Station/Boat Location~
NESU Seattle and USCGC HEALY (420')
Date there~
2005 - 2008 and 2008 - current
Weather~
We get it all RAIN of course, sun, strong winds, it even snows in Seattle. Winter is probably the hardest time here as it is a constantly gloomy out and raining and COLD! But when Summer finally hits its GORGEOUS out. Rarely is ever it too HOT, just perfect during summer time.
Military facilities~
Downtown Seattle is the Coast Guard Base (across from Qwest field) with a small CG exchange South of Seattle their is McChord AFB and Ft. Lewis both have commissaries and exchanges (nice and large but pretty popular so they run out of stuff a lot)
North of Seattle their in Marysville their is Smokey Point Naval commissary and exchange (medium sized and never as busy)
West of Seattle their is Bremerton Naval Base and Bangor Naval Base (with commissary and exchange)
Medical~
Tricare Prime Remote for those living in Seattle (we go through Swedish Physicians they are all over the Seattle area) or if you live closer to the military bases you can utilize their medical facilities.
Housing~
There is privatized housing located throughout the Seattle area.
The closest housing to the CG Base is Ft. Lawton housing located inside Discovery Park in the Magnolia neighborhood (which is where we live at). The housing here is extremely old and not the prettiest, but the location definitely makes up for it.
The elementary schools here in the Magnolia neighborhood has to be one of the best in Seattle, particularly Lawton Elementary.
Housing is located inside a 534 acre natural park, and is surrounded with wooded trails all through out to hike and explore, streams, meadows, beaches, cliffs, a lighthouse, and all sorts of wildlife.
It's approximately 15 minutes away to the CG station and that is without having to get on any freeways, it's basically all downtown driving and only minutes away from downtown/Seattle Center. Even though Magnolia is extremely close to downtown, it really does have the sort of small town feeling to it. Magnolia is separated from the rest of Seattle, so the only way to get to it is by 1 of the 3 bridges.
The Magnolia Village (the main center of Magnolia) is always having some type of parade or celebration and is very family friendly. They shut down the street during Halloween and all the businesses hand out candy to the kids, there's the Christmas Lighting celebration, Summerfest and art show, the Little League Parade, an auto show, and even a small farmers market.
The likelihood that you will run into people you know is very high considering how isolated Magnolia is. We have 3 small grocery stores here, a small Ace Hardware, Hollywood video, speciality mom and pop shops, a terriyaki joint, a subway, couple pizza joints, quite a few restaurants and dry cleaners. The nearest Target is about 30 minutes away at Northgate Mall. Nearest Walmart is in Lynnwood even further away. There is no drive through fast food located in Magnolia or Fred Meyers, so to get to that kind of stuff you need to cross 1 of the bridges and then hop over to the Ballard Bridge. Its really only about 10 minutes away but the traffic to the Ballard Bridge does tend to back up, especially during summertime as the Ballard Bridge is always going up to let boats pass by.
For doctors office Magnolia Swedish Physicians takes Tricare Prime Remote and is only minutes from housing. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Dr. Chris Shuhart (me and my kids see him), not only is he very knowledgeable but he actually takes the time to listen and explains everything. Even to the little ones he gets down to their level and explains everything he's doing or going to do. Best doctor we have come across so far in hubby's career.
As for dentist i recommend Dr. Jody Brennan...she's located in Magnolia too so again only minutes away from housing. She's gentle and great with the kids too...plus her hubby is military so she gets the whole military lifestyle and United Concordia.
This housing is very popular and does fill up fast, so if your interested in moving here its best to call ASAP to get put on the list. Unfortunately they are tearing down the housing and rebuilding new housing up in Marysville which is a little over an hour North of Seattle. I have lived here for 3 yrs now and they still haven't the slightest clue when housing will actually be closed and torn down (they keep moving back the date on us). So that is something you need to be aware before you decide to move here.
If Ft. Lawton isn't your thing then there is also privatized housing in Brier which is right near Lynnwood to the North of Seattle or over on the west on the Kitsap Peninsula at Bremerton and Bangor Naval bases. Unfortunately i do not know much about any of these housing locations.
Or if you'd rather live out on the economy then popular living areas for the Seattle area are Lynnwood, Tacoma, Port Orchard, Bremerton, Silverdale, Poulsbo, Bainbridge Island, Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland, Edmonds, West Seattle, Federal Way, Mill Creek, and Mountlake Terrace.
Shopping~
Anything and everything is here
Child Care/Schools~
For Magnolia neighborhood you have 3 schools to choose from. Public schools are Catharine Blaine K-8th and Lawton K-5th. And a Catholic private school Our Lady of Fatima K-8th.
Adult Schools~
UW (University of Washington) is here along with community colleges.
Fun Activities~
Seattle Center, Pioneer Square, Space Needle, Zoos, Pacific Science Center, Children's Museum, Seattle Art Museum, Pikes Place Market, Seattle Underground Tour, Aquarium, Ferries, Snoqualmie Falls, there's so much to see and enjoy here its hard to list them all
Additional Info~
There's not much else to say Washington is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. And I honestly love it here in Seattle, people are so friendly and there's just so much to do. The only negatives about living here in the Seattle area is traffic (HORRENDOUS) and the weather. Seriously the 1st two years the weather didn't seem all that terrible but the grey overcast day in and out and rain starts to wear on you after awhile. Its very gloomy here and just when i think i cant take it anymore the sun comes out and its absolutely breath taking!
