Seattle/Tacoma area

[misysu2]

We''re moving after our wedding to the SeaTac area. We''re planning on buying a house there-- can anyone from this area give me an idea on those little towns in between; Federal Way, Puyallup, Milton, Edgewood, Kent, etc.?

Would you live there? Why or why not?

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!

 

[misysu2]

Well FI will be working at Ft. Lewis, so we''d like to stay south of Seattle. I may end up working in Seattle, which is why we''re trying to find a town in between.

 

[Sparkalicious]

Misysu2 - How about Renton? There are a lot of nice areas in Renton.

My bf and I have actually talked about moving there after we are married. He presently lives in the Rainier Valley, which is closer to the downtown area.

 

[Sparkalicious]

Date: 1/11/2008 3:43:36 PM
Author: Sparkalicious
Misysu2 - How about Renton? There are a lot of nice areas in Renton.

My bf and I have actually talked about moving there after we are married. He presently lives in the Rainier Valley, which is closer to the downtown area.

Misysu2 - I just emailed my bf with your inquiry and he answered with the following:

"Federal Way and Seatac are more like the big city.
Puyallup and Auburn are like the country.
Renton is a good mix and it has easy access to everything.
Fairwood is not bad.
West Seattle is not bad, houses are reasonable and it''s very close to the city.
Fife is not so bad and neither is Des Moines, it''s up and coming."

I hope that helps.

 

[misysu2]

Date: 1/11/2008 4:02:18 PM
Author: Sparkalicious

Date: 1/11/2008 3:43:36 PM
Author: Sparkalicious
Misysu2 - How about Renton? There are a lot of nice areas in Renton.

My bf and I have actually talked about moving there after we are married. He presently lives in the Rainier Valley, which is closer to the downtown area.

Misysu2 - I just emailed my bf with your inquiry and he answered with the following:

''Federal Way and Seatac are more like the big city.
Puyallup and Auburn are like the country.
Renton is a good mix and it has easy access to everything.
Fairwood is not bad.
West Seattle is not bad, houses are reasonable and it''s very close to the city.
Fife is not so bad and neither is Des Moines, it''s up and coming.''

I hope that helps.

Super helpful!! Tell your bf THANKS!

 

[Sparkalicious]

Great! I will. Good luck!

 

[sunnyd]

Kent is pretty far east from Seattle, I used to live sorta by there in Maple Valley commuting to Seattle for school, which can be a biotch. Traffic just sucks here in general!

Puyallup is up and coming for sure, so is Auburn, and there''s trains that take you right downtown, which is very handy. Lots of new developments being built, but it is still kinda country (ie, quieter than Renton) for sure. Fairwood is around there too, kind of a mix of all three cities.

As far as the others, I don''t know much about ''em. I''ll look for places in between Ft Lewis and Seattle...

 

[JohnQuixote]

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and visit friends in Seattle every so often. I absolutely love Renton. It was great back in the day and remains fantastic, but it could be a hassle commuting to Ft. Lewis. A word to the wise: Driving in the afternoons anywhere in the Seattle area is no bueno.

Auburn is an economically priced area and centrally located for your purposes. Kent is slightly more expensive; a little farther from Seattle. I don't know what homes in those areas look like now but it was groovy when I was dating/stomping around there in the 80s-90s. A local could answer the quality question better than I.

Both Auburn and Kent have Sounder stations (as sunnyd mentioned) so one option in those cities is taking the train into Seattle and walking or bussing to the office. The Sounder train actually starts in Tacoma so riding from Tac to Sea is doable if you wanted to live closer to Ft. Lewis.

If you're expecting kids you may want to stay away from Federal Way and Highline schools. My understanding is that they're underfunded and over enrolled - at the present time anyway.

I've only driven through DesMoines, which is 20 mins from SEA and 30 from Ft. Lewis (not accounting for peak frustrating traffic times) but it seemed pretty hip. Though it's out of your practical zone, I think living near Bellevue on Lake Washington would be hyper-cool.

If you haven't seen it, www.johnlscott.com has a tool on their website for finding houses in an area rather than simply by city.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 1/11/2008 7:04:22 PM
Author: JohnQuixote


I''ve only driven through DesMoines, which is 20 mins from SEA and 30 from Ft. Lewis (not accounting for peak frustrating traffic times) but it seemed pretty hip. Though it''s out of your practical zone, I think living near Bellevue on Lake Washington would be hyper-cool.

Yes, Bellevue would be a great place to move! I live near that city and LOVE the East Side.

