Questions About Moving to Kent/Seattle...please Help :)

Hi L.!

Well, the Northwest is fantastic! Though you'll find it quite a bit cooler and rainier than Arizona, once you acclimatize, I hope you'll love it as much as I do!

I live just South of Seattle in Renton. We're a little East of Kent. I grew up in Maple Valley, which is just a little further out still.

Kent is a great city with great schools, but just like every sub-urban city it has the areas that you would want to live more than others.

Maple Valley is one of the 'best' places to live out here if you're looking for a city (which was still classified a 'town' less than 10 years ago) that is still very community minded! They have fishing derbys, a Maple Valley Days Parade, and great Schools (Tahoma School District, No. 409).

Kent also has awesome school, and some great places to live!! They're quite a big bigger, but there are still some great places to find where you can settle in and raise a family with great neighbors and schools.

Renton, where I currently live, is great, too. It's broken into 'downtown' and the 'highlands', which vary quite a bit from one another. I live in the highlands, and love it! We have fantastic neighbors and my daughter has a great pre-school!

If you're looking to live 'on some land', or further out, check out Enumclaw. They're still a town, and full of great people, some beautiful property, even new homes!

Out here, the difference of only 15-20 minutes in distance can mean a world of difference in what you end up paying on your mortgage, or rent, too!

Let me know if you want more budget-specific info. I've lived here my whole life, as have my parents, and I've worked and lived over most of the Puget Sound.

Good luck!! Let me know if I can help!!

Auburn and federal way areas are nice.

Kent is very quiet area of Seattle, it is actually a suburb of Seattle. Kent is about 15 minutes from downtown depending on traffic.

This area has been growing for the past two years and there are new homes being built all over the place. The downside to this is that the houses are so very close together and there really isn't room for a huge backyard.

The area that I lived in was Kent-Meridian and it is so beautiful and family oriented. The Kent School District, has the best schools in in Seattle. These schools have won several awards and has plenty of opportunity for the youth to excel in academics.

Shopping centers and restaurants are only a few minutes away. There are tons of parks in Kent, with dog trails and some even have water outlets for boating and other summer fun. I hope you will enjoy living there just as much as I have.

J., Renton,WA

Washington is beautiful just make sure that you prepare yourself for some rain. It does that quite a bit. Luckily summer is coming up so it won't be so bad.

If you like living downtown then you'll love living in Seattle. If you don't prefer the busy city life then you might want to look for a place in Kent or if you have the money then just across lake Washington off the 405 is Bellevue and it's surrounding areas. Anything off the 405 is pretty nice but it is more spendy. It's probably about the same price as Seattle (depending on what your looking for)

I've moved all over this state. I grew up in Pierce County which is Kent and South of that. I moved to Southern CA for a few years and then I came back to WA (Pierce County) but now I'm in Everett which is 30 North of Seattle. Everett is ok but there are alot of car thefts in my area and my area is not a bad area. Apparently North Everett is alot better and it has a lesser crime rate. I live in South Everett. Coming from Pierce County, we looked everywhere for a good and inexpensive place but King County and Snohomish county are just more expensive then Pierce, thats all there is to it.

I hope that helps you out. If you need to know anything else, don't be afraid to ask. I know my way around this area pretty well.

I live in the DesMoines area which is west of Kent. Its very nice, more quiet than the surounding areas. Its close to freeways, great schools and definately has a comfy feel to the community. Its close to the water, I live by Salt Water state park and I'm walking distance from the DesMoines marina which is great for activities with the my son. They have Saturday markets and the occasional festival. I've lived here my whole life and I highly recommend it! Good Luck!

Hi L.,
We recently moved from Tacoma WA to Auburn WA only about 30 minutes from each other, but Auburn is a wonderful hometown feel, that really supports the arts, and we are a family heavily into theater and music. Kent is nice too, and only about 15minutes from Auburn, but it doesn't quite have that same hometown feel that Auburn has, Seattle is the really big city. Anyway hope that helps, and hope you have a great experience with the move. We are starting a theater in Auburn, if you are interested in that sort of thing we will be needing lots of volunteers and it's a great way to make new friends, look us up when you get here, www.auburnregionaltheatre.org.
Jackie

Hi L., welcome to our area. I have been in Kent/Covington area for 7 years now. Moved from Arizona in 2000. I really enjoy the area. When will you be moving here?