Name good n'hoods and schools in Renton and nearby? (Seattle: to rent, houses)

[essdeebee]

Hi -- My husband may potentially transfer with his job, which would be located in Renton. He does not want to travel further than 30 minutes (actual driving time, for real, every day -- not wishful thinking, only on the very best of days, 30 minutes!) In order for us to know if we can make the move we have to know we can be in a good neighborhood and elementary school for our budget. I have seen posts saying "some schools in Renton are good", and being in education for 12 years I know that within a district individual schools can vary widely. And of course within a town there are areas and neighborhoods that are better than others. So, can anyone tell me by name specific areas or neighborhoods of Renton or nearby towns, and name specific elementary schools that are good? It would help me have specific neighborhoods to target when looking for available homes, since I am doing this long distance. I don't need it to be best or greatest schools (I don't think we could do Bellevue) but solid academically, with a positive atmosphere, attention to arts, fostering love of learning and creativity, and not only all about the test scores. We want an area that is good and safe for a family with young children, parks, activities, etc, and solid and mostly educated families in the neighborhood and school. During the week would be the usual school, sports, activities running around with kids, then on the weekend exploring the city and area, hiking, etc. A neighborhood with its own amenties like parks/restaurants/shops to walk or bike to is a plus.
How about any areas from Renton north, both toward Bellevue and toward Seattle? Burien? Again, specific neighborhoods and schools is most helpful!
Also, we would be renting a home since this will be only a 2-year stint. I can't say for sure what the budget would be right now, since we are not far enough along in the process to know yet what his COL increase would be. I'd like to have my research done first and know what we would need, to live where we would be comfortable, first. Which is why I'd like specific neighborhood and school names, to further my home search.
I actually lived in Seattle for a few years, some 20 years ago, but I was in my 20's and leading a very different lifestyle -- kids and school were not on my radar at all! I lived first in Capitol Hill, then "pill hill". We currently live in a city neighborhood similar maybe to Queen Anne.
Its a big move, and a daunting process just collecting enough information to make a decision. But, I think it would be a fun adventure, and I loved my time in Seattle dearly, so I would like my family to get to experience it too. Thanks for any help!

[Ira500]

Here's a few, in no particular order:

Newcastle- It's a town adjacent to Renton, also borders Issaquah and Bellevue. Has great hiking trails, nice parks, sense of community. Town is divided between Renton and Issaquah school districts. Issaquah is a better school district, but Hazelwood Elementary, in the Renton district but in Newcastle, is very good.

Maple Valley- Growing quickly, partly because the schools are very good. A lot of new businesses and houses, but no real downtown.

Eastern Renton Highlands- Also divvied up between school districts. Apollo Elementary and Briarwood are in the Issaquah district. Maplewood Heights is in the Renton district. All good schools. Jimi Hendrix is buried in the Renton Highlands. Lots of newer houses.

Benson Hill- A little more working class, but Benson Hill Elementary is well thought of. Its not far from the East Hill of Kent, which has a lot of ethic diversity, and great restaurants.

Fairwood- A Renton address, but in the Kent school district. Fairwood Elementary is pretty good, but not far away Carriage Crest Elementary and Glenridge Elementary are better, all in the Kent district.

The schools to maybe avoid in the Renton district are Bryn Mawr, Campbell Hill, and Lakeridge, all with Seattle addresses but in the Renton district. The area around there is mostly pretty nice, but not the public schools. Downtown Renton has some charm, and there are nice enough houses nearby, and the Cedar River trail, but the kids there are sent to Bryn Mawr(not too good).

And if you want to head Burien way, Marvista Elementary in Normandy Park has been very good for a long time. Downtown Burien is fun. Charming. Like a mini Ballard, but with a larger Hispanic presence. Just south is Des Moines. If you can find a place close to, or overlooking Puget Sound, it might be worth it. Des Moines Elementary is well thought of. But the eastern parts of Des Moines are kind of crummy. Downtown Des Moines is pretty.
Renton is physically pretty large, so you could still be half an hour plus from work in Renton and still live in Renton. What part of Renton is the job?

[Kalex]

we are in some weird no-man's land with an Issaquah address and schools, unincorporated King County, but people refer to it as East Renton Highlands. we are zoned for Apollo Elementary. My daughter's Girl Scout troop is all from Apollo and Newcastle Elementary- I haven't heard any complaints about either school. Newcastle Elem is much newer and nicer, Apollo has the Merlin program. We toured Apollo and my impression was that it was a warm, friendly school. Incredibly nice people in the front office who were very helpful. (That was not the norm in Issaquah)
There are quite a few neighborhoods between us (Squak Mtn) and Renton that might fit your criteria. Directly around Apollo and Briarwood are older residential neighborhoods. There are some new neighborhoods especially around Apollo, that probably have amenities but I admit I haven't been in them to know. I'm not sure if there's anywhere in Renton proper where you can have a community feel, lots of families, and walkable to shops and restaurants. Downtown Renton and the Landing have the shops, but I don't know that they are particularly safe and they don't feel like "community" areas.

[essdeebee]

Thank you for such detailed and specific information! The office is off 405, between 5 and 167. It doesn't matter if we can't walk TO shops and restaurants, I just want it to be a safe and fun area to go for walks and bikerides with the kids. Driving to the village/business district for Friday night pizza is perfectly acceptable! As much as I would love to live in the neighborhoods I remember from my days there, like Queen Anne, Fremont, Greenlake, etc, it doesn't seem that commute would be feasible, right? So, something similar would be great, with the main priority being safe & stable community and good schools.

So, your daughter doesn't go to Apollo? Did you decide against it for some reason? My daughter is a Brownie this year so an active troop is a plus

I'm going to look at the areas in these school districts, so thank you so much for giving me a good starting point!

[Kalex]

she doesn't go there, but it doesn't have anything to do with the school. She was coming from a full-immersion language school and I wanted an environment very similar to that one where she could continue learning the language, to keep the drastic shock of the move to a minimum

There's one HUGE Brownie troop at Apollo that won't take new girls (we tried). Ours has room though and is a mix of different schools. It's pretty active but laid back

Renton has become one of our favorite places bc it's so much less pretentious. The Eastside seems to get more and more so as you go north. It's a little tricky though with locations bc as a town, it's all over the place.