Maple Valley or University Place? (Tacoma, Federal Way: houses, neighborhoods, new construction)

[nvrhome]

We will be relocating to the area in a few months and making our first trip to visit in a few weeks. We have found houses in both Maple Valley and University Place that are in our price range and appear to be in good school districts. Could you compare/contrast the two areas? We are looking to be in an area close to daily conveniences, shopping areas and restaurants. Prefer a newer construction house, neighborhood with lots of kids, etc.. (Commute will be to Federal Way) We have also considered Renton, but it appears to be slightly more expensive with some not so great schools. Thanks for your help!

[ttz]

UP is close to Tacoma which is a good and bad thing. Lots of stores and shopping, etc. (bad as in like that shooting at Wal-mart in Lakewood! lol) But it is a upper scale area than say Maple Valley which is more country and underdeveloped.

[Ira500]

Maple Valley has seen a lot of growth in recent years and seen a lot of nice, upscale housing built. It also has a great school system.

[mthomson]

UP to Federal Way could be a rough commute, depending where in UP you land. There are some great new construction homes in great neighborhoods. When I lived in UP for 2 years, I realized I wasn't close to anything (15 minutes to the store, 15 min to the HWY, etc). I loved it there, great for running and biking, gorgeous walking trail overlooking the water, clean, safe, good schools, but it was a drive to get anywhere.

[Prple]

My vote is for University Place. There is a part of Renton that is part of the Issaquah school district (which is good). I also like the Proctor area of Tacoma, but like you said, the public (high) schools might be iffy.