Beyond Seattle's northern suburbs is an area that's growing fast and offers "urban living" at a cost below what city-dwellers pay. Some areas still have a small-town feel, but they are disappearing as urban sprawl marches north.

 

• Bothell
• Brier
• Snohomish
• Edmonds/Woodway
• Everett
• Lynnwood
• Marysville
• Mill Creek
• Monroe
• Mountlake Terrace
• Mukilteo

 

All descriptions are from the Seattle PI

A steamboat stop grows up

Bothell was a popular steamboat stop along the Sammamish River when it became a town in 1908. Nearby forests were harvested, and the fertile valley yielded milk, butter, eggs, potatoes, hay, corn and other crops. Tech industries and growth in the past 30 years have transformed the valley from fields of crops and clover to office parks and a cloverleaf – the elevated intersection of Interstate 405 and state Route 522.

Wooded community and parks

Brier wants to be what it's always been: a basic, spacious and semirural wooded community. Even today a resident will occasionally parade down the street on horseback. The town is full of single-family homes, most of which were built during the 1980s, and crime is rare. Some of Brier's annual events include jazz at the park, Trolley Days Band in Brier Park and National Trails Day, centered around picnicking in the woods.

Tree-lined streets, antiques

With its tree-lined streets and fine heritage houses, Snohomish has slowly evolved from agriculture center into pretty bedroom community for Everett and King County commuters. Originally named Cadyville, after 1850s homesteader E.T. Cady, Snohomish has taken pride in its past, restoring an Historic Business District on a slope overlooking the Snohomish River.

Washington's "friendliest" city

Edmonds, with its small-town feel, European style and flower- and tree-lined walkways, is dubbed the "friendliest city" in Washington year after year. (Although some of the younger set prefer the nickname "Deadmonds.") Logger George Brackett founded Edmonds in 1890, naming it after Vermont Sen. George Franklin Edmunds – but spelling the name wrong. The city boasts art galleries, gift and antique shops, restaurants and cafes, bookstores, outdoor dining and striking views of Puget Sound. It's also a key ferry link to Kingston.

From boomtown to home port

Founded in 1893, the city grew out of an industrial boomtown that sprang up around the lumber industry, ore refining and the railroad. Located where the Snohomish River empties into Puget Sound, Everett's waterfront includes Naval Station Everett, home port for thousands of sailors, their ships and the civil infrastructure to support it. But it may be best known as the key manufacturing center for all of The Boeing Co.'s wide-body aircraft.

Ex-timber town once 'Hub City'

Just over a century ago, a densely wooded area that would become modern-day Lynnwood attracted a San Francisco company that began cutting timber. The town was originally nicknamed "Hub City." Lynnwood incorporated as a city in 1959. Today it boasts more than 245 acres of public parks, walking trails and open spaces perfect for picnicking -- not to mention busy, sometimes traffic-snarled streets.

'Quality of life is our way of life'
Marysville is not a hurried city. It is full of family parks with playgrounds and picnic areas – ideal for Saturday afternoons and lazy Sundays. In the 1920s Marysville became known as "The Strawberry City" because of an abundance of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries growing in the region. The Snohomish River Delta skims portions of the city, offering seasonal swimming, fishing, boating, kayaking and canoeing.

A planned community shunned

The tree-lined city began as a planned, gated community in the 1970s under the development of international corporations and investors who envisioned "Olympus" with a golf course and a community club. But residents decided instead to incorporate as a city in 1983 because they wanted more than that, including a tax structure and a police force.

Hometown in Cascade foothills

Monroe has a hometown feel whose historical downtown specialty and antique shops and restaurants welcome visitors. Incorporated in 1902, the city was named after President James Monroe, but 30 years earlier it had been known as Park Place. Logging, farming and fur trading were the early draws to the area, and Monroe's population grew steadily throughout the 1900s

Family living, outdoor fun

This city in Snohomish County, just above the King County line east of state Route 99, was first a farming and ranching area, but it became a popular place for World War II veterans looking to settle. Mountlake Terrace has more than 120 acres of parks with playground equipment and fields for soccer, basketball and baseball.

'Humpback of Mukilteo'

The city's name means "good camping ground," and it's just that for many who commute to Seattle or to Boeing's Everett plant. Plenty of shoreline and community festivals distinguish this south Snohomish County town. But Mukilteo could have had a different claim to fame. One of the early designs for Boeing's 777 was a 747-like plane with a distinctive hump on the fuselage. Its nickmame? "The Humpback of Mukilteo."