Relocating to near Seattle (Tacoma, Federal Way: best towns, 2014, low crime)

[edhockey1]

Hello all,

I am being relocated for work to the Seattle area and need advice of where to live. My job will be located in Auburn and my wife will be seeking a teaching position in a local middle school. So far (from Realtor.com), I have found houses that seem interesting in Auburn, Puyallup, Lake Bonney, Sumner, University Place, Enumclaw and Renton. In saying this, we have not gone up to visit the area yet so we know very little about the individual towns. Here is what is important to us:
- drastically reduce my commute! Driving less that a total of 1 hour per day is important to me.
- quiet and safe - with three kids, we want to be in a community that has a great reputation for low crime rates and a family first atmosphere. Also, hopefully we are far enough away from the airport to avoid any noise from flyovers.
- Some land - At minimum a large lot if not up to .5 of an acre.
- good/great schools - Realtor.com provides school ratings but that is merely based on test scores. With my wife being a teacher, I have certainly learned that test scores are NOT the end all, be all for how to evaluate a school. It seems like Sumner and Auburn offer some good schools but of course, that is going off of a flawed system on the web site.
- Good access to parks and other free recreational activities. Playgrounds, bike paths to ride on and green fields to play with the kids is all we are looking for here.
- Decent access to normal amenities. 3 miles from a grocery store and some decent restaurants.

Here is what I know about the local communities:
- Auburn - Nice areas including new construction along with some industrial areas.
- Enumclaw - seems to be rural but I am concerned about access into Auburn. Is it a two lane road and just one way to get there? If that clogs up each rush hour, that may be a deal breaker for me.
- Puyallup - I hear it is growing fast and the roads are not keeping up with it which makes for heavy rush hours heading north. I want to avoid that but the houses look nice and in our price range as well as need. I have also heard the fair comes here in the summer and it is a nightmare as it relates to congestion/traffic.
- Sumner- mostly an older community but nice.
- I don't know much about Lake Bonney, University Place or Renton.
- We have ruled out Federal Way and much of Tacoma.

Thx all and appreciate any help anyone can provide.

[MondoTime]

First of all, count your blessings that your job will be in Auburn!


That lets you work with a seeming 'map' considerably different to that of most who are moving to the area.


It also broadens your range of pleasant-enough areas to target.


Sounds like you have a fair sense of the various reputations of communities nearby, and I can't enhance your awareness by too much in that way. (ruling-out Federal Way and Tacoma, for starters)


Enumclaw sounds very suitable to many of your wishes, AND, while the road to Auburn is significant to the commute you would have, and that of most others... IF, SAY, you awoke on a Wednesday morning to news of a huge tree having fallen across that road, it would be relatively easy to switch paths for a day. I just went to MSN maps and 'dragged' the path away from the A-E road, and found an alternate route through Buckley and Hwy #410 to reach Auburn in 37 minutes after 24.4 miles of driving. (the main road is 14.8 miles).

Do note, that on occasion, "Enumscratch" can have very high winds, and that we constantly hear of this or that having been toppled there during the once-every-year-or-two "wind storm" that passes through here.

Also, the Enumclaw weather is often drawn from its nearby mountain areas to find it more impacted by severe weather than might be the case in, say, the central Seattle region. Enumclaw's elevation is 760 feet, where central Seattle is very near to sea level. Enumclaw is quite flat, for the most part, where Seattle has unending hills, and I sorta like that vision (of the flat area) for raising kids, perhaps letting them be a tad more mobile.


Of course we'd all like to cross-reference the eventuality of your wife's teaching position TO the idea of "Enumscratch" but we can't do that.

Much of south King County is 'evolving' in ways that are not typically favorable... (the population being pushed farther and farther south, bringing all that comes with such a flow).

Auburn is certainly (heading that way)... and Kent is (already there)... but Enumscratch does have a 'buffer' of distance, and while there are indeed plenty of people commuting into central Seattle all the way from Enumclaw, the scurge of society is not yet that far out.

Looking ahead, IF/once they get to Enumclaw, just where else might there be for them to GO many years down the line?


As for raising kids in the here and now... Enumclaw would be a good feel in many ways... 'close enough'... but "FAR enough..."

If fate shined on you and landed your wife a teaching position in an adjacent community, I think it would be the best of all worlds.

[edhockey1]

MondTime...thank for the time and effort to respond to my post. It is greatly appreciated.

[Boxkicker]

Welcome to the NW....

Have you checked out anything for Maple Valley yet? Check out Tahoma School District and the rankings.

Some of the lots are close together, but mine for example is .26 acres and I never hear my neighbors unless they are outside.

To Auburn is a very short commute via Hwy 18.

Here are some links for you to ponder:

“One of the 10 Best Towns for Families” 2011 - Family Circle Magazine
"The Best Places to Raise Kids 2013" - Businessweek Magazine
"The Best Towns in Washington for Raising Kids" 2013 - NerdWallet
"Top 10 Hottest Suburbs in the U.S." 2013 - CBS MoneyWatch
"Top Booming Suburbs In America" 2013 - Coldwell Banker
"The 50 Safest Cities in Washington" 2014 - SafeWise
"Maple Valley is the #4 place in Washington for homeownership" 2014 - NerdWallet
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

[MondoTime]

Whoa,

Boxkicker brings up another excellent (factor) in highway 18.


Again, your bonus is that you are not lining-up the same popular commute known to everybody and his brother. So odd roads like highway 18 could really benefit you if choosing a spot northeast of Auburn.

Of course these paths are busi-ER during morning commute hours than they are at other random times, but you aren't sharing the same path with evvvvvvverybody.

Though I suspect that the home costs increase as you move toward the Northeast ON Hwy #18, but your research will tell you more about that than I ever could. Also, something in that direction just MIGHT enhance your wife's range of what would be acceptable for her teaching location.


Really glad to have somebody mention highway 18 !

[edhockey1]

Thank you for letting us know about Hwy 18 and the numerous links provided. We will take this all into consideration. Thanks again for your time!

[CarlB328]

Hwy 18 is a nice drive and gets you out of crowded areas fairly quickly.

[edhockey1]

Thanks Carl. What are everyones feelings on Renton or Kent?

[Boxkicker]

Originally Posted by edhockey1

Thanks Carl. What are everyones feelings on Renton or Kent?

Largely depends on which are of those two cities.....

Both have better and worse parts to them.

[KBrown28031]

I do not know why you would want to live in Kent or Renton if you were working in Auburn. You can find a lot more affordable housing in the cities mentioned above. Like another poster said, you are in a very good position with your job being in Auburn. You get more affordable housing without the 1 hour commute. Like others have said, if I was you I would look at Enumclaw, the eastern side of Auburn, Puyallup, Bonney Lake, Maple Valley, Covington and Sumner. All of those towns are safe and affordable. Renton is very expensive in areas and I cannot recommend Kent