burien? (Seattle, Federal Way, Renton: real estate market, affordable apartments, to rent)

[trumpetfreek]

I'm considering the Burien area as a place to live. It looks like there are some nice affordable apartments, and the area seems nice. But I'm wondering if anyone knows about what the commute time is to Renton, around 4 or 5 in the morning.

[Ira500]

At 4 or 5 in the morning, commute time from downtown Renton to downtown Burien would be not more than 15 minutes, but could be less or more depending on where in Renton and where in Burien.

[LordBalfor]

Originally Posted by Ira500

At 4 or 5 in the morning, commute time from downtown Renton to downtown Burien would be not more than 15 minutes, but could be less or more depending on where in Renton and where in Burien.

I agree.

And by the way, living near Burien myself, I'm VERY pleased with the changes going on there. There have been many improvements since I first moved to the area in 1990 - and even more improvements currently underway. Old Burien has improved dramatically, and once the Burien Town Square project is completed it will be even better. It used to be that the area was completely deserted after dark, but now, with several new upscale restaurants along SW 152nd, the area is already much more lively.

Add to this the fact that Burien has a very convenient location - with fairly quick access to downtown Seattle (via 99 or the various surface streets), the huge shopping choices available at nearby Southcenter, and the available presence of nearby Puget Sound and to me Burien is really a pretty overlooked place with a very bright future.

Some areas are sill a bit dicey, but overall the trend is clearly towards improvement over the last decade or so - and my guess is that will continue in the future.

Ken

[Ira500]

Burien has amazing waterview property that's usually a pretty good value. And Seacrest Park is one of the best in the Seattle area.And there's a Trader Joe's and some amazing tacquerias. What more do you need?

[francesa420]

I'm considering a move to Burien to be near my daughter (and potential grandchildren) in West Seattle. My mother & I own a condo in Sun City,
AZ, and with the real estate market as it is, we may have to become
winter visitors, so we're considering mobile or manufactured homes.

Ideally, I'd like a 55+ community with activities for seniors. My 92-year-old
mother loves to go dancing.

I'm semi-retired from college teaching and mostly working online, so the
commute is not an issue. I'd like to be near a major library and a good
writing community. We're also looking at Des Moines and Auburn. Any
advice would be appreciated.

[LordBalfor]

Originally Posted by francesa420

I'm considering a move to Burien to be near my daughter (and potential grandchildren) in West Seattle. My mother & I own a condo in Sun City,
AZ, and with the real estate market as it is, we may have to become
winter visitors, so we're considering mobile or manufactured homes.

Ideally, I'd like a 55+ community with activities for seniors. My 92-year-old
mother loves to go dancing.

I'm semi-retired from college teaching and mostly working online, so the
commute is not an issue. I'd like to be near a major library and a good
writing community. We're also looking at Des Moines and Auburn. Any
advice would be appreciated.

I don't know right off of any mobile parks in Burien (or Des Moines for that matter). In general mobile parks are pretty much disappearing from the greater Seattle area as the property values have simply gotten too high. I've seen one park in Seatac just west of International Blvd. It's pretty old, with very high density of older units and it's kind of down in a "hole". All in all not particularly attractive.

You might find something out in Auburn, but even there it's they must be few and far between (I don't know of one right off, but I don't go to Auburn that often). I know that 15-20 years ago there were several mobile home dealerships in Auburn, but last I passed along that route they were all gone - maybe moved out to Puyallup or even further out.

Ken

[wannabeaTexan]

There is one in Renton and one in Federal Way that come to mind. I *think* they are both senior communities.

[Ira500]

There is a mobile home park on Lake Washington just north of Renton, The Lake Washington Beach Mobile Home Park 206-772-9990.
Closer to Burien, or more precisely between Burien and Arbor Heights is the Suburban Villa Park 206-246-4391
Near Sea-Tac Airport is the Bow Lake Park 206-244-4755...
There are also plenty of apartment complexes catering to the 55+ crowd.

[francesa420]

Thanks for the great info. This gives me a good starting place.
I hadn't thought about apartment complexes.

I love this forum.

[ohanby]

A lot of the 55+ apartments are fairly new (at least the ones I've seen in the area) and very nice. I know a lot of them have a thriving community with fun activities. They are reasonably priced as well. If I was 55+ (I'm only 28) I would look into them!