Best place to live (Seattle, Tacoma: real estate, apartment, renting)

[hysty]

Hello All,

I want to know what is the best option for living, if you are working in bremerton and your spouse is working in seattle, is there any place in between that is best for living and also what are the best ways to commute if you live anywhere in between.

[AzDreamer]

One of you is going to have to suffer a long commute, probably by ferry. The drive through Tacoma doesn't make sense unless you work down that way.

[hysty]

Thanx for the reply. So the best option would be to stay in seattle or bremerton and not in tacoma and one of us should take ferry to work.

[Ira500]

I'll put some approximate numbers on it. The Bremerton ferry takes about an hour. From a nice neighborhood in Tacoma, it would take 40 minutes to drive into downtown Seattle..I'm not sure, but I think the drive to Bremerton from say, the Proctor District in Tacoma would also be about 40 minutes.
Seattle housing is far more expensive than either Tacoma housing or Bremerton housing.
Ferries aren't cheap,unless you get a monthly pass and you're only going on foot and not bringing a car.
I love riding the ferry, but I've never commuted that way. I know lots who have commuted by ferry and hate it, for it's very time consuming nature to it's unreliability and lateness...

Seattle has many nice neighborhoods, where Tacoma and Bremerton have not as many nice neighborhoods. Both Bremerton and Tacoma have seen renovations and improvements in recent years, and you get a lot more house for the money there either as a purchase or as a rental, but Bremerton and Tacoma both are perceived as less cool than Seattle, and Seattle folk have this air of superiority towards Bremerton and Tacoma.
Tacoma, in particular, has some great, pretty, comfortable and vibrant neighborhoods...
Bremerton is a far smaller city, but they have an interesting mayor who is something of a visionary and has the skills to be an effective advocate for improving the town.

[hysty]

Thanx for your reply.

I think my best option is to stay in tacoma and travel by road, but what I've heard is that the drive to seattle takes more than an hour because of heavy traffic and frequent rain, is it true ? Also if I plan to stay in tacoma what would be the best place to live in terms of safety with a nice neighborhood (money is not an issue) for me safety is the most imp thing.

and are there many people who travel to work from tacoma to seattle DAILY..? is it ok or too much of a hassle..?

again thankyou for your reply.

[Ira500]

Lots of people commute between Tacoma and Seattle and there are decent public transit options as well. Sound Transit runs express buses ( the Rte 594?) and also the Sounder Train. The buses and train have some exclusive right of way, so it is much preferable to driving solo if you can.
The Proctor District in Tacoma is a great neighborhood, lots of pretty old houses, kind of artsy, a farmers market, nice views...
Other good neighborhoods in Tacoma include Old Town and Ruston/Point Defiance...They are all fairly close to each other.

[KAILANI]

Are you all crazy??? TACOMA???
What about Poulsbo if money is not an option?
They mentioned safety, I don't think of Tacoma as very safe.
Gig Harbor??

[Ira500]

Certain neighborhoods in Tacoma are very nice, very safe, quiet, and pretty. And some neighborhoods in Tacoma are ugly and dangerous.
It's easy to dismiss an entire city if all you've heard is the bad things that have happened in certain areas.
I'd recommend spending some time in the Proctor District before dissing the whole city as a place only a crazy person would recommend.

[allforcats]

Once upon a time not too long ago, when Seattle was a town of drunken sailors and miners, Tacoma was where the money was, where the wealthy lived, did politics, architecture, the arts, and their complex lives. Seattle changed mostly because of becoming the terminus of the railroad, instead of Tacoma, and building a fkourishing seaport.

The Proctor District and Old Town in Tacoma are so lovely, peaceful, still with the look and feel of the elegance they once had. Ruston I don't know, but Point Defiance I do know and think is marvelous.

[hysty]

I agree with Ira500 and allforcats.A lot of people have said the same thing about Tacoma that there are some areas that are not safe but the ones that you guys have mentioned are very nice to live in so most probably i'll choose Tacoma. Thanks for the replies

I have another question, if I intend to live in tacoma for 3-4 years max, which one is the best option, renting an apartment, renting a house or buying a house for 2 people ? And if we are planning to move in june do we need to visit tacoma before that and how can I find/contact some good real estate agencies or agents in tacoma