Working at Fort Lewis ...Best areas South of Seattle? (Tacoma: for rent, crime)

[okkd7]

Alright, so from what i've read, it's confirmed that the best areas are in the city and north of seattle... However i will be working in Ft. Lewis, south of the city.

So, are there ANY decent areas south of the city? I hear some not-so-great things, but are there any recommendations people can make in between the city and Ft. Lewis?

[Inkpoe]

If you plan on living south of Seattle and commuting to Ft. Lewis, do keep in mind that's part of the Rush Hour corridor. For less traffic and (relatively) cheaper housing, would you consider living on the other side? (Lacey, Olympia, Yelm are nice places)

But otherwise, Federal Way, Auburn, parts of Tacoma/Puyallup/Spanaway and Fife are nice areas. Steilacoom supposedly has a good school district.

[Ira500]

First of all, there are plenty of good areas south of Seattle. Safe areas, pretty areas, areas with good restaurants. There is this perception than anything south of Seattle is a dangerous or a ghetto, but it's not really true. What is true is that there are a few bad areas south of Seattle, so that an entire town will get painted as bad even though there are only a few bad blocks.
And Inkpoe is right, the commute can be hellish if you live in/very near Seattle and commute to Fort Lewis.
But, if you must live near Seattle, Burien or Des Moines are nice, but it won't be an easy commute. Same goes for Renton. Parts of Federal Way are nice... Closer to Ft. Lewis, North Tacoma is very nice...Olympia is great, Steilacoom is nice, parts of Lacey are nice. Some of Puyallup has nasty traffic...

[Sandy Nelson]

I don't know what you've heard and I don't know what you're specifically looking for in a town, but consider Olympia. Olympia is 15 miles south of Ft. Lewis. As the capitol of the state of Washington it offers many cultural venues, such as theaters, galleries and events. There is a large offering and variety of restaurants, and shopping. Olympia has the second largest Farmer's Market in Washington and offers fine recreational opportunities such as hiking, biking, kayaking, sailing, etc.
Olympia has been ranked as the safest mid sized city in the US these past two years in a row. It's not a big city, but the drive to Seattle is only slightly over an hour for big city entertainment. The commute to Ft. Lewis is about 20 minutes.

[Kaitelan]

I grew up in Seattle and still live there. My job disappeared due to BRAC 2005 and the US Army Reserves 'transformation'. So my new job is at Ft Lewis with the Army Corps of Engineers. Started in November. The commute is not hellish, unless it's raining really hard and it's O'dark Thirty out there. I leave at or just before 6am and get to the Main Gate an hour later most mornings. Getting out of Seattle isn't too bad in the morning. And it's almost always 60mph all the way. Even through Tacoma. It's the evening when Tacoma really slows down and Seattle can be hell to get through. I leave work at 4pm and average trip time is right around 90 minutes.

I'm thinking of moving south, but I'm not sure I want to be south of Ft Lewis (Lacey, et al). I work for the Army Corps of Engineers and sometimes I have to attend training at the District HQ at Federal Center South which is just south of downtown Seattle on US99. Being south of Ft Lewis means an even longer commute in such an instance.

I'm thinking Fife or Milton as that would be approx 20 to Ft Lewis and 22 miles to the District HQ. Federal Way is an alternative, that would put me halfway between Ft Lewis and my home in Seattle. 26 miles one-way is better than 52.

And I know not everyplace is a hotspot of crime but how do you tell if the only crime stats you can find apply to the entire 'town' (like Lakewood or University Place) instead of the actual neighborhood you are thinking of moving into?

[cdog8307]

there are many area's in tacoma that are nice neighbor hoods..try area code 98445..we live in tacoma..and are currently moving the next couple of days onto fort lewis..my fiance is in the army and wanted to move closer to base..but there is alot of nice neighbor hoods around here..ours right now in particular is very calm and relaxing..you can watch little rabbits run across your front yard..

[Seattleite61]

We live in DuPont and love it here. We are 2 miles fron the Dupont gate and hubby's office is right on the other side of the gate.

As for commuting to the Federal Building South, as long as it is not during rush hour traffic, the commute would not be that bad. I drove from DuPont to dowtown Seattle the other day mid-morning and it took less than an hour.

We lived in Federal Way prior to moving to DuPont. My husband's commute in the morning was not bad, but coming at home after work took anywhere from an hour to two depending on traffic. He definitely does not miss that!

[cobolt]

Commute isn't bad if you live in S Seattle to the Ft because you're going against traffic, as most commuters are going into Seattle. Living S of the Fort (Olympia, Lacey) is closer, and the commute is fine, except when you get near N Ft Lewis Gate as it tends to bottleneck bad and as for Fridays going South from the Fort? Fagetaboutit. It's a mess.

If I were working at the Ft, I'd live where I'm still going against the traffic but closer to the Ft than S Seattle: N Tacoma, Browns Point, Fircrest, University Place, Steilacoom. Maybe even Puyallup if you can take the back gate into the Ft (sometimes 512 gets nasty going west).

There is really no reason to live near Seattle when you have many options closer to the Ft.

[angela seattle]

Originally Posted by okkd7

Alright, so from what i've read, it's confirmed that the best areas are in the city and north of seattle... However i will be working in Ft. Lewis, south of the city.

So, are there ANY decent areas south of the city? I hear some not-so-great things, but are there any recommendations people can make in between the city and Ft. Lewis?

Hi Lived on Fort Lewis the traffic going to Fort lewis in the morning and leaving is horrendus, most folks I know live on base or in Lakewood Steilacoom and Lacey, yelm I wouldnt recommend living in Seattle or north of it is expensive and the commute would suck some areas of Tacoma are also good but your best is one of the above Federal way is ok but again traffic hope it helps sadly we are leaving here Im sure you will love it my parents retired here from FT lewis before going to Mo and miss it.

[Chris1955]

Olympia, Lacey and Yelm. Is all you gotta know.