But once you hit the city limits of Mill Creek, the clutter abruptly ends. Real estate signs vanish. Shopping areas are clean, with upscale shops and family restaurants. Homes are immaculate, lawns newly mowed, bushes trimmed, with all cars and boats out of sight in three-car garages.
Nothing seems out of place.
While not all 9,300 residents would agree with such descriptions of their relatively new and rapidly growing city, most would not be insulted. Locals gaze at their woodsy, evergreen environment in Snohomish County from gorgeous homes in subdivisions called Vinemaple, Cottonwood, Huckleberry, Heatherstone and Wildflower. They know they are in suburban nirvana. When Mill Creekers are not stuck in traffic commuting to Boeing, high-tech companies in Bothell or Redmond, or to jobs in Seattle and Everett, they can enjoy the jogging and walking paths, bicycle lanes, nature preserve, pocket parks or the private golf course, country club, tennis courts and swimming pool.