Spanaway?? (Tacoma, Lakewood, Olympia: for sale, real estate, crime rate)

[redhead]

I'm thinking of maybe moving to the Spanaway area. I want to be near JBLM and Spanaway looks good on paper, i.e., crime COL, property values.... but before I head out to spend some time there, I'd like to get locals opinion of the area. So what do you all think of Spanaway? I've lived in Tacoma some years back and don't really want to be right in the a city hub with all the crime and congestion, so Spanaway looks like it might be close enough to things to do yet not big city.

[poopskooper]

If you want to be near JBLM, Dupont or Lacey would be much better than Spanaway. Spanaway is has a horrific crime rate. We're currently on the outskirts of Lacey and we refuse to go into the Spanaway/Parkland or Lakewood areas anymore ...or as infrequently as possible because we don't feel that safe anymore. We're boomers though. I'm sure you're younger so if you do decide on Spanaway, take adequate precautions to protect your property, etc.

[redhead]

thanks for your response. according to other sites on the net span away is just has a little over the national average for violent crime and very much lower property crime rates then the national average. i'm thinking that since it's so close to lakewood/tacoma; then people conflate their crime rates with spanaway?? of course it's lots higher rate then for lacey. lacey is too far from things that i want to be close to. and i'll check out dupont, don't know where that's at so i'll look it up.

[pnwguy2]

Sometimes an area gets a reputation, fairly or unfairly, of being a rough area. In the case of areas south and east of Tacoma, one thing to keep in mind is the reality series "Cops" has a history of filming in Lakewood, Parkland, Spanaway, etc. for atleast a couple of decades. I believe they like this area as it tends to bring segments with rednecks and trailer trash, for lack of a better term. Let me be clear, I don't believe this area should be defined as such, but the series tends to find it there.

That being said, I know there are many nice areas through there, and Fox looks for the worst of the worse. Your best bet is to visit and make your own judgement.

[CrazyDonkey]

Steilacoom?

[poopskooper]

Ah, okay. I read in one of the local papers about the growing crime rate in that area. I'll see if maybe it's posted online somewhere. My description of "horrific" maybe is a slight overstatement. lol

I was thinking more of the Hawks Prairie area of Lacey. It's off the Marvin Rd exit so it's not that far from the Pierce county line. Dupont is on the other side of the Pierce county line and is essentially across I-5 from the south part of the base.

(congrats on being a 10-year member here like me ...july 2006 join date for both of us.)
~amanda

[redhead]

Dupont and Steilacoom have much higher property values then Spanaway. but then again you get what you pay for right? I'm budget conscious and trying to get the most house for my money but not where i have to drive 30 min to get to the city attractions.

ya and i remember about the Cops program always filming in lakewood, i lived in tacoma when that show started.....but lakewood is a big area so not all of it was as bad as the show made it look. the city "fathers" got lots of kickback from fox for letting them trash their town; at least that was the story being passed around back then.

the way i look at it; if i want to be close to the city and lots of stuff to do then i pay more for less. or i move out further from "everything" and get more house for the buck but have a longer drive to go do something.

i've lived in smaller/further out communities and also right in the big city. and i prefer not to be in the "sticks" any more. so i'll take not so hot of a hood to be close to lots of things to do. of course don't want to live in the ghetto, just to be close to city attractions.

so i'll be coming to the area soon and see for myself.

[redhead]

okay. now i've been to spanaway/lakewood/south tacoma and NO WAY! I've lived in souther ca and have NEVER experienced gridlock like i have in this area! and the entire area is rundown! so can't recommend this area at all. i'll have to look further south and take the train up north for a fun getaway. i'd never willingly put myself on the I5 unless i had no other option! so olympia will be my next research project. and if that doesn't pan out i'll head to the portland/vancouver area, because there's better property values there in my price range and still lots of things to do. and if that doesn't pan out i'll check out salem, it's close enough to portland and the coast and has good real estate deals for my price range as well. i'll keep posting my impressions, because i've gotten so much out of others doing the same, so i'll make an effort to put my two cents in for others who might find it useful. and thanks to all who take the time to share their personal experiences and not just what they pull out of their &^%%!

[ladybug07]

Look into Yelm. Parts of Lacey is really nice. There are parts between Lacey and Yelm that are Olympia. My husband lived close to the ocean in Steliacoom. He actually told me that if the place he was living accepted pets and had a 3 bedroom we would be living there.

[redhead]

ya lacey/olympia/tumwater area is beautiful! lots and lots of great hiking trails and parks. capital lake and the waterfront in olympia is very nice! the area has loads of shopping; property values are good too. it would be great to live close to the water. so i'm going to check into property for sale and go from there. it really is so much more beautiful here, lots of new shopping centers and new housing developments. this part of the I5 isn't as gridlocked as up north and then there's the 101 to get to the other side of the state. very nice. and crime is lower here then up north as well. there's also a bus service that is an express to the tacoma dome where the you can connect to the train to seattle. so you can do mass transportation from olympia to seattle! nice!