Nerdwallet, a consumer-oriented finances website, recently placed Bainbridge Island #5 in itsTop 10 Washington Towns for Raising Kids.
We obviously can’t say enough good things about our island, but we’re grateful other, more objective third parties agree.
Nerdwallet calculated the following factors:
- Does the town have good schools? They incorporated scores by GreatSchools, a nonprofit that rates public schools in a given town with their standardized test scores. Those results are then compared to the state average to arrive at a final rating on a 1 to 10 scale. Higher ratings led to a higher overall score.
- How affordable are the homes? They looked at the cost of living, including ongoing, monthly homeowner costs like mortgage payments, real estate taxes, insurance costs, utilities, fuels and other bills. Lower costs led to a higher overall score.
- Is the town growing and prospering? They evaluated a town’s economy with its median household income and income growth over the last decade. A higher income and greater growth led to a higher overall score.
The island has so much to offer families with a blend of good, old-fashioned simple life as well as all that Seattle and the surrounding areas provide. Field trips for island kids range from beach combing with naturalists at low tide to local farm visits to the latest events at the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Children’s Theater and the Seattle Aquarium. Who could ask for more?
Our schools offer so many enriching programs and our parks and recreation department continues to provide a broad spectrum of classes, sports and fun events for those off-hours when you’re not at the beach, gone fishing or window shopping on Winslow.
With its low crime rate, the island also affords parents a bit of breathing space to allow their kids greater independence at an earlier age than they might otherwise in a large, metropolitan area.
Spend some time on the island with your family and you’ll no doubt understand how Bainbridge so consistently receives top marks.
