exactly where to live in tacoma? (Bainbridge Island: apartments, to rent, condos)

[hysty]

Hi
I posted earlier when I was wondering where to move (bainbridge, seattle, tacoma). Finally I will be coming over to washington in early may to look for house/apartment to rent and will be visiting bainbridge island and tacoma and seattle. As I will be working in bremerton and want to live closer to seattle I think I should live in tacoma.
Can someone please tell me exactly which part of tacoma to search for an apartment. From what I have read in this forum area 98407 is the best area to live in as far as safety is concerned.
Please do reply as I will be moving by the end of June and I am completely new to washington and have no clue about neighborhoods, gangs,etc. I have a family so safety is a concern.

Thanks in advance.

[mthomson]

98407, 98406, 98405 are all pretty nice. 98466 will be some good options, too.

[dpgtfc]

Originally Posted by mthomson

98407, 98406, 98405 are all pretty nice. 98466 will be some good options, too.

What about 98403 and 98402?

My wife likes the look of a place called Bostwick Building in 98403 I think.

[hysty]

how about the safety in 98407? I read somewhere on this forum that anything north of 6th avenue is safe. Is that true?

[Jake840]

98402 is going to be Downtown Tacoma. It is safe but you are going to be in a downtown setting so you are going to have to deal with noise. The Bostwick is a nice building. I know a few people who live there. Just make sure you don't get a unit with the bedroom near 9th because you are going to have to listen to the annoying crosswalk bleeping noise. You also have a large gay club up the street so you will have noise from patrons outside. And fyi the north end of downtown is pretty much Tacoma's "gay/gay friendly neighborhood" so you hopefully are ok with that.

The "rule" with 6th Ave. isn't really how it used to be. It was more about having an "N" in front of your street name. I think that prestige has worn off a bit as neighborhoods have improved to the south. There are many neighborhoods south of 6th Ave. that are nice. I would say just check out the areas north of I-5 and Hwy 16. If you don't like the look of the area don't move there. If you are looking north of 6th then make sure you get atleast past North 8th St. if near the biz district. If you are too close to 6th Ave. you are going to have to deal with noise from the clubs and patrons and all that brings with it.

Lack of safety shouldn't really be a problem in most areas of Tacoma, unless you hang out with undesirable people. You don't hear much about random violent crime going on. Right now though property crime like break-ins is a big thing in Tacoma (and everywhere else).

[hysty]

Thats good info. I was searching for apartments online and found village at the pointe condos to be pretty good. What do you guys think? Its north of N31st street.
Is this a safe area and over all is it a good area to live with family for 3-4 years?
I'll appreciate any suggestions. Thanks

[Jake840]

Village at the Pointe looks to be a nice place. The area is safe and pretty quiet. I am not sure how they went about remodels once the market tanked and they started renting. The unremodeled units were pretty dated. The remodeled units were very nice inside and had a good layout. They aren't the largest units (approx 850 sqft 2bd?) but had nice amenities (garage, duplexes so only 1 neighbor, gated, pool, nice grounds). Also you are 5 minutes from Pt. Defiance so if you have kids you will love that.

[hysty]

Thanks Jake840. Yes I agree about the size of these apartments. I called them and if I remember correctly its 925sq feet. Anyway if its a nice and safe area one can deal with that. I will definitely look for other apartments once I am there. Also island homestead apartments in bainbridge island are good but the problem with BI is regarding shopping places for which we will have to go to seattle plus expensive ferry rides in case we have to commute daily in a vehicle. So tacoma sounds like a good option at the moment.

[dpgtfc]

Thanks Jake! Good info. Both my wife and I are ok with the gay culture (even being from the midwest) even if we aren't INTO it ourselves. I'd give you more rep but I gotta "spread it around".

If you ever need anything let me know.

[Ira500]

Tacoma is going to be less expensive than Bainbridge Island, and living anywhere near Point Defiance park has major plusses. Aside from it being a huge ,gorgeous, amazing park, it also has the zoo and aquarium.