads There a some shorter loops up the valley as well. A cross bike is nice, as then rides can be made up with stuff like neighborhood trails, gravel rail trails, XC trail through Duthie and pavement.
road riding tends to be to the north down the sno valley, for me at least. I just try to stay off the two main highways and on the backroads There a some shorter loops up the valley as well. A cross bike is nice, as then rides can be made up with stuff like neighborhood trails, gravel rail trails, XC trail through Duthie and pavement.
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I think if you want to ride from Snoqualmie Ridge, you'll learn to appreciate hills. Its the foothills of the cascades so there's lots of up and down.
The wind isn't a big enough issue to not live here imho. I'm just overstating it a bit. my house doesn't get the same wind problems as my friends. One of them is totally exposes so he gets a lot of wind. The other friend is at the end of his alley, so he gets everything hitting his house. One strange wind thing at my house though is that I must live in a spot where two windy zones converge. during the fall, i'll walk out in front or in back of my house only to find that the leaves from all my neighbors settles at my house. there was one day where literally my yard and driveway in the back of the house were covered in leaves. but no leaves on my neighbors 4 houses both ways. ugh!
great place to live though.
The wind isn't a big enough issue to not live here imho. I'm just overstating it a bit. my house doesn't get the same wind problems as my friends. One of them is totally exposes so he gets a lot of wind. The other friend is at the end of his alley, so he gets everything hitting his house. One strange wind thing at my house though is that I must live in a spot where two windy zones converge. during the fall, i'll walk out in front or in back of my house only to find that the leaves from all my neighbors settles at my house. there was one day where literally my yard and driveway in the back of the house were covered in leaves. but no leaves on my neighbors 4 houses both ways. ugh!
great place to live though.
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I live in Seattle and have spent a lot of time in Oregon and Portland. Went to school down there and most of my college buddies live in Portland.
Portland: Yes, what ACree says is true, Portlandia is a documentary. Luckily there's lots of normal people too. The backcountry skiing is better in Oregon, higher passes and more accessible terrain. There's amazing wilderness skiing near Bend! The resorts are decent, though the terrain is a bet mellow. I don't do whitewater, but I hear it's really good. The mountain biking is ok, but lots of driving required. The town in nice, but isn't very metropolitan. The beer is very good.
Seattle: Expensive in the good areas, dark and dreary in winter, and lots of traffic are the major downers. Mountain biking along the I-90 corridor is good, especially in the summer. Our ski resorts are pretty good, with really good terrain, but stupid crowded on weekends. Nice steep terrain and massive amounts of mountain snow. There's not really a day in the year when you can't find something amazing to do outdoors. We're pretty lucky, when you get right down to it. Just travel somewhere sunny in January, and you'll probably like it here.
I'd rent for a bit before buying. Each city along I-90 has it's own personality, and folks in this thread have covered the pros and cons of some of the areas. You've got a good selection of established charm and newly polished developments, and you can get woodsy acreage if you want it. There's a lot of good schools on the Eastside (by that we mean east of Lake Washington).
Check out the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance Trail Guide. It's got all the local trails, and a map to figure out where the riding is.
Shameless plug. I'm a real estate broker specializing in distinctive homes in Seattle and the I-90 corridor. A major donation is made to Evergreen whenever I help a fellow mountain biker buy or sell a home. /shameless plug
Portland: Yes, what ACree says is true, Portlandia is a documentary. Luckily there's lots of normal people too. The backcountry skiing is better in Oregon, higher passes and more accessible terrain. There's amazing wilderness skiing near Bend! The resorts are decent, though the terrain is a bet mellow. I don't do whitewater, but I hear it's really good. The mountain biking is ok, but lots of driving required. The town in nice, but isn't very metropolitan. The beer is very good.