Homeport WA
NESU Seattle and USCGC HEALY (420')
Date there~
2005 - 2008 and 2008 - current
Weather~
We get it all RAIN of course, sun, strong winds, it even snows in Seattle. Winter is probably the hardest time here as it is a constantly gloomy out and raining and COLD! But when Summer finally hits its GORGEOUS out. Rarely is ever it too HOT, just perfect during summer time.
Military facilities~
Downtown Seattle is the Coast Guard Base (across from Qwest field) with a small CG exchange South of Seattle their is McChord AFB and Ft. Lewis both have commissaries and exchanges (nice and large but pretty popular so they run out of stuff a lot)
North of Seattle their in Marysville their is Smokey Point Naval commissary and exchange (medium sized and never as busy)
West of Seattle their is Bremerton Naval Base and Bangor Naval Base (with commissary and exchange)
Medical~
Tricare Prime Remote for those living in Seattle (we go through Swedish Physicians they are all over the Seattle area) or if you live closer to the military bases you can utilize their medical facilities.
Housing~
There is privatized housing located throughout the Seattle area.
The closest housing to the CG Base is Ft. Lawton housing located inside Discovery Park in the Magnolia neighborhood (which is where we live at). The housing here is extremely old and not the prettiest, but the location definitely makes up for it.
The elementary schools here in the Magnolia neighborhood has to be one of the best in Seattle, particularly Lawton Elementary.
Housing is located inside a 534 acre natural park, and is surrounded with wooded trails all through out to hike and explore, streams, meadows, beaches, cliffs, a lighthouse, and all sorts of wildlife.
It's approximately 15 minutes away to the CG station and that is without having to get on any freeways, it's basically all downtown driving and only minutes away from downtown/Seattle Center. Even though Magnolia is extremely close to downtown, it really does have the sort of small town feeling to it. Magnolia is separated from the rest of Seattle, so the only way to get to it is by 1 of the 3 bridges.
The Magnolia Village (the main center of Magnolia) is always having some type of parade or celebration and is very family friendly. They shut down the street during Halloween and all the businesses hand out candy to the kids, there's the Christmas Lighting celebration, Summerfest and art show, the Little League Parade, an auto show, and even a small farmers market.
The likelihood that you will run into people you know is very high considering how isolated Magnolia is. We have 3 small grocery stores here, a small Ace Hardware, Hollywood video, speciality mom and pop shops, a terriyaki joint, a subway, couple pizza joints, quite a few restaurants and dry cleaners. The nearest Target is about 30 minutes away at Northgate Mall. Nearest Walmart is in Lynnwood even further away. There is no drive through fast food located in Magnolia or Fred Meyers, so to get to that kind of stuff you need to cross 1 of the bridges and then hop over to the Ballard Bridge. Its really only about 10 minutes away but the traffic to the Ballard Bridge does tend to back up, especially during summertime as the Ballard Bridge is always going up to let boats pass by.
For doctors office Magnolia Swedish Physicians takes Tricare Prime Remote and is only minutes from housing. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Dr. Chris Shuhart (me and my kids see him), not only is he very knowledgeable but he actually takes the time to listen and explains everything. Even to the little ones he gets down to their level and explains everything he's doing or going to do. Best doctor we have come across so far in hubby's career.
As for dentist i recommend Dr. Jody Brennan...she's located in Magnolia too so again only minutes away from housing. She's gentle and great with the kids too...plus her hubby is military so she gets the whole military lifestyle and United Concordia.
This housing is very popular and does fill up fast, so if your interested in moving here its best to call ASAP to get put on the list. Unfortunately they are tearing down the housing and rebuilding new housing up in Marysville which is a little over an hour North of Seattle. I have lived here for 3 yrs now and they still haven't the slightest clue when housing will actually be closed and torn down (they keep moving back the date on us). So that is something you need to be aware before you decide to move here.
If Ft. Lawton isn't your thing then there is also privatized housing in Brier which is right near Lynnwood to the North of Seattle or over on the west on the Kitsap Peninsula at Bremerton and Bangor Naval bases. Unfortunately i do not know much about any of these housing locations.
Or if you'd rather live out on the economy then popular living areas for the Seattle area are Lynnwood, Tacoma, Port Orchard, Bremerton, Silverdale, Poulsbo, Bainbridge Island, Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland, Edmonds, West Seattle, Federal Way, Mill Creek, and Mountlake Terrace.
Shopping~
Anything and everything is here
Child Care/Schools~
For Magnolia neighborhood you have 3 schools to choose from. Public schools are Catharine Blaine K-8th and Lawton K-5th. And a Catholic private school Our Lady of Fatima K-8th.
Adult Schools~
UW (University of Washington) is here along with community colleges.
Fun Activities~
Seattle Center, Pioneer Square, Space Needle, Zoos, Pacific Science Center, Children's Museum, Seattle Art Museum, Pikes Place Market, Seattle Underground Tour, Aquarium, Ferries, Snoqualmie Falls, there's so much to see and enjoy here its hard to list them all
Additional Info~
There's not much else to say Washington is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. And I honestly love it here in Seattle, people are so friendly and there's just so much to do. The only negatives about living here in the Seattle area is traffic (HORRENDOUS) and the weather. Seriously the 1st two years the weather didn't seem all that terrible but the grey overcast day in and out and rain starts to wear on you after awhile. Its very gloomy here and just when i think i cant take it anymore the sun comes out and its absolutely breath taking!
Homeport WA
