Advice needed on an area in Auburn (Seattle, Bellevue: appointed, house)

[muff15]

Hi, and thanks for any responses ahead of time. I have been doing a ton of reading in the WA forum and it has helped so much, yet can be confusing sometimes because you know that some of the suggestions are what people like too.

I have gotten a pretty good idea of what areas are this or that for whatever reason, but the area of Auburn confuses me..

I found a really nice home there I want to look at. I have actually a few homes I want to look at also in the North Bend area, Issaqua, Redmond, Camano Island, and Bellevue to are the main one's that come up.

Back to Auburn. I see this on the bottom of list a lot..or not so much an area that gets suggested. I have also seen it described as not so good and even getto.

In my lookings of homes that I like, I found one in Auburn that was really, really nice..and better be for one and a half million. Yet, nothing will be good if the overall area is bad for whatever reasons.

Just a quick explanation. I know I want to be basically in the Pacific Northwest or at least a trip to Seattle in a day is doable. I don't have to worry about a morning commute, or time or weather, or schools or anything like type of neighborhood except for nice and safe.

So when I started to look it was more for the type of home I want, then a certain area around Seattle, or near.

I found a couple of homes on Camano Island too, but no one ever mentions Camano.

Don't want to be right in the city because we really want a house in a quiet area that has space and large yard and some area. That's why we really like the homes we found on Camano and in Northe Bend..yet we really like some of the homes in Issaquah, Bellevue, Redmond.

Issaquah, Bellevue, Redmond, North Bend, and Camano Island seem to be the places that keep coming up after we put in what sort of home and neighborhood we are looking at..yet our favorite house so far is the one in Auburn. I don't know the neighborhood. I don't think I am allowed to leave a link but the address is SE 326th St. Doesn't mention an actual name for the area except for Auburn. This house has everything we want..well over 6000 square feet, about on four acres, indoor pool, built in late 2000's, top of the line everything..yet none of this matters if so many think that Auburn overall is a bad area..for whatever reasons.

Thank you so much!

[Ira500]

While there are parts of Auburn that aren't real nice, the area where that house is a really nice area, near the Washington National Golf Club and Lake Holms.
If you drive around Auburn, a lot of it doesn't look or seem much different than Bellevue, but there are parts of downtown Auburn that are less than savory...not all of downtown Auburn, and in fact there are parts of downtown Auburn that have charm and good restaurants, etc....but...
it's south, and like other parts south of Seattle,Auburn has a somewhat undeserved stigma. It was largely agricultural until not all that long ago, and had a lot more lower class and working class folks than eastside or northend cities. It's changed, and is pretty economically mixed now. Lots of professionals live in Auburn and commute to Seattle on the Sounder train.
The bad? The Auburn public schools don't have a good track record or reputation...
If you're a single driver commuting into Seattle, it can be a slow slog.
But some of Auburn is really pretty, especially heading towards Black Diamond, which is where that house is....And you do get a lot more house for the money in Auburn.

[muff15]

Thank you for the detailed and fast response. Don't need to worry about any schools and if we commute into Seattle, it would be more on our terms. Not a daily week day morning thing.

I am learning as I read more and more through this forum, that the south areas get more of a bad wrap. Maybe it's due to the drive or just that the area doesn't draw as much of a savory crowd as the north and west does.

I am certainly realizing that there are homes in areas that may not be on the top, top list of ideal areas overall, but as long as it's not a completely dumping area, you sure do get a lot more bang for the buch if you pick the right area..of that area.

[secret_squirrel]

The Auburn public schools don't have a good track record or reputation...

Got to represent... working in a nearby district with a "good reputation", I am very thankful my children attend Auburn Schools and not my district of employment. When we relocated from the north end, we chose our neighborhood because of the schools, after researching. I've not been disappointed. Beautiful facilities, new technology, well organized with ample enrichment opportunities in addition to basics.

To answer the OP's question, I think you will be happy with that area of Auburn. It's rural, quiet and peaceful. Downtown Auburn is industrial and a city criss-crossed by train tracks which lowers it's desirability. But the area around WA National is more remote and quiet. I have noticed that there is greater visible poverty and more industry in the south sound than other areas of Puget Sound that I have lived.

In general, I believe that the south end gets a bad rap because it is generally more blue-collar (with greater gaps between rich and poor) and densely populated than the north, as well as more diverse.