Seattle: Expensive in the good areas, dark and dreary in winter, and lots of traffic are the major downers. Mountain biking along the I-90 corridor is good, especially in the summer. Our ski resorts are pretty good, with really good terrain, but stupid crowded on weekends. Nice steep terrain and massive amounts of mountain snow. There's not really a day in the year when you can't find something amazing to do outdoors. We're pretty lucky, when you get right down to it. Just travel somewhere sunny in January, and you'll probably like it here.
I'd rent for a bit before buying. Each city along I-90 has it's own personality, and folks in this thread have covered the pros and cons of some of the areas. You've got a good selection of established charm and newly polished developments, and you can get woodsy acreage if you want it. There's a lot of good schools on the Eastside (by that we mean east of Lake Washington).
Check out the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance Trail Guide. It's got all the local trails, and a map to figure out where the riding is.
Shameless plug. I'm a real estate broker specializing in distinctive homes in Seattle and the I-90 corridor. A major donation is made to Evergreen whenever I help a fellow mountain biker buy or sell a home. /shameless plug
The road riding is good, not great here. Lots of loops north. Some south. At least from Issaquah, south generally means Issaquah/Hobart road on a lollipop loop. Lots of traffic, but decent shoulder. Mercer Island is always good if you want to get some fast laps in. Not enough purely rural riding close in to tip it over the top to great.
Lots of good climbing in the area. Late season if you drive even better. Really good climbs by Rainier or in the North Cascades. And it's hard to beat Hurricane Ridge on a nice day.
Lots of good climbing in the area. Late season if you drive even better. Really good climbs by Rainier or in the North Cascades. And it's hard to beat Hurricane Ridge on a nice day.
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If after-school skiing is a priority, somewhere out I-90 would make a lot of sense. However, for skiing generally I wouldn't consider Snoqualmie Pass any great benefit. It's flat, short, and lower than about anywhere else. It rains there more than the other hills. There is one 2-chair at Alpental with actual terrain but it's really limited and the chair lines are near impossible. And it's not open at night. All the rest is good for beginners, intermediates are pushing it to find anything worthwhile. That said, night skiing is a different thing and it is fun there.
I live riding distance from St. Edwards Park at the north end of Lake Washington which has a number of cool things about it, there are some good, pretty easy XC trails, big enough for a solid hour and a half if you ride everything. Travel to Stevens which is vastly better than Snoqualmie is a little under 2 hours, Crystal is about 2 1/2 hours which skiiers like better than Stevens. I'm a boarder, too much pole-pushing and hiking for my tastes boarding but it's a killer mountain for sure, the hikes do get you to some unreal stuff.
"In my younger days" boarding I dreamed of going to Jackson Hole, for its famed steeps. I finally got there and had no problem with anything I found there, the double blacks aren't any steeper than stuff we have here at Baker, Stevens and Crystal. Whistler has some insane steep stuff. Snoqualmie is a kiddie park, apologies to anyone that loves it there.
If you're going to travel at all for biking, most of the travel is north, Whistler, Galby, and if it ever re-opens North Fork are all north. I-90 connects to I-405 pretty far south and makes those trips longer.
Airport from the north end of the lake is an easy half hour unless traffic is on, hour when it's clogged. Summertimes during construction can be longer if you catch it wrong. Airport from 90 is a little better because 90 connects south of Bellevue, and airport is south of that. I-405 also gets stuck south of Bellevue, but missing the big B would definitely be a plus.
All told I think Seattle proper doesn't give you skiing, not great for biking, no better than 405 for airport access. I'd focus on the 405/90 corridors.
I'll throw a wild idea out there - Woodinville. It's north but right next to I-405 and quick to the airport, on the way to Stevens, still short-ish to Snoqualmie, and Paradise is right there for biking. Quiet place if you like that. Being essentially right on 405 makes getting wherever easy too.
I would prioritize your goals and go from there. Short airport commute, live in Renton; easiest access to day/night skiing, North Bend; all night rave parties Belltown. And, great advice above - rent first. That will let you soak in the place and figure out where YOU wanna live.
