Questions about Kent, Washington? (Seattle, Tacoma: affordable apartments, renting, crime rate) - (WA) -Seattle and King County Suburbs - City-Data Forum

WestVsEast · 09-14-2012, 09:40 PM

I have been contemplating a move to Seattle for a while now, but a problem im having in making the move is I would actually have to work in Kent, Washington. Is Kent even considered part of the city of Seattle? To me it looks like its just some small industrial town situated between south Seattle and Tacoma,but if im just working there I dont really mind what the vibe of the town is. Also if I wanted to live in Seattle proper what are some neighborhoods where the drive to Kent everyday would be doable? In my research I have found Shoreline to be a really good value just outside of the Seattle area, but it looks really far from Kent, is that drive even close to doable? Also any information on the train that goes to Kent would be great...Thanks in advance.

Inkpoe · 09-14-2012, 10:53 PM

Uhmmm.... Do not look at Shoreline! General rule of thumb, if you work north of the city, live north and vice versa.

Hardly anything "small" about Kent... it's a very well populated suburb (so, no not a part of Proper Seattle) and the general traffic will remind you of this. There's a good amount of racial diversity... lots of homes and affordable apartments around. Its also a bit bland, with areas that can be skeevy; it has the Kent Station which doubles as a mall and a train/bus station. The train that goes through Kent is a heavy rail commuter train, which has a limited schedule; you might find it more convenient to use the bus instead.

If living in Proper Seattle is important, then look to Columbia City, West Seattle... even Capitol Hill would be fine (though just a bit more traffic getting out of Seattle DT).

I'm not sure what you mean by "really good value" because generally living south of Seattle is more affordable than north.

WestVsEast · 09-14-2012, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

Uhmmm.... Do not look at Shoreline! General rule of thumb, if you work north of the city, live north and vice versa.

See that's the problem I am having, If I were to make the move I really want to live in the North Seattle area. Anywhere from Shoreline, Greenwood, Ballard, Wallingford or that vicinty is where I think I would really want to be. I have looked at West Seattle, Alki, Beacon Hill, and Rainier Beach and those areas dont seem to be exactly what I am looking for, they seemed a bit overpriced and the people seem a bit I dont know "hipster",but I could be totally wrong I have never been there. And I'm not living in Kent. If I am going to relocate to Seattle, I dont want to relocate into a giant suburb outside of it. I think I could make Beacon Hill work though. Ive looked at the train routes and schedules from North Seattle to Kent and it seems like a nightmare. I think the only logical choices for me would be the Beacon Hill, Seward Park, Rainier Beach Areas, what is the general opinion of those areas?

robertpolyglot · 09-14-2012, 11:54 PM

A friend of mine from the East Side once said "If Tonya Harding was from Seattle, she'd be from Kent." Does that help?

WestVsEast · 09-15-2012, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robertpolyglot

A friend of mine from the East Side once said "If Tonya Harding was from Seattle, she'd be from Kent." Does that help?

Lol thank you that really does help, that's exactly what I was looking to hear. Thats what I was thinking the area was like. In my city the south side sucks too. Im going to have to either figure out the commute from North Seattle, or just put the whole thing on hold because I dont think I would want to live anywhere in South Seattle.

Inkpoe · 09-15-2012, 12:53 AM

I see... Doesn't sound like you're strong on "hipster"... yet you're looking at places like Ballard, Greenwood, and Wallingford?

And I'd never known anyone to associate/label Rainier Beach as "hipster"... because it is not. In fact, its generally one those areas we Seattleites tell people stay away from. Do look into Beacon Hill, Seward Park/Mt. Baker/Columbia City areas. Shoreline isn't part of Seattle proper, it's another suburb... Why not just look into Burien, Normandy Park instead? The convenience and affordability is there.

I don't know what hours you're working, but during commuter hours, just the drive from Shoreline to Seattle DT will be at the minimum of 35 mins. You're talking of public transportation, which is definitely going to be much longer than that and you want to take the train which means you either have to go further north to Edmonds or get yourself to DT Seattle via bus -- at which point, why not just continue taking the bus? The convenience is already there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by robertpolyglot

A friend of mine from the East Side once said "If Tonya Harding was from Seattle, she'd be from Kent." Does that help?

