The Bellevue area or Redmond are both nice "suburbs/cities" outside Seattle.

Other than along Lake WA, cycling is poor in the city in my opinion (Burke Gilman is good for commuting but not a workout).

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http://www.y-rocket.blogspot.com/

In general Schools on the East Side are better (Meaning across Lake Washington or Mercer Island) but they are the suburbs for sure...By far the best suburb for having a mix of life yet quiet still is Kirkland, also expensive though. Issaquah is nice but farther away from the city and traffic to get into the city will deter most trips on week nights.

In Seattle, where it is public schools unless you can afford private, the running and bike scene is great. By some rain fenders now though or heck a rain bike and a dry bike!. You would want to live in the North End of the city, south end is not great.

In short:

Ballard (far west on the north end): Great if your in your 30's. Great restaurants, condo and night life. Hard to get from Ballard to anywhere else as street traffic is heavy.
Freemont: Great if your in your 20's and want bars.
Wallingford: Lovely homes but smaller lots. City schools again.
U-District: Pretty run down, but it is surrounded by nicer communities.
Luarelhurst: Bill Gates grew up there...think his dad still does live there...enough said
All the communities on the NE by Laurelhurst are very nice as well....

Thats a start, if you need more PM and happy to help.

Completely agree with Bellevue and Redmond when considering both school and cycling. The Bellevue school district is one of the best in the country. A smaller area south of Bellevue is Newcastle and east is Issaquah.

The EastSide will win the popular vote and is certainly the conventional choice.

There are some gems to the north, however. I live in the city of Edmonds, which is about 20 miles north of downtown Seattle.

http://www.ci.edmonds.wa.us

The Edmonds School District offers a variety of curriculums. Others can better evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the district relative to the EastSide. However, a motivated student and involved parent can certainly find success here. And there are a number of private options as well. I am a product of the local public schools, and we have two children in a private K-8 that intend to attend a public high school.

http://www.edmonds.wednet.edu/...efault.aspx?PageID=1

Your commute is not an issue, but easy access to downtown Seattle by commuter rail is a plus.

http://www.soundtransit.org/...-guide/sounder-train

Swim. We got pools:

Summer gem: http://www.edmondswa.gov/...center/aquatics.html

Year round venues:
http://www.ci.lynnwood.wa.us/Page566.aspx
http://www.cityofshoreline.com/...ities/shoreline-pool
http://www.cityofmlt.com/...rPool/indoorPool.htm

Bike. I prefer to get out of the urban (suburban or otherwise) areas. The Snohomish Valley is a rural area just 15 miles east of Edmonds. With a 15 mile warmup, the options are endless.

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/5634541

Running? Anyplace in the Seattle area will be great. I run from home and from the office downtown Seattle, and can map an enjoyable 3-20 mile run from either location. You'll learn to enjoy 55 degrees and a light rain.

Hope this helps,

Scott

Seattle Metro has a massive cost of living swing depending on geography. I agree with all the posters that if I had my choice, it would be the east side somewhere like Kirkland, or Redmond. You have to consider though that a $250,000 house in the north end (Somewhere like Everett, Lake Stevens, or even Bothell) will cost you $600,000+ in one of the lake side areas like Kirkland or Bellevue. I live towards Snohomish and have the Centennial trail out the door with 50+ miles of protected running or riding. I am 30 miles from downtown Seattle though, so it's not a short trip.

How about being a little more specific on "Seattle area"? It doesn't take too many miles to make a HUGE difference in recommendations.

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Some are born to move the world to live their fantasies...

https://triomultisport.com/
http://www.mjolnircycles.com/

No commute? Lucky. Well than that opens it up. If cost of living isn't an issue I too vote for eastside Kirkland or Redmond or Bellevue or maybe Issaquah. (Bellevue downtown is a big city... probably biggest American city no one has ever heard of.) Know that the $1300 rent elsewhere in the area will be low $2000s here. There's no crime, your neighbors will be nice people probably working in IT field, and the schools are great. There are too many swimming pools in the area to mention them all. There are many miles of paved and unpaved trails for running. There are a lot of bike friendly roads. And still pretty close to Seattle proper.

Seattle proper may have the S and the R but B is severely lacking. About the only decent place to ride is Lake WA Boulevard. You'd find yourself riding through traffic, around lake WA or over I90 to reach better roads in the east. Or drive to Marymoor park in Redmond, park there, and go ride. All the best bike routes in the area can be reached from Marymoor. Know that the bad neighborhoods are south of Seattle. Good neighborhoods are east and north. Anything south and southwest Lake WA and you will get a sharp increase in crime. Especially stay away from Rainier Ave and MLK. Edit: also avoid Hwy 99 AKA Aurora AKA International Boulevard AKA Pacific Highway. That thing has been seedy for decades.

If you want to live a little further out, check out Bothell and Woodinville. Probably cheaper and not that far away. Further out you got Snohomish and Everett. Cheaper still.