I''m sorry to say (and this may make me a snob), but I wouldn''t EVER move to any of the cities you mentioned!!! I''m so sorry, but aside from the great price of real estate, they''re not the best of locations. Also, my uncle use to live south in Fed. Way and the airplanes dumped their extra fuel loads before decending into Seatac and he had BLACK on his walls from that. It was horrible!

 

[MrsRogers]

I just moved from Redmond to Kent and have to say that I am pleasantly surprised with the area (especially having moved from such a fantastic location in Redmond). Kent was never an area I thought I''d consider when it came to buying a home, but this is where we ended up.

I think most places you''ll find have pockets of good and bad, and Kent covers an area of something along the lines of 29 square miles, so that''s a pretty large area, and while some people say they''d never move south a lot of the cities/suburbs are really convenient as far as traveling downtown. I will say that I-405 is one heck of a commute at anytime of the day, but Seattle traffic is just a pain in the bum anyway so you learn to live with it. On a good day it takes me roughly 25 minutes to get to Downtown Seattle, and 20 minutes to Bellevue. Someone mentioned Bellevue a little earlier, and while it is a lovely city, it''s on the eastside and housing prices tend to be on the high end of the real estate scale (not always the case but generally speaking).

A real estate agent friend mentioned that Renton has been touted as an up and coming neighborhood, and I''ve found that you can find almost anything your heart desires in Renton.

I can''t really advise on Federal Way as I haven''t spent much time there at all, and the only thing I know about Puyallup is that I love going to the fairs they hold at the fairgrounds there.

Tukwila may be an area you want to check out. There''s a huge mall (Southcenter) and several smaller shopping complexes surrounding.

Goodluck!

 

[sunnyd]

The eastside is great (I also reside there) but also expensive, and far far away from Ft Lewis. But I knew a woman who commuted from Tacoma to Issaquah everyday, so it is doable...but good luck finding a decent house for under $400,000!!! Hahaha, I know, it''s always possible...

I agree with MC in that I personally wouldn''t live in any of those places either. Sorry to say. But maybe that''s because I''m a snobby eastsider!!! I''ve heard good things about Fife, but I''ve never been there.

 

[misysu2]

The are just the kinds of helpful tidbits we were looking for, and I knew you kind PSers would pitch in! Thanks so much! What have you guys heard about Tacoma itself?

We''re not going to have kids, and may only be in WA for 4 years. We''ve been stuck in a tiny apartment in central Houston and can''t wait to have a house and see some grass and trees and a little less construction!

I''m going to try to get a job in Tacoma, but I do museum stuff, so Seattle may work out better. It''s good to know that the Sounder makes stops in between at Kent and Auburn though! Hopefully we can figure out my job situation before the house purchase.

PSers really are the best!

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 1/11/2008 7:14:41 PM
Author: MC

Date: 1/11/2008 7:04:22 PM
Author: JohnQuixote


I've only driven through DesMoines, which is 20 mins from SEA and 30 from Ft. Lewis (not accounting for peak frustrating traffic times) but it seemed pretty hip. Though it's out of your practical zone, I think living near Bellevue on Lake Washington would be hyper-cool.

Yes, Bellevue would be a great place to move! I live near that city and LOVE the East Side.

I'm sorry to say (and this may make me a snob), but I wouldn't EVER move to any of the cities you mentioned!!! I'm so sorry, but aside from the great price of real estate, they're not the best of locations. Also, my uncle use to live south in Fed. Way and the airplanes dumped their extra fuel loads before decending into Seatac and he had BLACK on his walls from that. It was horrible!

MC – You live there so I'm sure your insight is good. As I said before, my time in Auburn/Kent was in the 80s-90s. I will admit I’m surprised to hear your comments about Kent. I have a friend who's happy there and I always thought he had high standards. I haven’t been to his neighborhood but he never complains about the ‘champagne taste’ of the places I like to eat in Seattle when we meet.

I lived in Renton for a couple of summers and dated a girl from Bellevue for some time during college. That’s when I learned to love the East side. It did not seem practical for our original poster’s situation though.

Your uncle’s FedWay experience sounds like it scarred you. I don't blame you. I was a bit scarred by the Seahawks today…my namesake dropped some key passes. If we were related I’d give him a hard time at the next family BBQ.

 

[sunnyd]

Kent''s not bad, they''ve cleaned up some of the areas to look really nice. Some of the areas (which can also be said for some areas of Bellevue!) are a little scary, but if you get into the right neighborhood, I''d live there. I like Covington for the shopping.

I don''t know much about Tacoma, aside from the aroma...hahaha but even that is mostly clear now. Avoid University Place at all costs!!! Lots of crime. I''d say Auburn or Fife would be a good bet.

John, agreed about the Hawks, a great tragedy...hehe.