Moving to Tacoma! (Seattle, Kent, Lakewood: wood floors, apartment complex, renters)

[dabbado]

So, my boyfriend, dog & I are moving to Tacoma in a couple of weeks. Are there any areas that we should stay clear of? Are there any apartment complex's to stay clear of?

Any help would be great!

[xboxmas]

you should probably stay clear of any area of Tacoma.

[benemadre]

I'd be wary of overgeneralized statements about a town. We've lived in the North End of Tacoma for over 15 years and love it. That said, East Tacoma can be a bit dicey. The Hilltop area is transitional but does still have significant crime issues. In terms of apartment hunting, you will find you have a lot of choice because Tacoma is a college town. It's pretty easy to find house rentals if you want a house. The North End has a bunch of lovely well-maintained apartment buildings that have a great deal of character (think brick buildings, hard wood floors, etc.) When we rented, we had good luck with all the rental properties from Williams Properties. They are a bit more expensive than modern, cookie cutter places, though. The Point Defiance area is nice as well. Do you have specific things you are looking for/trying to avoid?

[Vagus]

Originally Posted by xboxmas

you should probably stay clear of any area of Tacoma.

Please ignore goofball comments like the one above.

Like everywhere else in the world, Tacoma has nice and not so nice parts. I lived there for about 5 years and loved it. Still consider moving back. When I left it was really picking up with downtown revitalization, etc. I've been back to visit a couple times and it's pretty nice. The main drawbacks: cost of housing and, if you have kids, I'm not too sure about the public school system. But overall I recommend it. Given the choice of Seattle or Tacoma, I would choose Tacoma!

There is an excellent post on another thread which I have linked below. Go to it and look for the message and maps posted by someone named "Magrack." He/she quite nicely outlines the good/bad areas of Tacoma and I think they are pretty much right on the money (plus, they're maps, so you can actually use them for reference).

http://www.city-data.com/forum/washi...eal-story.html

Good luck and enjoy!

[moonsavvy]

Maybe the people who live in Tacoma enjoy it, but ususally the one's who visit it...don't enjoy it. So since you are moving there you will probably be very happy. Take care.

[scirocco22]

Thanks, Vagus. I was going to go back to try and find Magrack's post with the maps when I had the chance but you beat me to it. Thank you!

dabbado, be sure to click on that link that Vagus posted. Magrack did such an excellent job.

[qwangbang]

Originally Posted by xboxmas

you should probably stay clear of any area of Tacoma.

I partially agree! I've lived in Tacoma for 13 years and it seems like the only livable area is the North End and Northeast Tacoma. Crime is high (you could compare stats with other cities if you want) and roads are broke down and never get repaved (I've gotten a flat after running into a huge pothole in the east side of Tacoma, and 2 months later, I still see the pothole on Portland Ave). Tacoma was the meth capital in the US some years back, but that problem seems to be gone now (probably because of the pharmacy restrictions).

I've been living in Seattle for the past 3 years and you would not want to come back to Tacoma after you've lived in Seattle. I'm moving to San Jose, CA permanently for a job in a month, and I can't wait to get out of the Washington weather (though it has been really nice this past week)!

From my experiences, you can generally see how a city is by (but not limited to) seeing its crime stats, income, and the type of cars people drive in the city (literally).

But don't let me stop you! Most of us live where our jobs and family takes us.

[princessvanessa]

My ex-husband transplanted me from Kent, WA (40 miles north of Tacoma) in 1992. I wasn't happy but it turned out not to be as bad as I thought.

We had an apartment in southwest Tacoma until we bought a house nearby in what is now University Place (still living in the house). UP is nice--it was Tacoma until it incorporated in 1995.

There seems to be more "gang-style" activity (lots and lots of graffiti) on the east side of I-5 and as mentioned before the hilltop (above Commencement Bay) is transitioning--mostly because of University of Washington Tacoma opening up around the same time I moved here.

Tacoma's Proctor area is nice and residential. Some nice shops and they have an open air market (Saturdays I believe) from May to October.

My ex insisted that we NOT rent any apartment that had the "first month free rent" incentive as there is probably a reason the complex needs to entice renters in.

Keep an eye out for the graffiti, as it is a good indicator of gangs--it is not just "taggers" (skateboarders) who spray paint signs.

The city of Lakewood, to the south seems, to have some problems that keeps their police pretty active (from what I read in the Tacoma News Tribune).

Personally, I would look to the west side of Tacoma--I have several friends who reside on the east side of Tacoma and they tell me about all the activity over there. All have had their house or mailbox hit with bullets--which I do not consider a good sign.

Move here and settle in and if your little slice of Tacoma doesn't suit you--start looking around Tacoma for another place that you may like better.

Welcome to "The City of Destiny" (Tacoma) I am sure you, your boyfriend, and dog will find a place to call home here.

Take care.

[leavingWA]

i've lived in tacoma for the past 30 years. we're curently relocating for my husbands job. places to avoid, hilltop, east tacoma (the tacoma mall area), lakewood (not tacoma but i saw someone mention it). sure some of the neighborhoods are ok in those areas, but if you're not from here it is very hard to know what is safe. places to live, west tacoma, north tacoma, and university place. feel free to pm me about apartments in UP. i can recomend a few that even have move in specials.

[dabbado]

Thanks for all the advice! We are looking into an apartment near North Shore Golf course. I am hoping that it is as good as it sounds! We are doing the 6-9 month rental thing until we find an area that we love to buy a house.
What shopping areas, etc are good around the above?