Tacoma to Olympia or Olympia to Tacoma... (Lacey, University Place: real estate, rentals)

[waferrolls]

I will be moving to area in a month. Working near Lacey, but my wife might be working in or near Tacoma.

We've looked at areas to live, Steilacoom looks convenient but not a lot of housing options. Ideally we'd like a small 2-3 br house with a yard. University Place looks nice too.... We'll be visiting in about two weeks to find a rental.

Is tacoma to olympia an easier commute or is olympia to tacoma better?

Other factors will be cost of living, things to do, safety, etc... Where should we concentrate our search? I've been looking on craigslist and rentals.com for housing. Any local sites or advice on that would be appreciated as well. We are looking to spend no more than $1200/mth on rent.

Any advice is appreciated.

[sethwallace]

depending on the time of your commute, if its standard busy traffic hours Tacoma to Olympia would be contra flow, I think most folks head north to work. However housing will most likely be cheaper in Olympia. I'm not familiar with rental agencies in Pierce county but the two major companies in Oly are Hometown Property management and Cycle real estate, both have websites if you search for them.

Seth

Moderator cut: Advertising not allowed iaw TOS

[Sandy Nelson]

Waferrolls,
If you're looking to locate halfway in between Olympia and Tacoma, you might want to consider Dupont. Rents for a 2-3 bedroom home will probably exceed $1200, but I don't think rents in Steilacoom are any less. You'll find rents cheaper in the Olympia area. In Lacey you should have no problem finding a house around $1200 and the commute to Tacoma is around 30-40 minutes.
Good Luck!
Sandy

[waferrolls]

Thanks Sandy.

How is the traffic to Tacoma in the mornings from Lacey?

Would University point to Lacey be an easier commute in the mornings, as far as traffic is concerned?

[bellabella2]

One of you should live really close to your place of work. Even better if one of you could drop the car altogether. Sounds crazy eh? Well we have done it.. and although we have two cars one of us walks to work. I am sure we are lucky at this time since my husband works at a university and we just live a few blocks from it.

So I guess it will be better if you have an idea of where your wife will work at. Why don't you look into a month to month rental or short rental before deciding on where to rent or buy? That would probably will be your best option.

Moderator cut: list it in classified.

Good luck with your move

[ysabella]

There's traffic in both directions, really, but it's fairly predictable. The main commuting issue between Lacey and Tacoma is the Fort Lewis traffic. Fort Lewis is expanding so it's increasing, and people commute there from all directions, north and south on I-5, and also via 512 (coming west in the morning, east in the evening). I know that going northbound to Tacoma from Lacey is jammed up from around 4-6 pm, although it opens up where I-5 widens out just north of Fort Lewis.
There are express buses from Lacey to Tacoma from the Park 'n' Ride, if that helps anything. And yes, prices will be somewhat lower here. You might want to check the Olympia area listings on Craigslist while you're looking.

[swinters]

Are you moving here long term, (could make a difference), and what kind of place do you have in mind? DuPont is a nice option if a big yard isn't a priority. There are homes with large yards in DuPont as well if prices around 1/2 million dollars is within your budget (though they're dropping a bit with the real estate mortgage crunch).

[marita]

Your wife will be working near tacoma.Where is near tacoma?