Shoreline, Washington

Located between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, Shoreline lives up to its name with prime beach access and coastal living. This idyllic city overlooks tranquil blue waters, framed by the dense greenery and mountains of the Pacific Northwest.

It makes sense, then, that outdoor living and recreational activities are big in the area. There are many parks, from natural preserves to athletic fields for soccer and courts for pickleball; two community gardens; and a number of walking trails to soak up the great outdoors. 

This year, the Shoreline City Council adopted the Parks, Recreation, Open Space, and Public Art Plan, a six-year project that aims to provide high-quality services to residents. The plan includes the expansion of a healthy urban forest, along with initiatives to make aquatics, parks, and public art more accessible. In 2022, the city established a Public Art Fund and has since added 25 permanent sculptures, such as conceptual installations, and temporary murals throughout the community.

Shoreline doesn’t have a downtown area, making it a bit of a bedroom community for those working in Seattle just 11 miles away. The latter is home to headquarters for Fortune 500 companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Starbucks, so there are ample job opportunities for those living in Shoreline. A light-rail service set to open in August, will make the commute from the suburb to downtown even easier. 

The tradeoff is a hotter housing market, with a median property sales price at just over $804,000, per Attom. But Shoreline’s Sharecare well-being score is 80 out of 100.