Please give me 5 reasons for loving Tacoma.

[mthomson]

1. Pt Defiance trails
2. Pt Defiance zoo and aquarium
3. Cool old houses with great character
4. You're an hour from Seattle, 2 from Portland, 1/2hour from Olympia, 75min from Mt Rainier, 2.5hrs from Canada.
5. AAA baseball for $5

[Foreverking]

Originally Posted by mthomson

1. Pt Defiance trails
2. Pt Defiance zoo and aquarium
3. Cool old houses with great character
4. You're an hour from Seattle, 2 from Portland, 1/2hour from Olympia, 75min from Mt Rainier, 2.5hrs from Canada.
5. AAA baseball for $5

an hour from Seattle, thought it was closer.

[Jake840]

More like 35 minutes with no traffic.

[Foreverking]

tell me more about PT defiance, and the trails, oh and the zoo, is it pretty cool?

[Jake840]

Point Defiance Park is one of the largest urban parks in the USA. It has a pretty nice trail system that are great for day hikes. The trails go through old growth forest and slopes overlooking the water. You can find some trails (not the main trails) that will lead you down to a private beach that is created when the tide is in. The park is surrounded by Puget Sound so there are nice views everywhere. There are sports courts, many gardens (rose, pagoda, japanese, native, rhododendron, etc), lots of picnic areas, a huge pond near the entrance, large grass areas. You have Fort Nisqually which is a replica Hudson Bay trading post, Camp 6 logging exhibit, Never Never Land which is not what it is like when I was a kid but brings back memories walking through it. 5 Mile drive goes through the park and is a great drive in car or bike and has lots of walkers and joggers. They close it at certain times to vehicle traffic. Owens Beach is a popular beach with kayak rentals and consessions in the summer. When the tide is out you can walk for along time and check out all the sea life. Anthony's has a waterfront restaurant in Pt. Defiance. The zoo has polar bears, elaphants, large sharks, wolves, beluga whales, reindeer, ox, falcons, monkeys, etc. It is a zoo and aquarium so there is lots of sea life. There is also a lot of wildlife in the park outside the zoo.

It is a great place. It is free to get in the park and parking is free. A lot of people say it is the best park in Washington/PNW. Many people compare it to Stanley Park in Vancouver BC, which also a great park.

[cabocurtis]

I am living in Seattle and am contemplating moving across bridge from Tacoma to Gig Harbor

Reasons to love Tacoma besides me being born there.

1) Due to Seattle letting the sonics go and key arena becoming a dump the Tacoma Dome has most of the big name larger venue concerts.
2)Being able to take a train to work in downtown Seattle from the Tacoma Dome station or even better Seattle Seahawks games on Sunday-more beer!
3)Being able to take Amtrak to Portland in a relaxing way.
4)Emerald Queen Casino in Fife has many classic rock and RB groups in a small setting. Tomorrow Styx is playing. Later this month comedian Carlos Mencia. In the past Ted Nugent, Blue Oyster Cult, Foreigner, Neville Bros., also many country acts.
5) Access to South Puget Sound for boating. The boating is uncrowded, generally calm waters and wildlife like otters, eagles is pristine with many views of Olympic mountains and Mount Rainer. Fishing is good too!
6)Golf is superb. Best in state. Chambers Bay, Home Course in Dupont and if know somebody Canterwood in Gig Harbor. 25 minutes away you have Trophy Lake, Mccormick Woods, and Gold Mountain.
7) Acess to Pacific Ocean Beaches is very easy through Olympia. About 1.5 hours away.
8) Easy access to Hood Canal and Olympic National Park can be done with getting on I-5(cut the Key peninsula or through Silverdale north) or taking a ferry.
9) If you take a peak at Gig Harbor developing more retail and state of art new hospital. Better public school district.
10) RV capital of NW. If you want an RV at a decent price its very competitive with many choices in Fife.(This is a plug for my brother in law who works there)

[haelana76]

Is the housing in Fife good? We are relocating from Idaho due to hubby's job. Please suggest good neighborhoods and schools!

[Jake840]

There are newer subdivisions in Fife and along with older subdivisions in Fife Heights. There are few ranch/farm homes left. Fife is very industrial so if you live in one of the new subdivisions in the valley you may have a large warehouse across the street (or farm land that may become a warehouse). There is some flooding that occurs in the valley on occasion. There are also a lot of bigrig trucks and traffic do to the Port of Tacoma being next to Fife and the warehouses. The main drag in Fife is Pacific Hwy and it is moslty car dealerships, strip malls, and fast food. There isn't a grocery store in Fife.

I believe the schools are known to be good. If you are moving there because the job is there I would suggest expanding your search just so you have more options. Look at Milton, Puyallup, Edgewood, NE Tacoma, and Summit. Those cities/areas sourround Fife.