Is Kent really that bad? (Seattle, Bellevue: cul-de-sac, apartment complex, how much)

[mama922]

Safety is sort of a relative term. First off, there's not a lot of "walking around" as one would expect in an urban area in Kent. There's an older downtown area, mostly abandoned by major retailers - resale shops and a few cafes and restaurants are pretty much it down there. Would you be safe walking around downtown? Absolutely. Would you want to? Probably not. Where exactly are you working in Kent would be important. East side, west side, industrial, south near Auburn, east near Covington? That would determine the sort of public transporation that's available. I grew up in Seattle and have lived in Kent - moved due to poor schools for my child. Covington is icky, most areas with apartments in Kent aren't so good, Renton has some areas that have undergone gentrification but it's not enough quite yet to be a good place to live. If it's important for you to have an urban environment, live in Queen Anne, U District - perhaps consider Belltown (but not Georgetown), just be careful as there are many areas with a great deal of problems with the behavior of loiterers and such.

[kimbercutes824]

Originally Posted by mama922

Safety is sort of a relative term. First off, there's not a lot of "walking around" as one would expect in an urban area in Kent. There's an older downtown area, mostly abandoned by major retailers - resale shops and a few cafes and restaurants are pretty much it down there. Would you be safe walking around downtown? Absolutely. Would you want to? Probably not. Where exactly are you working in Kent would be important. East side, west side, industrial, south near Auburn, east near Covington? That would determine the sort of public transporation that's available. I grew up in Seattle and have lived in Kent - moved due to poor schools for my child. Covington is icky, most areas with apartments in Kent aren't so good, Renton has some areas that have undergone gentrification but it's not enough quite yet to be a good place to live. If it's important for you to have an urban environment, live in Queen Anne, U District - perhaps consider Belltown (but not Georgetown), just be careful as there are many areas with a great deal of problems with the behavior of loiterers and such.

I am just looking for some place pretty decent where I won't feel scared to walk around and that is not dirty or run down, that has affordable apts that are pretty nice and clean, the apts do not have to have a lot of amenities or anything super special just something basic and clean. Preferably one bedroom for a decent price $800-$900 range.
The area of where my place of work would be that I would transfer to would be on 76th ave which I believe is an industrial area. I know that buses do not go within a mile of my place of employment so being near buses for work isn't an issue, I will have to drive. But I want to have access to transportation near by for going into Seattle directly.

Like I pointed out before I am from Cicero, IL originally and that place has a horrible horrible wrap and would be considered a bad neighborhood and has a bad reputation. So my standards are not that high. Yes I live in Boise now that is a really clean city, there are certain parts that are questionable but nothing I would be scared of. I hope for that in the Kent area or a short commute to where my place of employment would be.

[swerver]

Kent is a model of respectable living compared to Cicero.

[Flightoficarus87]

If you came from a seedy area of Chicago, I'm not so sure that anything in WA is going to be as bad as that. As others often say here, there aren't really "true" Ghettos in the greater Seattle area, but there are still some undesirable areas of course.

That being said, Kent, like anywhere else, has it's good and bad spots. IMHO, downtown/central Kent, and east hill have some parts that can be somewhat seedy at night, but using common sense should keep you out of trouble. As far as commuting goes, alot of the housing in Kent tends to be near the west or east hillsides of the valley. Most of the valley itself is warehouses/industrial settings, and businesses, but pockets of housing can be found as well.

Other nearby areas worth considering that would be a short commute if you're not going to live in Kent (depending where in Kent you work) are Des Moines, Burien, Renton (on the hillside), or parts of Auburn, the first 3 all being better options if you wish to be closer to Seattle. Des Moines has a cool waterfront/Marina based downtown area that has some small town charm to it, and Burien has a pretty walkable downtown area with things to do, as well as decent accessibility to Seattle by bus, or a quick drive down hwy 509 (Where you can avoid I-5 traffic!).

Overall, Kent isn't THAT bad, but there are also some nicer areas nearby that are still more affordable than areas within Seattle city limits. Just do yourself a favor and avoid areas like White Center, Skyway, and Rainier Valley though.

Hope this helps!

