tacoma neighborhoods (Seattle, Summit: low income, to rent, townhome)

[mconzemius]

Yes, but to those of us from Lincoln, Nebraska, Tacoma *IS* scary!!! The worse we have here are people breaking into cars and petty vandalism. We have about 1-2 homicide(s) a year.

I know that there are worse cities out there than Tacoma, but Tacoma can be intimidating to some who have never experienced a place like that.

[PG77]

Originally Posted by mconzemius

Yes, but to those of us from Lincoln, Nebraska, Tacoma *IS* scary!!! The worse we have here are people breaking into cars and petty vandalism. We have about 1-2 homicide(s) a year.

I know that there are worse cities out there than Tacoma, but Tacoma can be intimidating to some who have never experienced a place like that.

Well, after what just happened out in that shopping mall in Nebraska, I dont know about Nebraska either, or anyplace for that matter.

[AZ_singlemother]

Originally Posted by back2sa

Yes, Steilacoom is nice but it's also about 30 minutes from downtown Tacoma. It's not far in miles but with going through the neighborhoods, lights, etc...it would take about 30 minutes (give or take a few minutes depending on traffic).

Steilacoom is also a military area and the girls who hang out there are like prostitutes. It's not an ideal site. Also you are closer to fort lewis, which gets really loud like bomb noises...remember sleepless nights as a kid.

[AZ_singlemother]

Originally Posted by PG77

Well, after what just happened out in that shopping mall in Nebraska, I dont know about Nebraska either, or anyplace for that matter.

I have relatives from Nebraska, even from Lincoln and Tacoma has significantly higher crime indeed. It is an extremely different evironment altogether, very diverse and very different from street to street. Ie, if you live in Parkland in a housing community one side of Pacific Avenue, you see trees and nice living - by Golden Given road; however, if you live right on the other side of Pacific Avenue, there are plenty of meth houses developing and run down area.

I would extremely suggest Fircrest or University Place but check the stats since the crime does spread out. I moved to Fife thinking it would be a small town nice place to live and close to DT Tacoma and Federal Way. It was but it is spreading there too. My car was broken into, meth labs were being developed in my apartment complex, which was one of the nice ones. If you end up not liking Tacoma, move north and keeping on top of the stats is very important.

FYI...Tacoma schools are one of the worst in the nation - similar to bad areas in Florida. Steer clear of putting your kids into this district...I went there as a kid and graduated realizing I did not know anything...my education started in college.

[squirtle]

In comparison to other areas of US, the bad parts of Tacoma aren't too entrenched in ghetto. But also unlike other parts of the country, it's really hard to find mixed-race areas that are middle-class.

If there's a chance of stayin in Tacoma area 'til the kids are in school, be cautious. We're in "No child left behind" in my area (which is EXPENSIVE!) and proper funding for public school seems hopeless.

I agree with the poster above about NE area and Univ Place being good targets.

[VelcroQueen]

I've lived in MPLS also, but when I lived there, it was a wonderful, beautiful, clean place -- a place of which I was very proud. I have a hard time thinking about what I have read about it since.

However, I would far sooner live in Tacoma than Lakewood, by ALL means.

[VelcroQueen]

Well, after what just happened out in that shopping mall in Nebraska, I dont know about Nebraska either, or anyplace for that matter.

One mall and one confused child in a whole city, county, state, country, that one night. Nebraska is a good place with good people. Don't let one little boy who was out of control control you.

[Macanudo]

My first post so go easy on me.

We moved to this area in May after three years in Fairbanks, AK and 20+ in Texas (Houston and Austin.) My wife is in the Army so we knew we wanted someplace close to Ft. Lewis. We zeroed in on Lakewood, Steilacoom, UP, Fircrest and the north end of Tacoma.

Lakewood and Steilacoom do have some not so nice areas right around the major roads and close to I-5 (in Lakewood's case.) But the closer you get to Puget Sound, the nice it gets. We found a nice house in UP in the Chambers Creek area.

After having lived in a small town (Fairbanks), a medium city (Austin) and a large city (Houston), I think that Tacoma's "rough" neighborhoods aren't that bad. There were places in Houston that I felt uncomfortable. I don't feel that way in Tacoma.

[VelcroQueen]

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[azcallin]

not sure how well informed these places are that post this info but I found this, so passing it along

Tacoma, WA
6,182.0 index
4.0 murder
56.1 rape
152.9 robbery
343.5 assault
1,050.4 burglary
3,686.6 larceny
888.4 auto theft


Tacoma is #14 on the list of 100 unsafe U.S. cities

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