Moving From Ft Hood To Ft Lewis.....Any advice??? (Seattle: for sale, apartments)

[msbiggs]

Howdy Washington,
Were a young couple engaged not married yet with an 8yr daughter. It will be my first move and his. He's been stationed at Ft Hood since 2005, He just got back from Iraq and re-up for Infantry. Hence the relocate to Ft Lewis. If anyone has any advice like, where to live( off post) what area's to avoid. Which apt locators to use, schools....ect.......Much Appreciated!

[marita]

Howdy,there is lot's of info already if you have time to read the many posts here.You will need a car to get from Fort Lewis on the Freeway to Lakewood or Spanaway to rent.
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Washington Apartments in Tacoma or spanaway or parkland or lakewood.roy and yelm are out of the back gate of fort lewis but that is out in the country with trailers or a old house on land to rent.

[patrick.halgren]

Hello I am SSG Patrick Halgren and I live on Ft Lewis. The on post housing is good. If you want to live off post I would choose Lacy, WA or Puyallup WA. Its about a 15 min drive to post; strait freeway depending on how far in or out you live. Puyallup is also a nice, safe well built up area; but it is 20-30 min drive in the mornings to the post. I would stay out of Tacoma areas, because there is alot of not so good areas to live in for safety and family. Stay out of Steilacoom area right outside the Madigan Hospital gate; alot of gang activity and drugs and crazy people with no stability. Lakewood, there are some places that are ok, but if it was me I would get on post housing or Lacy. If you could tell me where are the nice safe areas for apartments around the surrounding Fort Hood area, I would greatly appreciate it. My family and I will be looking for a 3 bedroom apt. thats nice, safe, with good schools. We dont need anything top of the line, because we are saving for a house. If you could tell me the avg 3 bedroom prices; like the highs and the lows for the good areas that would help. If I could help in some other information, I'll do what I can. Thank you

[Sandy Nelson]

I would recommend looking for an apartment or house to rent in Lacey. It's just around a 15 minute commute to Ft. Lewis, good schools, safe, shopping, recreation etc.
The Ft. Lewis housing office has lots of rental resources, as does the military housing website www.ahrn.com. Besides checking Craigslist, I'd also recommend looking at the rental homes and apartments at www.cpihomes4rent.com. You should be able to rent a 3 bedroom apartment for under $1000.00. Homes are a bit more costly.
Good luck!
Sandy

[nwcountrygal]

Another area for a house rental is the Roy Yelm area good schools .... smaller town but not living in an apartment. Access the back gate to Ft Lewis.... many Ft Lewis people live in area. Due to the housing market many rentals available.

Good Luck

[Tammy357]

Originally Posted by msbiggs

Howdy Washington,
Were a young couple engaged not married yet with an 8yr daughter. It will be my first move and his. He's been stationed at Ft Hood since 2005, He just got back from Iraq and re-up for Infantry. Hence the relocate to Ft Lewis. If anyone has any advice like, where to live( off post) what area's to avoid. Which apt locators to use, schools....ect.......Much Appreciated!

We have a house that will become available for rent in Puyallup, WA if you are interested. It is close to the school, shopping and Ft. Lewis.

Tammy

[justde87]

msbiggs,

i'm thinking about pcs'ing to fort hood, tx. in your opinion, why should i consider moving there? i'm currently on tape to head to fort lewis, wa after my tour in korea, but i'm strating to re-think my options. i know the ft hood area has some very inexpensive housing, but i've hear that the crime in the killeen area is pretty bad. i'm also considering retiring where ever my last duty station takes me and this will be the real reason for my final decision. do you anything about the job market there? in particular government jobs on post. also, what about the jobs off post for spouses? my wife is a hairstylist (specializes in african american hair mostly) and we're thinking of opening up a shop. any information you have would be very much appriciated. thanks.

[dvoncannon3]

We live outside the north gate of McChord and our kids go to the Franklin Pierce School district. It is a small district right outside the large Tacoma school district. We have been in this district for 7 years and our kids have done well. Our youngest is in the Excel program in 5th grade (district's gifted program) and our oldest was just accepted to the Tacoma School District's School of the Arts which has a fabulous program. She is studying choral music and song writing and is doing really well. She is a 10th grader and is in Pre-Cal so the Franklin Pierce School District must have been doing something right!

We are relocating to Sarasota, FL to take care of my parents. We are near the bases and were soldiers for part of our time in this home. I had a tour to Iraq and such. Not al of Tacoma is a bad place. We are in a secluded, quiet neighborhood and it's so quiet that yard sales are not a good plan - there's hardly ever any traffic! We are within walking distance of Christensen Elementary and a mile north of Pacific Lutheran University and the High School/and Middle School of our neighborhood. There is no need to commute crazily from Lacey or Olympia. Puyallup is nice too, but more expensive.

Compared to other areas, I think the jobs are incredibly plentiful here. Commuting is a breeze - certainly much better than what we will be facing near MacDill - because our public transportation in Tacoma to Seattle ROCKS! Anyway, that is just my opinion of course.


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[patrick.halgren]

Our family has lived on Ft. Lewis for four yrs now. We have kids who have been going to schools on and off post. My husband and I have considered buying around the area but knew we would be moving again soon. We are now PCSing to Ft. Hood. From my experience with the surrounding area I would look into the Dupont, Lacey, or Puyallup areas for home buying if that is what you are looking into. Although I go into Lakewood often I wouldn't necessarily move there due to the schools for the kids, in particularly the high schools, though I realize that is a while away for your 8yr old. Definitely stay clear of Tillicum, it is right next to post but gang and drug infested. I have to warn you that the commute is rather tough during the rush hours in all directions due to I-5. Washington is growing so fast.