No, she'd be from Auburn.

The Siobhan · 09-15-2012, 07:05 AM

I love Kent. I'm planning to move back there in October.

I had a job interview in Renton and I had to drive down from Greenwood during the morning rush hour. I took Northgate Way over to the I-5 South Express and got off at MLK Boulevard and drove through Renton to my destination. That, oddly enough, took about 25 minutes but that's Renton. You would probably have to take 167 or 405 at some point and those routes are highly unpredictable! I would say that the furthest into north Seattle you could go and have a reasonable commute would be Greenwood, Maple Leaf, Northgate, or Green Lake. I would take a bus down to the Sounder Train Station and take the Seattle to Tacoma Train. It stops at Kent Station and depending on where you work, you can probably find a bus going in that direction.

Hemlock140 · 09-15-2012, 07:58 AM

Just last week I drove from Belltown near downtown Seattle to Kent, down near the justice center. It took about 40 minutes, at mid-day with very little traffic. Going home, it took over an hour to get to Issaquah with 167 and 405 both jammed at just after 5pm.

Ira500 · 09-15-2012, 01:32 PM

I'm not saying you should live in Kent, but assumptions about a place can be very wrong and limiting.
First of all, Kent is the 3rd most populated city in King County, just a few thousand less than Bellevue. Kent has about 121,000 people living there. It is not small either physically or population wise. It does have some industry, but it also has farmland. It has a gay bar, a great Greek restaurant, a terrific bakery, a brewpub, a jail, a college, and lots of other things.
You have decided, without any real knowledge, that South is bad and North is good. Maybe in the Civil War, but not necessarily in the Seattle area. The biggest difference is school districts, North in general has much better schools. You like Shoreline, but Kent really isn't all that different, except for the schools. Shoreline has some high crime areas, Kent has some high crime areas. Just how many times have you been to Kent? And you want to consider Rainier Beach? Rainier Beach has a much higher crime rate than Kent, and less to do. If you want to come here to City-Data sincerely looking for information and opinions of people who are familiar with the areas you're interested in, keep the opinions you've got based on nothing to yourself.

WestVsEast · 09-15-2012, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

I see... Doesn't sound like you're strong on "hipster"... yet you're looking at places like Ballard, Greenwood, and Wallingford?

And I'd never known anyone to associate/label Rainier Beach as "hipster"... because it is not. In fact, its generally one those areas we Seattleites tell people stay away from. Do look into Beacon Hill, Seward Park/Mt. Baker/Columbia City areas. Shoreline isn't part of Seattle proper, it's another suburb... Why not just look into Burien, Normandy Park instead? The convenience and affordability is there.

I don't know what hours you're working, but during commuter hours, just the drive from Shoreline to Seattle DT will be at the minimum of 35 mins. You're talking of public transportation, which is definitely going to be much longer than that and you want to take the train which means you either have to go further north to Edmonds or get yourself to DT Seattle via bus -- at which point, why not just continue taking the bus? The convenience is already there.

No, she'd be from Auburn.

First let me say sorry for the generalization I have done on here of any area I have very little knowledge about. For example I had no idea Rainier Beach was a bad area, thank you for that knowledge, I will scratch that neighborhood off the list lol. As far as Kent goes the only knowledge I have about the area I have gathered from emailing w a future co-worker about the area. My future co-worker told me "you do not want to live in Kent", without gathering further details about why I just figured the area was not for me and have completley ruled it out as a place to live..The prices in Burien are amazing. But im assuming there has to be a reason for that. I'm not looking for cheap as much as I am looking for value. I saw great value as far as what im looking for in Shoreline, but Shoreline's not going to work. I have found a few great apts in Greenwood, and I'm really leaning toward just putting in an application there and figuring out the commute once I get there. And I am just renting the first year anyway so if the commute proves to be as bad as I think it is going to be then I will move my search further south once I have gathered more first hand knowledge on the South Seattle neighborhoods..I just think it's really great Seattle is going to be getting an NBA team back in town! Im really excited to move to Seattle whatever neighborhood I end up in!