Thanks for all the info so far. We'll be coming from the DC area so as for cost of living I'm assuming it's cheaper than here plus no state income tax helps a ton. In the past, we lived in the Portland area so have some rain experience but I'm guessing it's a little more up there in the Seattle area.

I've been in Issaquah since the late '80s. 3 pools - 2 @ gyms (Golds and 24 hour fitness), 1 public. 3 lakes within a few minute drive (Lake Sammamish, Beaver Lake, Pine Lake), plenty of running trails, plenty of bike routes from town or a few minutes east in the Snoqualmie Valley.

The Issaquah school district is excellent.

Check out Tacoma. Some of it sucks but living in Old Town, Ruston or Proctor is great. Look into Stadium High School or Bellermine Prep. It is much better riding than the Seattle area. Hop out over the Narrows bridge and you have tons of really great, low traffic, hilly roads and the other direction is the foothills trail/black diamond/carbonado area. Head south and you can ride along chambers bay and head over to the Fort Lewis area. Even Tacoma itself is great to ride in especially along the waterfront and around the Pt Defiance area.

I currently live in Federal Way (between Seattle and Tacoma) which isn't great but it lets me access the good riding in Tacoma and also the usual areas up north (Lake Washington, May Valley, Tiger Mountain, etc...). I do have to ride through some industrial areas to get to the good stuff but it is usually for only about 15-20 minutes. For swimming, this is the best location due to the fact that the King County Aquatic Center is located here. If you look in this area, check out Browns Point. Great riding, good trail running/single track but i don't know anything about the schools.

Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland. Plus, the Sammamish River Trail is nicely paved (the bumpy, bad sections were recently repaved).

I'm in Puyallup (South Hill), basically due east of Tacoma. Plenty of great riding into the Cascade foothills to the east and south. Puyallup has great schools (some of the top in the state).

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Some are born to move the world to live their fantasies...

https://triomultisport.com/
http://www.mjolnircycles.com/

Bellevue would be my vote, as that is where we settled. Most of the high schools (except Sammamish) are very good, and ranked in the top 200 in the country (Bellevue, Newport and International School are the best). Great SBR as well. Much easier access to good bike routes then Seattle.

Ping me when you arrive... I can give you a route basics tour one weekend.

The Eastside is definitely the conventional choice as far as school systems go, and also has great training options. If you're interested in living in Seattle proper, I would recommend North Seattle (where I currently reside, and love it). Roosevelt High School is one of the 2 best in the city as far as AP programs go, and the best if you haven't gotten into Garfield already on the AP track.

Training-wise you can run from your home in most places without worrying too much about stop lights/uncrossable arterials (my route involved running from near the University of Washington to Green Lake and back, for a total of ~7.5 miles, with at most 4 stoplights and 2 crosswalks). There are three public pools in the North and one in Ballard (Madison, Evans and Meadowbrook, and the aptly named Ballard in Ballard; Madison is probably the best public pool that's part of Seattle Parks+Rec, though it's a shallow pool of candidates for that title). As far as biking goes, it's a great city for getting around on a bike, but you'd probably have to head out East or South for anything long/sustained (plenty of good hills for shorter, -/= 5min. intervals, especially if you don't mind early mornings). You can easily get to the I-90 bridge within 10-15min from most places, and do miles on Mercer Island, though, which is a fun ride (where you can get 20.5 miles in with a single turnaround and no stops).

Due diligence on choosing where to live would is important, as there are a couple of areas that aren't so hot (ie anything near Aurora, some of the sections near Lake City), but that's no different than many places.

A lot of what you describe above can be found in the Olympia area as well. Oly *SUCKS* if you're single, but the quality of life here has keep me from moving. I run and ride right from my door step. Flats? Got 'em. Hills? Got 'em. 200 mile routes? Got 'em. Maybe a little short on swimming pools, however The Valley Athletic Club has one of the nicer pools in the region. I don't have kids, however most of the high schools in the area are pretty good, so I hear. Plus, you can be in PDX in less than two hours and in SEA in just over an hour (traffic allowing). Less than 90 minutes from the Pacific Ocean, Olympic Mountains or Mount Rainier. The Capitol Forest is very popular for trail running and mountain biking and it is less than 30 minutes from town.

And let us not forget the CBC Racing/Olympia Orthopaedics Associates Cycling Team! (Okay, the rest of the teams in the WSBA are pretty awesome too).

