The small city on the eastern shores of Lake Washington is a quick commute to Bellevue and Seattle.
Population: About 3,000
Location: Medina is bordered by Lake Washington to the south, west and north, and 84th Avenue Northeast, then Lake Washington Boulevard Northeast, to the east.
Why people move to this neighborhood: It’s a peaceful, wealthy, small city (less than 1.5 square miles) on the eastern shores of Lake Washington. It’s a five-minute drive from downtown Bellevue, and a hop, skip and a jump from downtown Seattle over the 520 bridge. Residents say it’s a nice, private community with good schools and a convenient commute. Even its main roads are relatively traffic-free, and many private roads are lined with beautiful, well-maintained homes.
Distance from downtown Seattle: About nine miles, 20 minutes by car without traffic
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School district:Â Bellevue School District
Major employers: Microsoft, Zillow, Expedia; many others in the surrounding area
Housing: Large, single-family homes, many on private roads
Walk score (out of 100): 7 (input for Northeast 24th Street)
Transit score (out of 100): N/A (input for Northeast 24th Street)
Bike score (out of 100): N/A (input for Northeast 24th Street)
Historical facts: Medina’s humble beginnings go back to the 1870s and ’80s, when it was a tiny community with strawberry farms and fruit orchards. Thomas Dabney is considered Medina’s first permanent settler; he moved there in 1886 and bought land stretching along Lake Washington from today’s Northeast Eighth Street to Dabney Point. He was the first to build a ferry dock in Medina, and roads and other infrastructure soon followed. Though Dabney originally wanted the city called Flordeline, Medina eventually was named after a city in Saudi Arabia, which is also considered one of the holy cities of Islam.
Recreation: Medina has a few neighborhood parks, including Fairweather Park and Nature Preserve to the north; Medina Park (which is one of the largest in the city and has a playground, trails and two ponds); and Medina Beach Park, which is next to City Hall and has a grassy lawn, benches and a little public lakefront beach with views of Mercer Island and downtown Seattle in the distance. The Overlake Golf & Country Club occupies much of central Medina.
Zillow Home Value Index: $2,282,400 (as of April 2016)
Zillow Rent Index: $8,457 (as of April 2016)