Best city/town in South King area?

[Boxkicker]

I second Maple Valley!!! Great community for kids and the school district is awesome! I see and hear neighbor kids all over my neighborhood.

PS....Are you looking to buy? I am moving for a job and getting my house ready for sale here in Maple Valley....4BR, 3BA, 2040SF, Huge yard, no neighbors behind, easy commute to Auburn.

[CrazyDonkey]

You might also look at Puyallup and Fife.

[bergun]

I'm in the same boat as you. I'm retired, but seeking P/T, semi-F/T work in either Auburn or in Renton. I've looked at a couple of new constructed homes near the Lake Tapps area, but haven't made any moves in purchasing anything at this point since I want to check out the eastern side of both Kent and Renton first.

Born and raised in Seattle, but left for my work careers back in 1980, so the entire area south of Seattle has really changed Big Time!! Traffic in Auburn, Kent and Renton is getting worse, but still livable. As for crime, its everywhere, but after several recent trips, I noticed that the further "east" you go, the better the areas are... Will add some time to your travels to your work commute, but in the big picture, its not a bad trade off since quality of life is more important to me.

At this point, I cannot see myself moving to either Puyallup or Bonney Lake since the trade offs are not that great in my case... Both King and Pierce Counties have high property taxes and IMHO, the trade-off isn't worth the extra travel times.

[Prince Mongo]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

Prince, that's just nasty. You are better than that. I know a lot of good people in Auburn.

We had a six-page thread on this: //www.city-data.com/forum/seatt...e-serious.html

[Prple]

I would look at Lake Tapps, Sumner, Lakeland Hills in Auburn, parts of Renton and Maple Valley (which would probably be my top pick if it was me). Good luck!

[Boxkicker]

About Maple Valley


"The 40 Safest Cities in Washington" 2015 - SafeWise
“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

[sdditcher]

Thank you so much for this!!

[sdditcher]

Originally Posted by Boxkicker

I second Maple Valley!!! Great community for kids and the school district is awesome! I see and hear neighbor kids all over my neighborhood.

PS....Are you looking to buy? I am moving for a job and getting my house ready for sale here in Maple Valley....4BR, 3BA, 2040SF, Huge yard, no neighbors behind, easy commute to Auburn.

We are looking eventually to buy but wanted to spend the first year renting so we could have a full idea of neighborhoods before we bought. Would you be open to renting or lease to own? Direct message me if you are interested and would like to speak further about it!

[DevanXL]

For what you are looking for and budget I would look at Maple Valley, Renton Highlands, or. Puyallup. Do not listen to prince, they must think all the hundreds of thousands of people south of Seattle are just a bunch of degenerates running through the streets. Far from true. In South king county with a higher budget, the better question would be what neighborhoods are best rather then which city. Besides maybe maple valley, most of the cities in this region have ups and downs, moderate crime, and satisfactory amenities. Auburn has some neighborhoods with amazing mountain views, while Des Moines, Federal Way, and Normandy Park feature some spectacular views of the puget sound and the olympic mountains. One older couple ive met calls it the gold coast of the seattle area, while most people dont even think About amazing landscapes when they think of South King County.

[cis_love]

i lived in auburn when i first moved to WA and while some areas are nice, there are no middle school or high school rated higher than a 6 on greatschools.org. if schools are a priority, auburn isnt it. it's too bad b/c there are some very nice new houses (cheap!)