Brett

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"Du or Du not-there is no Tri" - Yoda

I live in the Quah (Issaquah) and have for the past 6yrs after living in W. Seattle. We moved because the wife and I did not want to have our kids go to Seattle Public schools. The Issaquah school district is one of the best in the state year after year. There are also multiple PVT schools in the area as well. As for pools, there are several gyms in area as well as "bath and tennis" type clubs that have pools. Some are saltwater like golds gym and others are chlorine. The city is soon going to redo / remodel thier pool as well. As someone else mentioned, there are also several lakes around the area that warm up by mid - late April depending on your cold tolerance. I live in a neighborhood that has a pvt beach park on lake Sammamish and I wear that thing out. I take several open water swims in the lake per week. The kids love it, the wife loves it. The state park and city parks at the respective lakes are nice too, but get very crowded. As for running, you name it, trails, paved, dirt ....right out the door from most places. Eastlake Sammamish trail / Preston trail, tiger & cougar mtns etc. The I-90 trail that goes into seattle only 13 from my house to Safeco field on that trail. There are multiple trail runs through the spring and summer as well. Biking is way better out here too than in Seattle proper. While I am not a fan of riding outside cuz I work in a profession where I see the results of car vs bike accidents too often, I will do it occasionally, and there are tons of bike rides out here. There are less stop signs / lights out this way and several great routes. No pressure, but my good friend is a real estate agent in the area, I am sure she could help you out. If you are interested send me a PM.

Some recent pics of the Sammamish River Trail:

I was just there a few hours ago. I use the SRT to get to Marymoor and then do a Lake Sammamish loop. My favorite ride is 202 out to North Bend and back but it's dangerous. 55mph limit on a rural road and an 18 inch shoulder is not a good combination. Someone was hit and killed on 202 last summer. Sammamish loop seems a lot safer. Low speed limit for cars and a really wide shoulder for us.

I already told you.... don't live in Seattle. Go to the East side. People are still dicks but at least the riding is better. I can hook you up with my old tri team, if you want. They are East side based.

Green Lake has a 5k paved trail around it and an indoor pool right beside it.

Please read the "really really interesting article about college" thread in the Lavendar Room

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Mukilteo is great for a family, specifically the Harbour pointe neighborhood. Money magazine twice had us in the top 12 in the past 4 or 5 years for best towns in the US to live in (I think #11 & 9). 30min north of Seattle. Not as expensive as East Side. Very strong school district. High school has tons of AP classes. Local YMCA with pool 5 min from house. Local lake for OWS 10 min from my house. Nice flat or hilly runs from the house and trails about 2 miles away. Only negative is it takes about 10 miles to get to the valley for the best riding.

Sorry I can't speak to schools (I'm kid-free) but 1 suburbia area that hasn't been mentioned is the Black Diamond/Maple Valley area - talk about roads to run and bike! I don't live out there, so I can't speak to the number of pools, but there are a few lakes (Lake Meridian, Lake Sawyer, Lake Wilderness, Nolte State Park...) and a pool (Covington) that come to mind. My triathlon team (Raise The Bar) is based out of there, so I go there for training things (and the bike shop) - and I'm coming from Green Lake [read: faaaaar away] - so that's how much I like the area and team! ;)

Try this variation out to North Bend/Fall City:

SRT
Hollywood Hill (146th/175th/etc getting off trail in Woodinville)
Mink Road
Old Woodinville-Duvall Road
W Sno Valley to Carnation
Tolt Hill Rd to W River Rd
L on 202 (2mi to Fall City)

I've lived in the Seattle area for 18 years. First I was just north of University Village. That was when I first arrived. My brother lives in that area now, with 2 kids including one in special needs classes. They love it. The schools in that area are apparently pretty good.

Then Capitol Hill, for years one thru three. Not family friendly. Also wasn't as creepy back then.

Then Bellevue/Redmond border for a couple years. I was at MSFT so it was super convenient for work and getting into Seattle.

Moved out to Carnation area for 13 years. This is where I did all my IM training. Beautiful area for running and riding but Dilbert is right, those roads can be dangerous and honestly turned me off of biking after my last IM in 2008. I never really felt safe. Some of the prettiest areas to ride have 0 shoulder. Friends of mine didn't seem to be bothered but I never felt safe.

Now I'm in downtown Redmond and this is my favorite location. I can walk to work, to the grocery store, everywhere I need to be is within a 5 mile radius. I can get into 520 and be across the bridge into Seattle in 20 minutes. I can walk out my front door, be on the SRT in 1/4 mile and run all the way into Seattle if I want. I can also hook into the E Lake Samm trail and run into Issaquah when it re-opens. There are several parks with 5 mile trail loops that are beautiful. Schools in this area are supposed to be great. If I still cycled I'd be at the perfect starting point for all the major riding routes in the area.

There is a Gold's Gym with a really nice pool but I just quit because the put kids lessons all the way through 6:30pm then typically a class starts at 7:00. No way to get peaceful swims in until 8:00pm most days of the week. Plus the women's locker room was always full of kids and Spongebob on the TV. Great for families, not so great for those of us who want some quiet. I joined the new 24 Hour Fitness. Inexpensive but the pool is only 3 lanes. The bonus is that no one under 18 is ever allowed in it so even if I'm sharing a lane it is typically with older people who are polite and quiet.

Real Estate is a seller's market right now. Even if you find something at a reasonable price it is gone in 24 hours. People apparently have been putting in offers with no contingencies. Crazy.

I love it out here when it isn't raining. Winters kill me and I'm planning on moving to warmer climates in a couple years.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce