Gig Harbor or Puyallup? Young couple is curious. (Seattle, Tacoma: apartment, renting)

[superman83]

My wife and I are non-traditional students that recently gained internships in Tacoma. I'm an engineer and she is a graphic designer. We are in our late 20's and excited about moving to Washington (perhaps permanent after school) from Michigan (yuck). We are into outdoors activities and quiet towns that we can easily escape for the great outdoors.

Here's the question.....

A friend of mine in Bothell says that he recommends either Gig Harbor or Puyallup for us to spend next Summer. We are seriously considering moving to the area after our last year of school and would like to stay in a good spot to potentially live next Summer.

Which is better Gig Harbor or Puyallup?

Things we are curious about:
Crime, traffic, community activities, local universities, easy to escape into the countryside, attitude of the locals, shopping, dining, cost of living, and anything else you think we should know about these two towns.

Thank you so much for your help!

[bblaine]

all i know about puyallup is that my 2 best friends live there and a meth lab blew up a few doors down from them.

[superman83]

all i know about puyallup is that my 2 best friends live there and a meth lab blew up a few doors down from them.

bblaine, thanks for the info. Are meth labs a real big problem there? Lived in Eastern South Dakota for a few years and it was known as the meth capital of the United States. Most of the labs were going up in abandoned barns.

In any event, is the meth problem more of a problem in Puyallup than any other town? Like say perhaps Gig Harbor? Are there parts of Puyallup that are worse than others? What would you say to the questions that I opened the forum with?

[vette-dude]

Originally Posted by superman83

My wife and I are non-traditional students that recently gained internships in Tacoma. I'm an engineer and she is a graphic designer. We are in our late 20's and excited about moving to Washington (perhaps permanent after school) from Michigan (yuck). We are into outdoors activities and quiet towns that we can easily escape for the great outdoors.

Here's the question.....

A friend of mine in Bothell says that he recommends either Gig Harbor or Puyallup for us to spend next Summer. We are seriously considering moving to the area after our last year of school and would like to stay in a good spot to potentially live next Summer.

Which is better Gig Harbor or Puyallup?

Things we are curious about:
Crime, traffic, community activities, local universities, easy to escape into the countryside, attitude of the locals, shopping, dining, cost of living, and anything else you think we should know about these two towns.

Thank you so much for your help!

Let's start by stating that Gig Harbor is expensive to live in be it purchasing or renting, not to say Puyallup is inexpensive. Gig Harbor is more of a nestled in smaller community, and Puyallup is a larger city east of Tacoma.. Another "major" concern for you would be the new Narrows Bridge, it's approximately $5.00 each time you drive east across the bridge to Tacoma which could surely be a factor to be considered...Both are nice and are close to outside activities..I used to live in Kitsap which is just 30 minutes west on hwy 16 from GH...and have been in Puyallup many times, it's not far from Fort Lewis and McChord AFB...and has the best State fair I've been to..awsome.... PM if I can further assist...

vette-dude

[superman83]

vette-dude,

That's a good thing to know about the toll on the bridge, thanks! I heard Puyallup had a fair, but didn't know it was so great. We like that kind of stuff.

On another point though, this website (city-data) quotes the cost of living between the two as being within one point. I don't doubt what your seeing; I wonder what part of Gig Harbor is more expensive than the alternative?

Thanks for your help!

[mthomson]

Where'd you get the $5 from? You only get tolled going East, as you said, and it's $2.50. Gig Harbor is, like Vette said, a smaller, more community oriented place. Puyallup is bigger, more city like, but not a big city. Local University's are in Tacoma and Seattle, and Puyallup and Gig Harbor would be a wash in terms of that. Gig Harbor is closer to the Olympic Mtns for a get away, Puyallup is closer to Mt Rainier.
Gig Harbor's crime will be less than Puyallups. I wouldn't say either is a real threat for Meth labs. Neither place has bad crime. Eating out in Gig Harbor usually means driving 25 min north to Bremerton or 15 min across the bridge to Tacoma. Not many great places to eat here.
I'd chose Gig Harbor, but that's 'cause I did choose Gig Harbor! Traffic in Puyallup drives me nuts, and I'm more for the lifestyle of being on/near the water that Gig Harbor affords.

[superman83]

mthomson,

Thanks for the info. More and more it's starting to sound like Gig Harbor is the place for us. Mostly because of the rural setting.

Question though, which of the two (Olympic Mtns. or Ranier) is more heavily visited? Like to hit the lesser known/used areas.

Thanks again!

[mthomson]

You can find very busy and very remote places on both. I'm not super familiar with the Olympics (I've gone to the Olympic Rain Forest once and there wasn't another soul to be seen). If you go up to Paradise or another highly accessible point on Rainier, it can be a zoo. We hiked a place called Comet Falls that wasn't quite as accessible, and we saw maybe 6 other people in 3 hours.

[cabocurtis]

Olympic national is definitely less crowded but a bit farther drive. From Gig Harbor you can cut through Purdy over to the Hood Canal and go to parks for hiking starting from Hoodsport North at a place called Staircase and other parks heading north along Hood Canal. You can also go to places up near Port Angeles(about 2 hour drive) which has Hurricane Ridge and the Olympic Rain Forest. I like Gig Harbor better as with the South Hill it feels Puyallup is sprawling out. In Gig Harbor For restaurants about 15 minutes away across the bridge in Tacomas Ruston waterfront there are some great restaurants and Gig Harbor has a Anthonys and Brix 25. If you wanted winter sports like skiing Mt Rainier with Crystal is the only choice but still a doable drive from Gig Harbor.

[marita]

The locals are friendly in all of western WA.Crime is no problem if you can afford a $700 apartment.
More shopping and dinning on South Hill/Puyallup.
Puyallup is a real town with sidewalks,100 year old pretty houses,farmers market and little shops.
Gig Habor is newish by the water with a touch of skandinavia.

http://www.traveltacoma.com/phototour.cfm?type=photos