Is there something wrong with Renton, WA? (Seattle, Bryn Mawr-Skyway: income, live)

[scubashawn68]

I personally wouldn't live in Renton.

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by scubashawn68

I personally wouldn't live in Renton.

How come? have you spent a lot of time there?

[WAstate the obvious]

I agree with the last poster, though it is pretty much like any other city around, in that it has its desirable and undesirable areas.
My biggest pet peeve about Renton, other than the strange vibe it gives off, is the location. When it comes to traffic I don't think there is ever a good time of day to drive to or from the place, IMHO.

[skihikeclimb]

Originally Posted by SpikeDurden

hahahahaha i'd waaaaay rather live in Renton that Puyallup. Puyallup blows.

I have a bunch of friends who live in Renton in pretty nice areas in my opinion. Just check it out for yourself.

I think it is safe to say that Renton far surpasses puyallup. Puyallup is the ghetto.

[kay_rock]

Tolerance for renton is highly dependent on your standards. It is, for the most part, a pit. But if you are used to lower income living with very few services or amenities, I suppose it might be better than some other alternatives. I would call it a reasonably well-kept slum. It should be a charming suburb of Seattle, but inexcusably poor city planning (particularly when the freeway came through and left the city scarred and divided... a tragedy which could have been ameliorated with only the smallest amount of foresight and planning) has left it a cultural wasteland of unkempt yards and low-rent strip malls.

Checking out Starbucks will usually give you a good feel for a place. Right now I am at the Starbucks on 4th. It has small, sticky, graffiti-covered tables with hard, miserly little chairs and a few sagging and scratched leather chairs in the corner as a nod to the culture of Starbucks in more desirable neighborhoods. If that doesn't make your skin crawl, renton might be your kind of town.

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by kay_rock

Tolerance for renton is highly dependent on your standards. It is, for the most part, a pit. But if you are used to lower income living with very few services or amenities, I suppose it might be better than some other alternatives. I would call it a reasonably well-kept slum. It should be a charming suburb of Seattle, but inexcusably poor city planning (particularly when the freeway came through and left the city scarred and divided... a tragedy which could have been ameliorated with only the smallest amount of foresight and planning) has left it a cultural wasteland of unkempt yards and low-rent strip malls.

Checking out Starbucks will usually give you a good feel for a place. Right now I am at the Starbucks on 4th. It has small, sticky, graffiti-covered tables with hard, miserly little chairs and a few sagging and scratched leather chairs in the corner as a nod to the culture of Starbucks in more desirable neighborhoods. If that doesn't make your skin crawl, renton might be your kind of town.

Renton is 30 something square miles large. There are people buying million dollar homes with lake views in Renton, and they're selling quickly. Renton has almost 100,000 people in it, so it's got "lower income living with unkempt lawns" but also has parks, community centers, chocolate and wine shops, , etc. To simply state that one particular Starbucks in Renton is emblematic of the entire city is pretty narrow. I'm sure you can find a Starbucks in Seattle with uncomfortable chairs too. Does that make Seattle a slum?
I've lived in Renton for the last 16 years. Maybe I like it here in Renton because I have no standards and love lower income living with very few services or amenities, but I don't think that's the case.

[Plenus]

I'm going to have to say that in general, I do not like much of Renton. I'm going to be brutally honest and express my own opinion.Why don't I like Renton (at least the majority of it)? Well, number one is the roads (poorly designed). Renton has a few one-way streets as well as oddly angled ones...add to that, Renton is at a confluence of major roadways as well as a large Boeing plant. Huge volumes of traffic flows through Renton (I wouldn't exactly call it a flow). Morning traffic (from 5:30 - 8:45) is a complete and utter nightmare...as is the afternoon rush hour (more like 4 hours). Couple that massive amount of vehicles with thousands of people that seemingly just arrived into the U.S. and obtained (somehow) a drivers license. Total stress.
Some other reasons I don't care for Renton is that within the city limits contains some very undesirable areas of blight and neglect. This attracts low rent, low income people. I'm sorry, call me a snob, but for a family or a person used to higher standards...those parts must be avoided. The trouble is, you can't really avoid them if you live in Renton and need to go to various places in the city. And yes, Renton is very racially diverse. I don't particularly see that as a good thing at all. Diversity tends to bring issues...not harmony. But...that is just my opinion.
Does Renton have any good reasons to live there? Sure. As noted, Lake Washington and it's neighborhoods along the shore are pretty nice. Renton has done some revitalizing (The Landing) and improved much of the former blight. It's located within easy commute distance to Seattle and pretty much all other regional points. The transit system functions fairly well here. Most of Renton (excepting the very desirable areas) is priced less than some competing cities...especially points east. The downtown area has also improved and has some nice bars and eateries.

Anyway...those are my opinions.

[CrazyDonkey]

Bringing up a four-year old thread on Renton, just to bash it because it has some poor (black?) people in it? News: Most "cities" have poorer areas. Move to a boring whitebread suburb if that bothers you.

As was said, Renton covers a lot of territory, with widely varying demographics, income-levels, and life-styles, from rich to poor, white to black, young to old, and everywhere in between. It even has its own suburbs.

[Plenus]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

Bringing up a four-year old thread on Renton, just to bash it because it has some poor (black?) people in it? News: Most "cities" have poorer areas. Move to a boring whitebread suburb if that bothers you.

As was said, Renton covers a lot of territory, with widely varying demographics, income-levels, and life-styles, from rich to poor, white to black, young to old, and everywhere in between. It even has its own suburbs.

Are you referencing my post? If so, I have a few things to say.

And what's with the "whitebread" comment? So it's ok to disparage "white" people as "boring"...and call where they live a "whitebread" community? What a double standard. If I was to say that a predominantly African-American community was a "black-as-tar" neighborhood....you'd be up in arms.
I've noticed a few threads centering on where the most diverse and/or black communities are located....or which ones are most open to alternative lifestyles...etc. That's fine, and for a person that is of that ethnicity/race and/or sexual background...it's a fair question. But one big thing I notice here is that it's a one-way street on these message boards. Why? Well, I grew up white. My upbringing was a traditional average household. My neighborhood, schools, and culture was overwhelmingly caucasian. I like my heritage (German and French) and I like being around most folks that SHARE a similar western-euro culture. I am most comfortable that way. I really don't enjoy nor am comfortable with black culture.
What's WRONG with that? Nobody asks an asian or a black why they want to live in communities of a similar ethnicity....in fact it's almost celebrated. Especially if a white person decides to live in a very "diverse" part of a city...he's automatically treated like some sort of wonderful person. Why is that, exactly? Certainly, it's a choice each person needs to make...and not put down for it...nor should should a caucasian person be put down for wanting to live in a community reflecting that ethnicity.

I expressed my opinion (honestly) about how I feel about Renton. It's the truth as I see it. I'm not asking anybody to agree either. But at the same time, I don't need to hear slights or put downs because of my opinions. Nor do I need to hear how white neighborhoods are "boring whitebread suburbs". It's offensive and completely without merit.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by Plenus

Are you referencing my post? If so, I have a few things to say.

Did I quote or reference you? No.

You're mistaken if you think that the term "whitebread" is necessarily or exclusively a racial reference. Nor is it primarily a reference to racial exclusion, or segregation, but rather more likely to exclusion along income and cultural lines, which can result in a community in which most people are white. What "whitebread" does reference are homogeneity and lack of diversity.

Terms like "ghetto" or "slum", on the otherhand, particularly when frequently used by some to label whole cities, in my opinion, are none-too-subtle "dogwhistles" meant to convey to listeners that they might have to mix with undesirables (poor blacks, Asians, or Hispanics).