work in Tacoma, live on Mercer Island (Seattle, Bellevue: to rent, home)

[super64]

We are in the process of relocating to the area. All the posts I have read so far are so thoughtful and loaded with information and insight . Can anyone comment on what the realities of 'working in Tacoma and living in the north western section of Mercer Island' would be? I think this would involve leaving for Tacoma around 6:30am and heading home after 6pm. Any comments would be greatly appreciated!

[tudorjason]

Wow. It would be long days ahead with that commute. The range in time seems about right to me; I think you would be in for nearly 2 hour commutes, from the time you leave your driveway to the time you park in a lot at work; and then again on your way home. You would have to face crossing I-90 on one of the bridges and choose which Interstate to go South on, I-405/Highway 167 or I-5. Living on the North end of the island will give you an advantage compared to if you lived in the South end.

But with gas prices and the time it'll take, commutes like that will be costly.

[Ira500]

I'll agree with tudorjason. It'll be at least an hour one way, if you're lucky.
Yes, Mercer island is very nice, and yes, the northwest section of the island would make it more bearable, but if you have the option of living closer to Tacoma, there are some very nice places to live within 15-20 minutes of Tacoma, including Gig harbor, Steilacoom, parts of Lakewood, and parts of Tacoma itself.

[bigtrees]

I have a hard time fathoming why a person who can afford to live on Mercer Island would need to work in Tacoma. It would make so much more sense to live around Tacoma (not IN Tacoma, but somewhere that is nice closer to Tacoma) or to work in Seattle.

[Luke9686]

Originally Posted by bigtrees

I have a hard time fathoming why a person who can afford to live on Mercer Island would need to work in Tacoma. It would make so much more sense to live around Tacoma (not IN Tacoma, but somewhere that is nice closer to Tacoma) or to work in Seattle.

There are some nice parts of Tacoma. If the OP can afford Mercer, they can probably afford the Proctor area. As well as Old Town.

[dyeb]

wow.. you would be dealing with a long drive. i had a job oppurtunity in the tacoma area and i live and renton and with traffic that would be an hour. mercer island to tacoma would be much longer, considering the fact that traffic is worse in that area. i think once you get here and do the drive yourself you'll see how long it really is. i just moved here and on the map it doesn't seem to far at all from renton to tacoma but once i did the drive, it was horrible.

[Ira500]

There are some nice parts of Tacoma. If the OP can afford Mercer, they can probably afford the Proctor area. As well as Old Town.

Not simply nice parts of Tacoma, there are parts of Tacoma that are absolutely gorgeous and are great neighborhoods. Proctor, Old Town, Ruston, Point Defiance, other parts of North Tacoma, and Browns Point.

[MichaelinWA]

Having heard about Tacoma second hand, we were very impressed (and surprised) by the beauty and value of these neighborhoods after moving here from California. We briefly thought about moving to the Tacoma waterfront, before coming to our senses on what a daily commute to Renton (my wife) and Bellevue (me) would be like.

Originally Posted by Ira500

Not simply nice parts of Tacoma, there are parts of Tacoma that are absolutely gorgeous and are great neighborhoods. Proctor, Old Town, Ruston, Point Defiance, other parts of North Tacoma, and Browns Point.

[daneurysm]

If it's the island thing you're going for, there's anderson island (quite pretty) with regular ferry service to Steilacom (short drive from Tacoma)

[super64]

There was a post in another thread that gave a link to WDOT real time traffic flow maps. I 'watch' them twice a week at the times my husband would be on the road (6:30am and 6:30pm) and it appears the traffic is always 'flowing'. Mercer Island was our first choice because of the middle/high school. This coupled with residents of MI being able to drive in the HOV lanes on the I-90 bridge seemed to be a possibility.

From what I have read so far, it seems like it is not . What is the the morning southbound I-5 traffic between 6:30am-7am and the evening northbound traffic on I-5 between 6:15pm - 7pm really like?

If I concentrate on living around Tacoma, let's say NE Tacoma/Proctor/University Place/Gig Harbor, can anyone comment on the middle & high schools?

This is a great forum -so helpful! Thank you!