I live riding distance from St. Edwards Park at the north end of Lake Washington which has a number of cool things about it, there are some good, pretty easy XC trails, big enough for a solid hour and a half if you ride everything. Travel to Stevens which is vastly better than Snoqualmie is a little under 2 hours, Crystal is about 2 1/2 hours which skiiers like better than Stevens. I'm a boarder, too much pole-pushing and hiking for my tastes boarding but it's a killer mountain for sure, the hikes do get you to some unreal stuff.
"In my younger days" boarding I dreamed of going to Jackson Hole, for its famed steeps. I finally got there and had no problem with anything I found there, the double blacks aren't any steeper than stuff we have here at Baker, Stevens and Crystal. Whistler has some insane steep stuff. Snoqualmie is a kiddie park, apologies to anyone that loves it there.
If you're going to travel at all for biking, most of the travel is north, Whistler, Galby, and if it ever re-opens North Fork are all north. I-90 connects to I-405 pretty far south and makes those trips longer.
Airport from the north end of the lake is an easy half hour unless traffic is on, hour when it's clogged. Summertimes during construction can be longer if you catch it wrong. Airport from 90 is a little better because 90 connects south of Bellevue, and airport is south of that. I-405 also gets stuck south of Bellevue, but missing the big B would definitely be a plus.
All told I think Seattle proper doesn't give you skiing, not great for biking, no better than 405 for airport access. I'd focus on the 405/90 corridors.
I'll throw a wild idea out there - Woodinville. It's north but right next to I-405 and quick to the airport, on the way to Stevens, still short-ish to Snoqualmie, and Paradise is right there for biking. Quiet place if you like that. Being essentially right on 405 makes getting wherever easy too.
I would prioritize your goals and go from there. Short airport commute, live in Renton; easiest access to day/night skiing, North Bend; all night rave parties Belltown.
And, great advice above - rent first. That will let you soak in the place and figure out where YOU wanna live.Fall City
General:
Unincorporated so less infrastructure. No sewer lines (only septic) and lot's of floodplain limits growth. Also limits business growth so primarily consists of a couple of bad restaurants and several bar/taverns. For anything else need to drive to Issaquah or maybe North Bend. More of a semi-rural feel but with pockets of housing development. Better weather than North Bend and Snoqualmie Ridge. Less neighborhoody so it would be harder to meet lots of neighbors with kids like you would on the Ridge. For me, with kids, the fact that I can jump on my bike at anytime and crank out a quick quality lap at Tokul East means that I ride alot more than if I have to drive somewhere.
Mt Biking:
Tokul East and Tokul West < 1 mi from my backdoor - jump on the bike and get a quick ride in less than an hour or hit both areas and ride for as long as you want.
Duthie, Grand Ridge, Soaring Eagle, Tolt, and Tiger all within 15 minutes drive - but with Tokul out the back door rarely bother to drive.
Kayak in the Snoqualmie Valley:
Class 2 - Powerhouse run on the Snoqualmie ~ 1 mi away. It's a great beginner run but also gets a decent park and play wave at under 1k flow which means you can get in a surf almost all of July and August. Great spot to teach the kids (13 and 9) - got mine a Jackson Sidekick last year and trying to get them going. We have group that goes with beginners all summer on Tuesday nights.
Class 2+ - SF Snoqualmie, 20 minutes away - fun quick run when everything is flooding
Class 3(+) - Middle Middle Snoqualmie, 20 minutes away - great afterwork spring run - find someone to boat with almost any night of the week
Class 4 - Fall in the Wall SF Snoqualmie (over my head) - 30 minutes away - get about 1 month of runs during the spring
Class 5 - NF Snoqualmie (now we're way over my head) - 20 minutes away
Others - Green 3/4 1 hour south, Skykomish 3/4 1.25 hour north, plus tons more
Ski:
Snoqualmie Pass 30 minutes. Yes, it's small and gets crowded but Alpental BC is as good as anything. East also has decent terrain and not very crowded. AND, with kids and season passes it's great to pop up for 2-3 hours and then go home when they lose interest.
