raspberryricotta

Hi everyone, after graduating from college in december, I will be moving to Washington state. I have been offered a job in Kent, and it's been my dream to live in the Seattle area! So which areas should I look into that's close to seattle, but also close to kent? (Making sure the commute isn't terrible) I hope you guys can help me out!


Thanks!

happytrailstoyou

Kent is 20 miles from Seattle.

If you are not going to live in Seattle, it makes sense to live in Kent. You will be lucky if you can avoid commuting to work.

Perhaps somebody will know which towns in the Kent area have the best public transportation to and from Seattle. It is inconvenient to bring a car into Seattle because the cost of parking is steep.

HTtY

tomfuller

This should get you started. http://www.apartmentguide.com/neighb...Cascade-Vista/
You can take some type of train into Seattle from Tukwilla or the SeaTac airport.

Fodorite018

I definitely would NOT live in Kent! If you can, live in Seattle. You will enjoy it MUCH more. Our DD graduated from college a few years ago and lives in downtown. One of her sorority sisters lives in Kent and absolutely hates it, and is counting the days till her lease is up so they can move. Yes, the commute can be ugly, but it just depends on what is important to you. Our DD did the commute thing to the east side for a while and for her it was worth it so that she could have the city experience for living, etc.

happytrailstoyou

I suggested what to do If you are not going to live in Seattle. If you are going to live in Seattle, I suggest you check out the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

I do not know if Kent is a desirable place to live. About 125,000 people live there. It must have something to offer in addition to the train to Seattle. I would not rule it out.

Even Oroville, Washington (population 1,686) has at least one good place to spend at evening: Pastime Bar and Grill.

I know of no place between Kent and Seattle that has a reputation for being a more desirable place to live than Kent, but perhaps others do.

HTtY

suze

Just try to live on the south side of the city somewhere to shorten up the commute. Do NOT move to Kent (believe me that would not be your dream of moving to Seattle!).

Neighborhoods like: Central District, Beacon Hill, Columbia City, Rainier Valley, any thing to the south of downtown and with easy freeway access for your commute.

I love Capitol Hill (have lived there for 20 years) but it is VERY expensive and pretty much impossible to find affordable housing for newcomers starting out.

Bobmrg

I live in Renton and travel to Kent frequently. There are nice areas and not-so-nice areas, and that is true everywhere. Go to www.zillow.com and check out prices for rentals and sales. Look at pictures of potential locations. I like Renton a lot and would not live anywhere within the Seattle city limits and commute.

happytrailstoyou

Do NOT move to Kent.
I definitely would NOT live in Kent!

Yikes!

Why not say "Do NOT work in Kent" or "I definitely would NOT work in Kent"?

You make the town seem like a hellhole, which it is not.

Are you trying to make the OP feel badly about his/her first job out of college?

HTtY

suze

No one said anything negative about the job. No one said don't work in Kent. That's fantastic that she/he has a job right out of school.

BUT they also said "it's been my dream to live in Seattle"... so we're just trying to help make that dream come true.

suze

And mms is stating true & current experiences of real-life college graduates. Couldn't get any closer to the OP's situation.

Fodorite018

Thank you suze You said exactly what I was thinking. Yes, I was trying to relate a similar situation where the couple has huge regrets of living in Kent.

suze

I would look for any south Seattle neighborhood like the ones I mentioned above (maybe even include the south part of West Seattle?) with the best Metro bus (or maybe LightRail?) connections to where you will be working in Kent. Or if you are planning to have a car and drive, than the easiest freeway connections.

Welcome to Seattle!! suze

happytrailstoyou

Oh!

Merriam-Webster definition 3 (ironic)

suze

What are you talking about?

Gretchen

I have NO idea of the area but wouldn't the commute FROM Seattle TO Kent not be too bad since, at least in my mind, it would be against the usual traffic? People living in Kent would be going TO Seattle?

suze

Gretchen, Yes that's true, although the traffic's so bad here these days the "reverse commute" isn't what it used to be. The freeways are pretty much busy 24/7.

I *love* Seattle and wouldn't trade it for anything... but the traffic is pretty bad.

For this person I would recommend a popular Seattle residential neighborhood for a happy life (Capitol Hill, Central District, Fremont, etc.) and just make sure you have a decent express bus connection (wherever you find the apartment) to do the commute to work Mon-Fri.

So you're in Kent for the job, but you're somewhere reasonably central in Seattle for the rest of your time, to make friends, activities, etc.

Gardyloo

The OP needs to give us a bit more information, for example, will s/he have a car or be reliant on public transportation?

raspberryricotta, you might want to check out the Seattle area board on City-Data, http://www.city-data.com/forum/seattle-area/ - which has a terrific amount of information (and lots of opinions) useful for people moving to this area.

NorthwestMale

OK, so you know that the constant here is your job location IN Kent (which we don't know - NOR should you reveal it to us).

BUT IF you will consider taking a bus to the job, then have these Bus Routes handy for reference:

http://metro.kingcounty.gov/schedules/180/s0.html

That first one goes from Burien to Auburn via SeaTac Airport and through central Kent


http://m.soundtransit.org/schedule#40_560


That one goes from a main shopping area in "West Seattle" (called Westwood Village to spots where you can easily connect with buses that go to Kent) (it connects with that 180 bus, which serves Kent, at the Burien Transit Center, and while each goes TO SeaTac Airport, they do NOT stop at the same exact place there)


If I were you, I would buy a map and then 'blow it up' with a copy machine, putting a star on the workplace in Kent, and then finding all of the bus/train routes that get right near to your job, and then winnow down the areas where you might live using that as a first guideline.

IF indeed you will be driving to work each day (with free parking, etc)... then your options are somewhat more vast.

You'll have a reverse commute going on, in some scenarios, so that will help, but you need to be strategic in your selection, weighing commute times and quality of life in the various potential neighborhoods.

We can't tell how near to central Seattle you will want to be on weekends, or the like, but your greatest priority should be a decent neighborhood followed by a tolerable (if not convenient ) commute.

artsnletters

When I moved to the Seattle area some years ago, I lived in Renton for the first year. It was a 20-mile drive into Seattle to go to a street fair, see an art-house movie, go to the symphony, etc. As a result, I didn't get to any of those places very often - the drive was a turn-off. Personally, I'd rather live where the action is, convenient to the fun stuff, because I know one way or another I'll get myself to work, but getting to the fun can require more get up and go.

When I lived in Seattle, I lived near Green Lake, which is a nice residential area, but if I were a young person, I'd pick one of the neighborhoods others above have recommended.