NE Tacoma and University Place (Seattle, Renton: to rent, crime, houses)

[nick4340]

We moved to Washington 7 months ago and live in Renton. We are looking to rent/buy a house and have been looking at Tacoma since the prices are a bit lower than Seattle. We drove through Old Tacoma and loved the older neighborhoods and small town feel. Are there any areas in NE Tacoma we should avoid? Does anyone know how Renton and Tacoma compare? Thanks for any info.

[Macanudo]

I can't compare Renton to Tacoma all that well but I can tell you that Tacoma is pretty nice north of downtown and west of Orchard/Pearl. If you're looking even farther north (above 6th Avenue) there are some great neighborhoods. UP is pretty nice and I have yet to see an area here (we live in UP) that I wouldn't live in.

[nick4340]

Thanks Macanudo, we liked the area N of 6th Ave a lot. Is crime really that much of an issue in Tacoma. Everyone makes it sound pretty bad.

[mthomson]

The crime is WAY down in those areas...I'd give the Tacoma PD a call and they give you stats in terms of numbers of calls they do by area and nature of the calls.
NE Tacoma I don't know very well, if you're thinking Brown's Point area. If you're thinking Stadium District, it can be pricey but really nice.
UP is also very nice, but tends to feel a bit remote. It takes a while to get anywhere. Lots of nice walking and biking trails through UP though.

[back2sa]

I love the north end of Tacoma. It is pricey though. If you have kids you should look at University Place a little closer JUST for the schools. I live in Fircrest but we're in the UP school district. Not all of UP is too far from things (depending on where in UP you live). Of course there is expensive houses in UP too. The closer to the water and the views...the more $$$.

[Macanudo]

I still don't get the crime issue. The nightly news is not full of mayhem and destruction. Most of what is reported occurs up in Seattle proper. I just don't feel unsafe anywhere I go. Granted, I'm a guy and I don't hang out at bars or stay out late anymore but I think the whole "Tacoma has a bad crime problem" thing is kind of overblown.

[back2sa]

Originally Posted by Macanudo

I still don't get the crime issue. The nightly news is not full of mayhem and destruction. Most of what is reported occurs up in Seattle proper. I just don't feel unsafe anywhere I go. Granted, I'm a guy and I don't hang out at bars or stay out late anymore but I think the whole "Tacoma has a bad crime problem" thing is kind of overblown.

I agree. I was reading an article in the Sunday paper about the new Gig Harbor shopping center and a girl they were talking to in the article was talking about how she hated coming to Tacoma to shop because she was scared of the crime. I was thinking "what the hell are these people talking about?" I've never felt scared anywhere. Of course I don't walk the street in bad areas of town (all towns have a bad area) at night.

[Luke9686]

Tacoma isn't that bad. I just moved here last week and live off 37th and Orchard. The north end is nice. Most areas south of 6th are ok.

You know what most of Tacoma reminds me of. A big blue collar town. There are some sketchy areas, but it is mostly good down to earth people that aren't about showmanship. The people in this area are some of the friendliest I have met. Even more than my hometown in Iowa.

Crime here isnt as bad as they say.

I went up to Seattle today and noticed a HUGE difference in people's attitudes. In Tacoma people greet you with a "hello"... There they dont talk to eachother.