[jamaylamay]

I recently moved for a job in Northgate and live in Kent due to the fact my boyfriend works in Puyallup, Kent and Tacoma. Plus ive got the more economical car. Anyway, I love Kent. There are so many choices for food, outdoors like trails and parks and it's pretty easy to get to Seattle in non traffic hours, shopping in Tukwila, and really getting away from the city scene if you want to in certain areas south of here. It all depends on what you expect out of life and where you live. It's very middle of the road and I like that. There are extremely nice neighborhoods here too. As in with any town. Be smart and safe and use common sense. Would I go for a hike on the trail down the road at night, probably not, but we did accidentally leave our door literally wide open while being gone for hours and everything was as we never left. We live in a gated community apartments so maybe that helps. I actually want to find work down this way since the commute does take it's toll. Ps, the biggest advice I can give is no matter where you move from the grass is never greener. Sounds cheesy but it can be a useful life lesson Good luck!

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by jamaylamay

There are extremely nice neighborhoods here too.

Where? As far as I can tell Kent has a few areas with somewhat upscale homes, but the schools are significantly worse than what you'd get spending a similar amout for a home on the Eastside.

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by mkarch

Where? As far as I can tell Kent has a few areas with somewhat upscale homes, but the schools are significantly worse than what you'd get spending a similar amout for a home on the Eastside.

Interestingly, most of the best schools in the Kent school district are not in Kent. The Kent district is bigger than just the city of Kent, and has schools with Covington addresses, Renton addresses, and Balck Diamond addresses. Within Kent, Matin Sortun elementary school is on par with many of the schools on the eastside as far as test scores, but has some interesting demographics: About 55% of the students receiving free or reduced price lunches, and only 29% white.
Carriage Crest and Ridgewood Elementaries have Renton addresses, but are in the Kent district, and Sawyer Woods has a Black Diamond address, but is in the Kent district.
I don't disagree that there are a few very high priced homes in Kent with meh schools, but there are also areas within the Kent schol district(not necessarily within the city limits) that have great schools and far lower home prices.

[RotseCherut]

Just got back from Kent and only got shot a few times.. Afterwards I went for some great food at an Indian Buffet restaurant after doing some shopping at the ethnic stores and getting all kinds of cool treats and exotic foods.

Downtown Kent is straight up ghetto, but the heavy police presence seems to produce and equilibrium of safety, which doesn't let the bad element get out of control. The area is very blue collar, grimey, gritty and industrial , like Tacoma, but even a bit grimier.

However, the multi-ethnic feel to Kent actually makes me love the area a lot more than the sterile, souless, white-washed culture of Seattle. Seattle is great and all, but it lacks any multi-ethnic culture, despite being a major city. Being in Kent, I really felt like I was in a diverse environment.

FOr example, tonight I was at Fred Meyer in Kent..

The first person in line was an Arabic couple speaking in their Arabic language. The people behind them were a Russian family speaking in Russian. Then there was me, an Eastern European descended Jew. Standing behind me, was an African American guy. Then, as I was walking out of the door these two Punjabi guys were blabbering in their language and I said hello and greeted them in Punjabi. They seemed shocked and I smiled, wow, you guys are speaking Punjabi.

That just goes to show you the interesting mix of culture that Kent has.

Living in some nasty ghettos in Portland and Los ANgeles, Kent does not seem all that sketchy or bad. There are a few crazies walking around the downtown who talk to themselves though. I don't see much of a heavy gang presence, but I am sure living in the apartment complexes would be sketchy. I am sure if you lived outside of those complexes, the rest of the town is fine.

[RunTheDistance476]

Originally Posted by The Siobhan

I love Kent. I'm also from Illinois (you know Danville?) and Kent reminds me of Danville in some ways; I think of the population being those who work in industrial or manufacturing environments. Thus, it is rather diverse with significant Black, Asian, and Latino populations (but nothing compared to Cicero). It isn't a posh or flashy suburb like you will find on the east side but if you live closer to 18, you will find newer subdivisions.

The crime index is slightly higher than Cicero and twice the rate of Boise, but still much lower than Danville (and Danville is a third of the size of Cicero and Kent), so I consider it a relatively safe place. I think you will find that many people up in the Seattle area will label just about any area with a significant Brown population to be unsafe thus an unworthy spot for raising their kids and sheltering their family. Or, at least that is the impression I get after hanging on this board for so long.

So is Kent really that bad? No, not really. But it truly depends on your comfort level in terms of ethnic and economic diversity. I'm comfortable here, but I'm also Brown and have many blue collar relatives.

Yes, because the Eastside is a bunch of rich white guys, huh? The hate for the eastside by locals is actually kind of pathetic.

[seattlerain]

Originally Posted by wlw2009

Yes, because the Eastside is a bunch of rich white guys, huh? The hate for the eastside by locals is actually kind of pathetic.

I think you are reading too much between the lines.