Is Kent a nice area to live? (Seattle, Tacoma: apartment complexes, crime)

[HappyJohn]

I've seen some parts and it always looked a little older and more industrial as opposed to scenic and beautiful. Am I just missing the nice parts, or do I have it about right? The schools seem mixed from my limited research, with some areas great and others not as good. Are there newer communities around here that are nice to live in?

[Haakon]

It depends on which part of Kent you're in, Kent covers a very large area. Along hwy 99 and down in the valley is industrial, further east by hwy 18 it's much nicer, more trees, more green, more privacy between houses. Of course there are new subdivisions too that cram people in, but over all the east side of Kent is very different from the west side.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ke...47c86dbf15005a

[Prince Mongo]

No.

[Ira500]

Yes, there are newer communities in Kent that are nice to live in. The Northern part of Kent just east of 167 is one, particularly heading north towards Renton. Also east near Clark Lake is nice. Parts of downtown Kent are crummy, and much of the east hill is a little run down, but very ethnically diverse.

[RotseCherut]

It's probably one of the more ghetto neighborhoods of the Puget Sound, but it has some nice areas on the Eastern side of the city in the East Hill area. The city of Kent itself is kind of a pit, but they do have some nice Indian food stores and restaurants. CHeck out the Sikh Boutique they have in the little Indian mall if you really want a bizarre shopping experience.

[homesinseattle]

Kent is far from "ghetto". Rotse, maybe you need to go down there and meet some of the nice people I have met. I've helped a number of clients and friends with homes in Kent, they seem very happy and pleased with what they got for their money. There are some nice developments and a huge perk is being able to catch the commuter rail (Sounder Train) for an easy affordable ride into downtown Seattle.

[NCDavid]

Originally Posted by RotseCherut

It's probably one of the more ghetto neighborhoods of the Puget Sound, but it has some nice areas on the Eastern side of the city in the East Hill area. The city of Kent itself is kind of a pit, but they do have some nice Indian food stores and restaurants. CHeck out the Sikh Boutique they have in the little Indian mall if you really want a bizarre shopping experience.

Ghetto? Really? I've heard some derogatory things said about Kent, but I've never heard it called a ghetto. It is more working class than some suburban cities around Seattle but in no way a ghetto. Nor is the city a pit by any stretch. The downtown is dated, as are many of the downtowns of most South King County cities but it's clean and safe. There are a number of nice suburban neighborhoods to the east and west of downtown.

[RotseCherut]

Originally Posted by NCDavid

Ghetto? Really? I've heard some derogatory things said about Kent, but I've never heard it called a ghetto. It is more working class than some suburban cities around Seattle but in no way a ghetto. Nor is the city a pit by any stretch. The downtown is dated, as are many of the downtowns of most South King County cities but it's clean and safe. There are a number of nice suburban neighborhoods to the east and west of downtown.

Kent is clean and safe? Interesting... I use to live near there and go there time to time for its Indian stores and that Hawaiian coffee shop.

The town is a weird mix of gang bangers, Sikh Punjabis and just average working class people of all races, white , hispanic, black, etc. It was the one town in the Puget Sound where I would see a bunch of gangsters rolling around in low-riders blasting their music kind of like back in the 90s . Even, I don't see much of that in Tacoma.

On that note, I didn't feel it was very unsafe. The gangs there seem to just like rolling down teh streets and not make much trouble. Many of them may have not been real or hardcore gangbangers, but they definitely like rolling around the streets in groups thumpin their sound systems.

I also see a lot of mentally disturbed people walking around the town. Is there a mental institution somewhere in the vicinity? What is with all the deranged people walking around there, especially downtown?


I would hardly call Kent a safe and clean town, it is very gritty and has some questionable people. On that note, I would not call it a gang ridden slum either. However, it does come off to me as kind of ghetto.. Although, nothing as bad as let's say a California "ghetto".


My previous landlord was on the Kent PD for many years and said there was not a single neighborhood in that town he would live. He said it is crime-ridden and that it may not be as obvious from first glance, but there is serious problem with crime in the city, especially in the apartment complexes.

[homesinseattle]

Rotse, you left out the evil Filipinos, Latinos and South Sudanese (a few of the many ethnic groups that have pretty tight knit family oriented communities in that area).

[Hemlock140]

The downtown feel is largely due to the Regional Justice Center, with prisoners and parolees going to court every day, and sleezy law offices around there. There is also the ShoWare Center which can attract all kinds and crime for some of the events. I had Superior Court Jury Duty and thought the place was pretty sketchy, but walked to a nice, newer commercial area for lunch. I also saw many nice areas farther up toward the north and east. Even the worst parts are not even close to ghetto, however.