South King County/North Pierce County neighborhoods (Seattle, Spokane: for sale, real estate)

[gresford]

I currently live and work in Seattle. My wife is starting a job in Auburn in the fall and we are looking to move to either South King County or North Pierce County to be nearer to her job. I currently take the metro to work and I would continue to do so from wherever we decide to relocate.

I need some opinions regarding nice neighborhoods to start looking for a place to buy. Towns that I am thinking of include Auburn, Puyallup, and Federal Way.

Just to give you an idea of my thoughts, I would like to take the Sounder train into Seattle. This train stops at: Tacoma, Sumner, Puyallup, Auburn, Kent, and Tukwila. I would also be willing to take the metro bus in for the sake of living in a nice neighborhood.

Basically, what I am looking for are neighborhoods to explore and start studying real estate patterns.

Any help is appreciated!

[FoxyKnox]

Are you looking to buy or rent? You approx. price range would help us direct your search.

[gresford]

Good question. At this point we are looking to buy a townhouse or, even better, a house. We would like to have enough land to start a garden and possibly grow some fruit trees.Since this is our first home we will probably be looking for something in the 300K range or less.

[seahawksweetie]

We live in Bonney Lake (married, 2 middle school aged kids) which is just East of Sumner. My husband takes the train from Sumner everyday into downtown. Definitely beats driving.

We haven't lived here long, but so far Bonney Lake is very typical suburban...good schools, has the typical Walmart, Home Depot, grocery store chains,etc.

For the mall you will need to go to Puyallup, but it's not that far of a drive.

I know in our neighborhood they are currently building new homes, look very nice.

We are renting right now, did not buy until we have been here a while and could check out the areas. But so far, we love Bonney Lake.

[2PAK]

I moved to Federal Way last fall after to moving to the Sammamish-Redmond area in 1994. I love it here but, I dont commute every day to Seattle. I work out of my home and go to my office in Seattle about two times per month and I can pick the time I drive to it. More likely, I travel bi-weekly out of state and the commute to SEATAC is now shorter and easier for me compared to Redmond.

I choose my neighborhood carefully in Federal Way and its close (a mile or less) to the big transit center as well. Housing and rent are affordable here. I dont have kids now so I cant comment on the school system.

[FoxyKnox]

With your wife working in Auburn, I'd recommend not going much further south than that, otherwise both of you will have somewhat of a commute. 167 N can be icky in the am. In your price range, I'd look just south of Auburn at the areas known as Algona-Pacific, also Lakeland N and Lakeland S. There are nice, new neighborhoods going in that aren't atrociously expensive. You could commute to the Auburn Sounder station or back-track slightly into Sumner to pick up the train (this will cost miles, but may be faster than driving to Auburn, although the back roads probably aren't too bad).

Lakeland: Lakeland Real Estate and Homes for Sale in Seattle, Washington
Pacific: Pacific, Washington (WA) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news, sex offenders
Algona: Algona, Washington (WA) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news, sex offenders

I'd give you the links to Lakeland from City-Data, but their info is wrong--citing it is in Spokane Co. Odd. Anywho, at the bottom of the above pages, it shows mileage to the nearby cities (ie Fed. Way, Sumner). Plus it'll show median house cost in that area.

[gresford]

Thanks so much everyone for giving me what I need at this time; a starting point.

It's always nice to get a perspective from current or past residents.

If anyone else has any other suggestions regarding data like crime statistics, that would be helpful. We don't have kids yet so schools are not an immediate concern.

[HeavenlyAngel]

I would also suggest moving on a hill in any of those cities. Living in the valley is a call for higher insurance rates, lower housing costs usually, but that is because if Mt. Rainier (our other active volcano) erupts, the valley from Orting-Renton and through Puyallup and Fife are going to be under mud and water. Studies from UW and other Geographical surveys all state that Rainier is way past due for a major eruption.
Flood insurance is a good thing to invest in too if living in the valley. It doesn't happen often, but that one time is all it takes. It does flood every so many years.

There is crime everywhere you go. Even in my little gated community in Yelm, we had an attempted child abduction.

South Hill Puyallup is a very nice area. Many new housing developments, mall, shopping, restaurants, great area. Traffic gets hectic on Meridian (in fact horrid), but it is worth it.

[Prple]

I vote for Lakeland Hills in Auburn.

[seahawksweetie]

good point regarding living on a hill. I didn't think about that when we chose Bonney Lake. But after being here for a few months, I can see how it is a good thing.

Of course except for one of the snows earlier in January where they shut down the 410

But at least where we are, we don't have to worry about flooding.