Stevens 1.5 hours north
Crystal 1.5 hours south
Schools:
Fall City Elementary - been great for both kids. Ski bus after school on Wednesdays.
Cheif Kanim Middle School - gotten awards the last couple years as a top 5 middle school in the state. Also has ski bus.
Mt Si - mixed reviews - pretty crowded, we'll have one there next year and then we'll know better
General:
Unincorporated so less infrastructure. No sewer lines (only septic) and lot's of floodplain limits growth. Also limits business growth so primarily consists of a couple of bad restaurants and several bar/taverns. For anything else need to drive to Issaquah or maybe North Bend. More of a semi-rural feel but with pockets of housing development. Better weather than North Bend and Snoqualmie Ridge. Less neighborhoody so it would be harder to meet lots of neighbors with kids like you would on the Ridge. For me, with kids, the fact that I can jump on my bike at anytime and crank out a quick quality lap at Tokul East means that I ride alot more than if I have to drive somewhere.
Mt Biking:
Tokul East and Tokul West < 1 mi from my backdoor - jump on the bike and get a quick ride in less than an hour or hit both areas and ride for as long as you want.
Duthie, Grand Ridge, Soaring Eagle, Tolt, and Tiger all within 15 minutes drive - but with Tokul out the back door rarely bother to drive.
Kayak in the Snoqualmie Valley:
Class 2 - Powerhouse run on the Snoqualmie ~ 1 mi away. It's a great beginner run but also gets a decent park and play wave at under 1k flow which means you can get in a surf almost all of July and August. Great spot to teach the kids (13 and 9) - got mine a Jackson Sidekick last year and trying to get them going. We have group that goes with beginners all summer on Tuesday nights.
Class 2+ - SF Snoqualmie, 20 minutes away - fun quick run when everything is flooding
Class 3(+) - Middle Middle Snoqualmie, 20 minutes away - great afterwork spring run - find someone to boat with almost any night of the week
Class 4 - Fall in the Wall SF Snoqualmie (over my head) - 30 minutes away - get about 1 month of runs during the spring
Class 5 - NF Snoqualmie (now we're way over my head) - 20 minutes away
Others - Green 3/4 1 hour south, Skykomish 3/4 1.25 hour north, plus tons more
Ski:
Snoqualmie Pass 30 minutes. Yes, it's small and gets crowded but Alpental BC is as good as anything. East also has decent terrain and not very crowded. AND, with kids and season passes it's great to pop up for 2-3 hours and then go home when they lose interest.
Stevens 1.5 hours north
Crystal 1.5 hours south
Schools:
Fall City Elementary - been great for both kids. Ski bus after school on Wednesdays.
Cheif Kanim Middle School - gotten awards the last couple years as a top 5 middle school in the state. Also has ski bus.
Mt Si - mixed reviews - pretty crowded, we'll have one there next year and then we'll know better
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Oregon is cool
Having lived in Salem-PDX area for 5 yrs prior moving to WA, I really miss the more laid back, cleaner lifestyle you get moreso in Oregon. Could be due that less than 4 million ppl in the whole state of OR there? However, overall, think its better for MTBers up here in W. WA - the unbeatable variety & close proximity of so many different trail systems in WA state is the best, IMHO & I've lived in quite a few diff states. :thumbsup:
Having lived in Salem-PDX area for 5 yrs prior moving to WA, I really miss the more laid back, cleaner lifestyle you get moreso in Oregon. Could be due that less than 4 million ppl in the whole state of OR there? However, overall, think its better for MTBers up here in W. WA - the unbeatable variety & close proximity of so many different trail systems in WA state is the best, IMHO & I've lived in quite a few diff states. :thumbsup:
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