Best bang-for-the-buck suburb?

[Kalex]

We have an Issaquah address but are in unincorporated King County. Zoned for Issaquah School District but the school itself is in Renton...bizarrely far away from my house but very well reviewed and rated. A house just sold down the street from us for $439. It needs a lot of updating stylistically. Ours was $450 on a short sale, 2800 sq feet on 2.5 acres. We have seriously easy commutes from here. It really depends on what you're looking for, but there are niches here and there that offer more affordable and much less traffic-heavy options.

[CT_trackstar]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

Good luck finding a school without portables. Enrollment has peaks and valleys, and no district is going to add real buildings to meet an enrollment bubble that could go away in a few years, so they all use portables, including the best schools in Bellevue, Issaquah, Sammamish and Redmond.

That's interesting. Well, the news reports also mentioned that Maple Valley voters have voted down 3 school levys since 1997, which makes me think the town is not committed to education.

I think we're going to focus our initial search in Bothel/Mill Creek/Kenmore/Mukliteo, and maybe get lucky with a bargain in Issaquah.

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by CT_trackstar

That's interesting. Well, the news reports also mentioned that Maple Valley voters have voted down 3 school levys since 1997, which makes me think the town is not committed to education.

I think we're going to focus our initial search in Bothel/Mill Creek/Kenmore/Mukliteo, and maybe get lucky with a bargain in Issaquah.

In the case of Maple Valley, I think there's a resentment on the part of the people who have lived there a long time against the large growth the town has seen. Because of all the new houses built, they need new school buildings, and the folks who have lived there a long time ask " Why should I pay for them?"
There will be another school levy voted on in a few weeks. At some point the people who are the newcomers will outnumber the oldtimers, and school levies will pass.
As far as Issaquah, the eastern part of the Renton Highlands is in the Issaquah school district, and closer to downtown Issaquah than downtown Renton. Schools are good, and home prices are lower. So if you want to reside in the Issaquah school district and buying in Issaquah proper seems out of reach, take a look at that part of Renton in the Issquah district, around where Kalex was talking about.