Renton- What is the deal? (Seattle, Tacoma: apartments, condos, safe area) - Washington (WA) -Seattle and King County Suburbs - City-Data Forum

movingtosettle · 09-15-2008, 12:34 PM

We are moving to Seattle area soon. We need to find a place between Ft Lewis and Seattle.

Best of location Renton seems to be a good choice, but I keep hearing good and bad about the area. Can someone please tell me about Renton? The good, the bad, the ugly? Where are the good parts? Should we stay away? Tell me everything.

My son will be about 2 when we move there, but I also want to think about schools, etc.

Thanks.

allforcats · 09-15-2008, 01:12 PM

Not to worry! Like most places, Renton has its lovely areas and its not-so-lovely areas. Northeastern Renton is a charming and safe place to live, and is in the Issaquah public school district, one of the very top in the state. As a woman, I would enjoy living there, and in the other nice areas of Renton. Please remember that some people would rather gripe and tear things down than shape their own lives for happiness...

Ira500, a regular and knowledgeable contributor to this forum who knows Renton very well, can tell you about the charming and safe areas in Renton for you to consider living in. I wish you joy!

Ira500 · 09-15-2008, 01:40 PM

I live just outside of the Renton city limits, and Renton is where I do most of my shopping, entertainment, and recreation.
The bad first:
Overall, the school district is not good. There are some really good schools within the district ( Sierra Heights Elementary, Kennydale, Bryn Mawr) but there are also some pretty bad schools. Some parts of downtown are rundown and not thriving. Parts of downtown Renton are borderline sketchy, particularly the area between Airport Way and Renton High School, and also the area bordering Martin Luther King/Sunset/Rte900.
But Kennydale, Fairwood, Bryn Mawr, Lakeridge, and parts of the Earlington neighborhood are very nice. The east part of the Renton Highlands are also quite nice. There's a little pocket area not far from the Cedar river heading towards Maple Valley that's also very nice. That area is in the Tahoma ( Maple Valley) school district, which is far superior to the Renton district...And the east Renton Highlands is in the Issaquah district, also very good.
Downtown Renton has seen a lot of new apartments and condos in recent years, and most of them are quite nice. That's also meant new shopping and restaurants. Renton has some great restaurants and shopping that's quite varied, ranging from ethnic supermarkets and discount produce stands to a Whole Foods type store, and places that sell very high end wine along with hosting tastings to places that sell Mad Dog 20-20. ...There are great places to walk, the Cedar River trail amongst them. There's a big public outdoor swimming pool, and public beaches along Lake Washington.
There's also a place called the Black River Riparian Forest which has one of the largest blue heron rookeries in the Puget Sound area.
Renton is a much older town than Bellevue, and for a long time was a " Joe Lunchbox" kind of place. It was early on a coal town, and later was a Boeing town. There is still a Boeing plant in Renton, but they've sold off some of their property for retail and residential, and many people who currently live in Renton are professionals who commute to Seattle and Bellevue.

allforcats · 09-15-2008, 02:06 PM

P.S. Once you come here and look around, I'm sure you'll find, as so many others have, that this is a pleasant place to live.

Haakon · 09-15-2008, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by movingtosettle

We are moving to Seattle area soon. We need to find a place between Ft Lewis and Seattle.

Best of location Renton seems to be a good choice, but I keep hearing good and bad about the area. Can someone please tell me about Renton? The good, the bad, the ugly? Where are the good parts? Should we stay away? Tell me everything.

My son will be about 2 when we move there, but I also want to think about schools, etc.

Thanks.

Between Ft Lewis and Seattle is a very large area with some of the worst commutes in the country. Where are you going to be working? You really don't want to commute from Renton to Tacoma/Ft Lewis.

Ira500 · 09-15-2008, 10:09 PM

My sister commutes from Renton to Lacey everyday, not far from Fort Lewis, and it takes her 35-40 minutes.

Haakon · 09-15-2008, 10:15 PM

Sorry IRA500, I don't believe it. It's 50 miles from Renton to Lacy, how exactly does your sister make that drive in 35 minutes ever much less every day in rush hour?

Ira500 · 09-15-2008, 11:52 PM

I know that she doesn't commute at rush hour, and I know that she drives fast, and maybe it's called Lacey but is actually a bit closer?

allforcats · 09-16-2008, 12:09 AM

WSDOT mileage chart says Renton to Olympia: 52 miles.
So Renton to Lacey would be about 45 miles or so, right?

WSDOT - Highway Map - Mileage Chart - Starting from Renton

Haakon · 09-16-2008, 08:49 AM

Google maps says 49.2 miles from Renton to Lacey, but even at 45 miles it's one LONG commute for most people, especially the majority who don't commute at off times like Ira500's sister.

I don't think anyone would be surprised at a typical 90 min commute between Renton and Lacey. Just yesterday it was 45 min between Seatac and Bellevue which is only 15 miles and runs through Renton.