BethM

Like many cities in south King county, Renton has come up a lot lately. South King county has a reputation of high crime rates and many of its cities were completely run down. In the past ten years, though, Renton has come up a lot. In many ways, it's more family friendly than Seattle. Houses are larger and driving and parking is easier. Still, you want to be sure to pick a good neighborhood, especially if you are raising a family. Some neighborhoods are really run down. Cedar Mountain is a great area for families, but it's getting expensive and traffic is crazy. We recently moved to Kent because we needed a four bedroom and my husband can just take the Sounder to Seattle instead of driving or taking the bus.

Kent is a great place to live if you find the right area. Some neighborhoods aren’t that nice while others are great. Kent gets a bad rap, but it isn’t as bad as people make it out to be. Houses are cheaper so we were able to get a four bedroom so the kids would have their own rooms. We live in White Horse Crossing, which has a great park and a walking trail. The Kids go to Martin Sortun Elementary School. It’s one of the best in Kent. Our oldest son loves it there and his younger sisters will be joining him soon! When they’re older, they’ll go to Kentridge High School, which is in Washington’s top twenty. The only downside to Kent is traffic. My husband commutes to Seattle, which is a big pain. It’s a terrible drive so he takes the Sounder. It’s much faster than the bus and less stressful than driving.