Pre-fab urban boomtown just north of Tacoma, WA, though desperately trying to identify itself as part of the Seattle metro area, and the sixth largest city in Washington (population nearly 70,000).

Before incorporation as a city in 1990, Federal Way was the name for a loosely defined area between I-5 and Puget Sound and south of Sea-Tac Airport. Aside from scattered houses and a few developments, the only built-up area was that along Pacific Highway, state route 99. The area and city got its name from the establishment of the interstate so many years ago.

As a city, Federal Way has at least one of almost everything: amusement park, shopping mall, one of nearly each local restaurant chain, state park, major highway, major industrial company (Weyerhauser), etc. As a result, along with a glut of strip malls and apartment complexes, Federal Way has no actual identity to speak of -- a sort of urban suburbia.

Populated largely in the 90s by people attracted to Seattle and Redmond's tech-related boom, and DOA startups such as Freeinternet.com, it's standard of living has fallen considerably since the rather disastrous bursting of that bubble.