Moving to Auburn vicinity (25 mile radius) (Seattle, Tacoma: real estate, budget, lease)

[deprogram]

We just moved to the greater Seattle area seven months ago, and are currently living on the Kitsap peninsula. My wife just got a job in Auburn, and the commute is killer (65 miles, over the Narrows bridge). Obviously this is an untenable situation.

Our lease is up next month. I'm desperately trying to decide where to live within reasonable commuting distance of her work. I'm defining 'reasonable distance' as 25 miles, just to include south Seattle, and places farther north such as Issaquah and North Bend.

We'd like to rent a house, with a fenced back yard, and a reasonable amount of space and privacy, yet still also be within reach of Seattle for shows, etc. It would also be nice to be able to not have to drive more than 7 miles to find a Thai restaurant. I'd prefer not to live right off a strip mall. Otherwise, really, pretty much open to living anywhere, north of Auburn and south of Seattle. Where should I look? Are there places that aren't completely populated by chain restaurants? I actually like Poulsbo, it's just too far away from everything here.

Budget is around 1500-1600, of course if I can pay less I will but I don't expect that's reasonable.

Any help? Really new to the area, and still figuring out where everything is.

[Ira500]

Both downtown Kent and downtown Renton have good Thai restaurants and are close to Auburn. Renton is growing and becoming more vital every day, with a farmers market and live theatre and a walk along the Cedar River, and a couple of parks on Lake Washington...Downtown Kent has an incredibly good bakery. Both towns have a lot of homes both in the downtown area and also within a few minutes drive.

[Prple]

I like the Lakeland Hills neighborhood in Auburn. It's a new, planned comunity with lots of parks, walking paths, etc. and a little downtown area.
Auburn Real Estate, Sumner Real Estate, King County Real Estate, Ken Freed
Lakeland Hills : Home

[deprogram]

Looks like Renton is it. It's not as cheap as, say, Tacoma. I think it's probably worth it to be close to Seattle, though. We've found a nice place, now the burning question:

Is it worth $400 a month or so to be in Renton rather than Tacoma? It's vastly closer to Seattle. The whole reason we moved here was to experience Seattle (and Washington, too).

I just feel that if I move to Tacoma I won't see much of Seattle, simply because it's too much of a drive.

[Dynst1988]

I agree with Prple you should check Lakeland Hill in Auburn.

[beauty4ashes]

I grew up in Las Vegas and I'm always thrilled to hear when someone gets outa there.
Congratulations! Washington has to be one of the best places to live on earth. Good choice.

Lakeland Hills is a nice development. Although the city of Auburn is not the most desirable to live in. (I personally don't like it at all.) The cities and towns near there are much better -- edgewood, algona, and my favorite, Sumner.

And although Tacoma has improved vastly over the last few years, if Seattle is what you're interested in, you're going to be happier being closer rather than farther. You'll save gas, too. Bonus!

[bigtrees]

I wouldn't rule out being close to Auburn. Several people have mentioned Lakeland Hills and I agree that's a nice place.

There's a lot of nice neighborhoods in the vicinity of Auburn. Unless you have a special reason to want to be in Renton, it'd make a lot more sense in my opinion to live close to work. That depends on the job stability.

As I posted before, you don't live in Auburn because you want to live in a nice, cute little town with cute little stores lining main street. But there are really good reasons to live around here, and a big part is the city government stays out of your hair unlike King County or City of Seattle.

There are some nice rural properties as well that are worth checking out if you like rural. One neigbborhood worth looking into is the Highland Meadows subdivision. I'm biased because it was my aunt that did the plat years ago. But the houses are reasonable (400k) and it's a nice subdivision if you like houses that were built in the 70's and 80's. Again, you don't live there because you like new homes, but you live there because you like big trees and big lots.

[Lady of Roses]

Hi there!

I live in Algona. Algona is basically a little residential area just south of Auburn. For a point of reference, The Supermall is about a 5 minute drive from here. There are some older houses that do need some TLC, but as a whole the area is pretty nice. I'm in a 5 year old subdivision (we moved in when the subdivision was built), and it's pretty great. Kid friendly, parks, walking trails, etc. I went to GRCC and it's about a 15-20 minute drive from here to there using the #18 hwy. You can buy a 2000+ sq foot house that is less than 5 years old for around $300k here.

Algona is definitely not any sort of 'city' area. There isn't a whole lot of businesses here, it's mostly relatively quiet residential. It's in a GREAT location for getting to bigger cities though. I can get to Puyallup, Federal Way, Auburn, Kent, Renton, Tacoma, and Southcenter in 20 minutes or less (as long as I'm not trying to go during rush hour). There's a transit center in Auburn (10 min drive thru town) that allows you to take the buses, and also the commuter trains to Seattle stop there.