Moving to Lakewood, Washington (Tacoma, University Place: apartments, crime rate, university)

[lifeisgreater]

Hi there,

I am planning to move to Lakewood, Washington in few months from now. I would like to know the pros and cons of living in Lakewood.

I am not sure about the crime rate and overall safety in this small town. Can someone live in Tacoma and commute to work from there? Or it would be better to be in Lakewood (considering high crime rate in Tacoma)?

If anyone would provide any insight about Lakewood like things to do, where to live (with better safety, preferably good apartments), availability of retail shops etc would be greatly appreciate. Thank you.

[mthomson]

Tacoma and Lakewood are essentially the same place in terms of location. Living in one and working in the other would be quite easy. I don't have the exact numbers, but my hunch is that the crime rate in Lakewood is higher than in Tacoma. Like anywhere, there are good spots, but there seems to be several bad spots in Lakewood as well.
If you're looking for optimal safety, I'd look in University Place, North Tacoma, or Steilacoom. There's no shortage of shops anywhere around there. A short drive or easy public transit can get you all around the area.

[Macanudo]

Crime in Lakewood/Tacoma is not really a problem. There are some parts to be avoided if possible but they are not many and not large.

We live up Bridgeport Way in University Place. We lived in areas of Houston several years ago that I would compare to parts of Lakewood or Tacoma and I didn't feel unsafe there.

[Jake840]

Lakewood is an interesting city. It has the rich of the rich around the lakes and the probably the most depressed areas in Pierce County around the bases. As for crime I am pretty sure like someone else said that it is probably a higher crime rate than Tacoma. If you live in a decent area there shouldn't be any problems though.

A commute from Tacoma to Lakewood wouldn't be a problem.

I would highly recommend visiting Lakewood first along with other surrounding cities and seeing if it is right for you.
Here are my pros and cons for Lakewood:

Pros:
- Near bases if military
- Higher end areas around lakes
- Lake access
- Decent retail options for a smaller town
- Lots of trees outside of the commercial areas
- Sounder Commuter train (someday)
- Lots of good Asian restaurants

Cons:
- Crime
- Reputation
- Not so great areas around the I-5/bases
- Very confusing street grid
- Lack of east-west hwy makes getting across town difficult
- Lots of strip malls and fast food and no real downtown
- Casinos, Strip Clubs, "Book" Stores
- Very car oriented city. No traditional business districts (like Proctor, 6th Ave, etc in Tacoma)