Bremerton, Silverdale or Port Orchard? (Seattle, Vashon: condo, low crime, hotel)

[maniabeatle01]

Hi,

I am new to the boards. I have been considering moving from The Bronx to Washington for about 6 years, ever since I first visited. My best friend lives in Bremerton with his wife and kids and from what I see, it's a great place to live. What I want to ask is what are the pros and cons of living in Bremerton, Silverdale or Port Orchard. I am seriously considering making the move within the next year and would love to find as much information as possible.

Thanks.

[Tony1790]

Port Orchard is a nice town, small though, it's also the county seat. Silverdale has the mall and more shopping and Bremerton, well it has the ferry and it's growing.

My vote would be Port Orchard as I don't go to the mall very often and it's convienent to do all of the County stuff locally.

Moving from the Bronx would be a tremendous culture change though, much for the better I think, good luck with the move wherever you go.

Tony

[seattleguy63]

In my opinion here is what you are looking at,
Port Orchard is the least expensive to live but the schools are the worst, they never pass a levy to upgrade ect.
Bremerton is really up and coming. My kids started in the schools there and did fine. Manette is really a great place.
Silverdale is more expensive to live but it has the most to offer. Schools are very good, and this is where all the shopping is.
No matter which way you go you will be fine, even though I rank PO the worst, it still has alot of nice areas and qualities. Good luck on your move!

[brightcopperkettles]

I have lots of posts answering this question, so please feel free to check out my old posts.

[ajwisbey]

Anywhere but Bremerton!!!!! If I had to choose, I would definately pick Silverdale, but is still way too close to Bremerton. I am not a fan of Bremerton because of the drugs and the high crime rate. I have a lot of family there, so, I do have to go back and visit from time to time. When I go back to visit, I will only go during June, July, Or August, because, you are guaranteed to spend your entire visit indoors. They don't call it the evergreen/rainy state for nothing! It rains nonstop from September through May. I urge you to do your homework before moving there. Maybe you can talk your friend and his family to move closer to you. They would probably thank you for it! Good-Luck.

[lucky_bamboo]

If I had to choose among the three, I’d probably pick Silverdale, mainly because it has the best schools and low crime. It has a lot of shopping and restaurants (mainly chains, though) to choose from. When we lived in Poulsbo, we’d go to Silverdale at least once a week. The vibe there is definitely suburban - in fact it isn't even an incorporated town.

Bremerton is a city in transition – there are some really nice neighborhoods, and some sketchy parts. The downtown area is in a turnaround – in a few years I bet it could be a really nice place to live. It is a Navy town and has more of a small city feel.

Port Orchard’s main draw is that it has a lot of inexpensive housing. It has more of a small town feel.
If you’re looking to go to Seattle often, Bremerton has a car ferry that goes to downtown Seattle, and Port Orchard has a car ferry that goes to West Seattle via Vashon Island – if you are going to work in downtown Seattle, Bremerton would probably be the most convenient choice out of the three.

[Wanderlust07]

Originally Posted by lucky_bamboo

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Bremerton is a city in transition – there are some really nice neighborhoods, and some sketchy parts. The downtown area is in a turnaround – in a few years I bet it could be a really nice place to live. It is a Navy town and has more of a small city feel.

Port Orchard’s main draw is that it has a lot of inexpensive housing. It has more of a small town feel.

I've lived in all 3 cities, and my preference is for Silverdale. As mentioned by other posters, you will find yourself coming out to Silverdale frequently if you live in either PO or Bremerton due to the mall and Costco being in Silverdale.

Re Bremerton's "revitalization" -- I'd be careful about moving to Bremerton on that basis. The waterfront area has become condo hell and there is a convention center and hotel there now, but drive a few blocks out and you will see that it has a LONG way to go.

PO used to have very affordable housing, but that's changed as the housing has appreciated at breakneck speed. While the services are good if you live within the city limits, the city is still stuck in "analysis paralysis" about what to do with the downtown waterfront area, which is a real shame, since it has great potential. The city council is composed of local folks with small-town perspectives and entrenched resistance to change (possibly due in part to the age of some of the council members). PO also offers limited choices in restaurants and other amenities.

Be sure to come out and spend some time in each of the areas you're considering before you take the plunge. That's really the only way to get a feel for the areas.

[tahoesash]

If you know someone there, that will make the transition much easier in my opinion. I'd live in Silverdale in a nice apt. complex or in Poulsbo, good shopping in both places. Overall it's kind of strip-mall-ish in Silverdale but less depressing than Bremerton or Port Orchard.

[maniabeatle01]

Thanks everyone. My buddy and his family live over in the Weatherstone Apts in Bremerton and they look very nice. I do know that Silverdale is a hop, skip and a jump from there. I'm starting to narrow my choices and hope to have somewhere picked shortly. I also would want to have a job in place before I make the move as well.

[vette-dude]

Yea, I have lived in Kitsap county for over 30 years, and these days the Silverdale area or Poulsbo is the best location for living, shopping with the "only" Mall in the peninsula in Silverdale, so cool.....Pt Orchard is ok, but small town and too darn many traffic, bumper to bumper everywhere...and downtown bremerton has the shipyard, yea yuk.....yardbirds....