renton and leavenworth (Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond: rental, house, find a job)

[yohanna]

can anyone give us more information about leavenworth and renton? what about olympia?. our main interest are employment, construction for my husband.. home rental prices, we have small chihuahuas. we have no children so schools are not a major concern.snow is a plus. we have never been in any of these cities, so any information about them is much appreciated.

[Ira500]

Renton is close to Seattle and Bellevue, big cites, so most people in Renton work pretty close to home. 100 years ago it was a coal mining town, and the Boeing airplane plant has been a big presence in the town. Boeing is smaller in Renton now, and they've built a mall and housing where some of Boeing was, but it still has a reputation of being a working class town, and is ethnically mixed with some great little hole in the wall restaurants and the Cedar river and Lake Washington.
Most people moving to the Seattle area don't seek out Renton. The schools aren't as good as Issaquah's or Redmond's, and there aren't many upscale stores. But it costs less to live here, and you'd be in an area with more job opportunities.
Leavenworth is a mountain town that chose about 40 years ago to make all the storefronts look like a Bavarian village..it's really pretty, but there aren't a ton of jobs around.
Olympia is the state capitol and has the Evergreen State College , so there are more job opportunities than Leavenworth. Olympia's nice, good schools, very pretty, but it rains more than Seattle.

[melpotensky]

Renton and Leavenworth are opposites. Renton is much cheaper than most places to live in the Seattle area because it just isn't as nice but there are some lovely areas of Renton as well. You won't be getting snow in Renton, just a few times a year. Leavenworth measures snow by feet and not inches. We had a cabin in Leavenworth and there just isn't much work there and zero stores...a grocery and tourist type places. Wenatchee is about 45 minutes from Leavenworth and is a beautiful area with great medical care and tons of snow and it is much warmer in the winter than the Seattle area. Actually everything over by Leavenworth is much sunnier in the winter but much colder than Seattle and then much warmer than Seattle in the summer. Nice places that are cheap to live around the Seattle area are tough as everywhere is expensive, not only housing, gas but groceries are some of the highest in the nation. Try doing some research on Monroe and Duvall which are a ways out from Seattle but job opportunities are there. You could try the Camas area in SW Washington but jobs are not that plentiful there. Good luck. Everyone seems to have dogs here.

[MichaelinWA]

And if you do find a job, it may require you to wear lederhosen.

Seriously, in addition to Boeing, Kenworth Truck (PACCAR) has a lot of manufacturing jobs in Renton.

Originally Posted by Ira500

Leavenworth is a mountain town that chose about 40 years ago to make all the storefronts look like a Bavarian village..it's really pretty, but there aren't a ton of jobs around.

[AudreyofACDC]

I just got married in Leavenworth this past winter and it is an absolutely beautiful town. It does get a great deal of snow every winter and has Christmas lighting festivals every weekend of December. Most of the economic support is from tourism and not much else. The winter is the busiest but summer does have many festivals and outdoor activates such as river rafting, biking, and hiking. If you are looking for a slow pace and a little peace, Leavenworth is great. If you are looking for a good paying job and even a little excitement, look elsewhere. Good luck

[j_k_k]

Leavenworth, I think, is one of those places one either finds adorably quaint or baroquely hilarious and goofy. I lean to the latter, because as I understand it, Leavenworth has no authentic Germanic historic ties. It just woke up one day and decided to turn itself into a Bavarian retail park. Kind of like if I remodeled my house and yard to look like something Ukrainian when I in fact lack any known Ukrainian heritage, don't speak Ukrainian, etc. Or if I started walking around in a kimono affecting ultra-polite manners and otherwise attempting to pretend to be a Japanese.

The economic facts, I am told, are daunting. My wife has spent a lot of time in Leavenworth in the past few years, and it is evidently becoming one of those places with a rapidly aging population and housing too expensive for people making livings to afford (as opposed to retiring there with a good 401K after selling a paid-for house in Bellevue).

I will say this: Leavenworth has done a far better job playing Bavarian than Bingen did--and Bingen had the advantages of a German 'sister city' that was actually on the Rhine, if I understand correctly, just as Bingen is on the similar-sized Columbia.