Need Advice-Non-Military Families Bremerton and Port Orchard? (Seattle, Tacoma: for sale, rent)

[pelicaninc]

Hi Everyone! I would love to hear your thoughts about a non-military family moving to the East Bremerton and Port Orchard areas. Although my husband served in the Navy, he isn't working there anymore and I was concerned about fitting into the area, and not having a military job. We are in our 40's and having an 18 year son at home and an elderly parent that we care for. Schools are not important for us at his point. We just want a safe community where we can walk in our neighborhood with recreation and hospitals. We just want to be in a place where most people are trustworthy...respect themselves and others. Currently we rent in Everett, but it's far too crowded and the crime is a little too much for us. We're not big city folks. Additionally, we all know that the expensive areas, and really great, but we can only afford to buy a house around $200,000 or less. Kitsap looks like a good fit for us because we don't need to visit Seattle or Tacoma often if at all. We thought Port Angeles, Port Townsend, and Sequim may be okay too.

Please offer any advice you have. What may be a good fit for us?

[prosin]

Not everyone in Bremerton or PO is military (some of us are even teachers--gasp! ), so don't worry about that as an issue.

Your post screams the Manette area of Bremerton; however, nearby Harrison Medical Center is moving its operations to Silverdale. Which is a bummer, because it would fit your requirements. I don't know about housing in your price range for Silverdale. It is pricier than Bremerton, but may be worth a look if you need quick access to a hospital.

PO would very well fit your requirements, too, but it is further away from medical, other than Urgent Care. How close to a full services hospital would you like to be?

A thought: if you have access to medical through the VA, I'd recommend looking at the Chico or Kitsap Lake areas of Bremerton. The VA hospital is in what is known as the Jackson Park area. Jackson Park used to be military housing only, but it evidently is opening up to civilians, too.

Jackson Park Navy housing opening to civilians - Story

I know, you implied no military, but really, this area is low-key about it.

[pelicaninc]

First, I'd like to thank you for taking the time out of your day to reply. I'm sure there any 15 other things you could be doing. Thank you also for confirming about the military presence not being overwhelming. I had this vision of military trucks with missiles headed to the port as I sat out on my front porch

I am glad you mentioned about Harrison Medical moving to Silverdale. It was one of the main reasons that we were considering it at all. My mom is elderly (75) and disabled, so we need to be close enough to a full-service hospital, so PO might not be best for us. 10 Minutes drive would be ideal. My husband doesn't use VA services, but the link you sent was very interesting. We can go as high as about 225,000 but that is the most we can afford. You're right about prices in Silverdale and even Poulsbo. They are a bit higher for sure. I did see some some nice historical homes in Manatee for sale in our price range, but perhaps the commute to the Harrison Silverdale is too far? I was thinking of the north strip of Bremerton closer to the East side of the area around Tracyton and North, but I don't know those areas well enough to know if it's a good choice...


I was a public school ESOL teacher for 20 years