General information on Gig Harbor? (Seattle, Tacoma: for rent, condos, low crime)

[CWG]

Can anyone give me an overview of what life is like in Gig Harbor. We are a retired couple in our fifties who like adventure/travel/ being close to the ocean/low crime. Any info would be appreciated.

[Ira500]

Gig Harbor is nice. mthomson is our resident Gig Harbor guru. Hopefully he'll see this and weigh in.

[mthomson]

Thanks Ira! Gig Harbor is--in my opinion--paradise! General info--small town that is gaining some great ammenities. We have a Costco and Target and several grocery stores. A 2-year old YMCA that is one of the nicest in the nation according to their own sites. We have a great new history museum along our historic waterfront, that has a nice selection of little shops and is a great place for walking. We are just about to open a Boys and Girls Club that will also double as a senior center.
If you like golf, we have Madrona Links and GH Golf Club that are inexpensive smaller courses, and the Canterwood Golf and Country Club which is the full service fancy golf club.
There is a wide range of houses, from condos to 55+ to neighborhoods to estates on acreage ranging from low $200k's to well into the millions (median home price around $365k).
You can keep up on all things Gig Harbor through the blog at this link.

[cabocurtis]

The Ocean is about a 2 hour drive from Gig Harbor but the south puget sound which Gig Harbor is the starting point has excellent waterways and interesting shoreline. The last two weekends we were out in our boat and spotted a pod of Orca Whales both times. Watching seals, eagles and fishing is excellent. The Washington Pacific ocean coast is pretty rough water, cold and often rocky and the sandy beaches allow cars to drive. I go through Gig Harbor all the time and highly recommend it.

[TXknitter]

We were just in Gig Harbor about three months ago. Our son lives there. We were at dinner with several very well-connected realtors ($$ realtors) and they said it would soon be just as congested as other off-shoots of Sea-Tac. Buy now. Carve out your little piece of heaven while it is as nice as it is. I agree - lovely place. With the new hospital, they had RN applications for employment out the KAZOO. Big growth is expected and the hospital, and other facilities going up are really nice. To me, the housing wasn't too expensive either (yet!) Good luck to all who are fortunate enough to live in Gig Harbor! Their YMCA was AWESOME !!!

[cabocurtis]

I think Gig Harbor will grow but lack of jobs besides the new hospital and the commute to Seattle will limit its growth. The new bridge does make the drive much easier through Tacoma but now Nalley Valley bridges are being replaced which will take two plus years to finish along with the Narrows bridge toll will likely contain growth. In spite of all these issues I plan on relocating to Gig Harbor despite having a Seattle based business due to the combination of natural beauty, small town feel but with decent retail and restaurants. Nobody talks about this much but Gig is perfectly positioned within a 20 minute drive to access some of the best golf in all of Washington State. There is the private Canterwood course(2nd toughest course in WA state) and public Chambers Bay(home of future US open) Gold Mountain, Trophy Lake and Mccormick Woods.

[Flyted08]

First, I wanted to start a new thread on this subject, but darned if I can figure out how. I will be working near the TIW airport and want a rough idea on apt rent and housing prices in the 1400sf range that would be a resonable commute. Not knowing the area, would I want to live on Gig harbor since I'll work there or would it be better/cheaper to live elsewhere and commute? Thanks, and tell me how to start a new thread.

[mthomson]

Right above the list of threads, in the top left of the screen, is a button that says "New Thread." I'm not sure where the TIW airport is, so I'm not sure if Gig Harbor is the best bet or not. There's a small airport in Gig Harbor that I've always referred to as the Tacoma Narrows Airport, but maybe it has an official name!
Apts in Gig Harbor are generally smaller than 1400sf, but are actually pretty affordable. There are several homes for rent in that range for about $1000-$1200/mo. If you were looking to buy, 1400sf in Gig Harbor would run you on average $260k or so.

[Flyted08]

There is simply no "New Thread" icon on my pages. Oh well. TIW is the same airport your thinking about, its south of Gig harbor a few miles. House prices are out of range for me, much more expensive than any place I've looked. It is a nice area though. Apt rent from what I can see is around $700/mo for a 1 bdrm, a little high also. Maybe if I visited the area I could justify it, living on a sailboat is another option.

[TXknitter]

From having visited our son there, like I had mentioned above, I do agree with our resident guru from Gig Harbor that it is indeed paradise. Although I think the realtor I spoke with was being a little negative about the possibility of lots of growth (what nice area around Seattle hasn't or won't grow, come on now) I think for an active couple, Gig Harbor is wonderful. I did notice that they have a good selection of very reasonably priced homes. I drove past the new YWCA (or YMCA, sorry) and it looked like a country club! With interest rates being so wonderful, it would be a good time to invest in a lovely place like Gig Harbor.