Gig Harbor / Fox Island (Seattle, Tacoma: buying a home, neighborhoods, buying)

[Prodigal Coug]

After several years of moving around the US, my job is finally bringing us back to Washington, probably Tacoma. I have a few questions for anyone familiar with Gig Harbor, and especially Fox Island.

It looks like Voyager Elementary does well on the WASL, and that Gig Harbor HS is pretty good also. Is that accurate?

I've noticed that most people say that the commute over the Tacoma Narrows bridge is "horrendous" but that's subjective. How long will it take to get from Fox Island to downtown Tacoma at 6:00 am?

What's the community like on Fox Island? One demographic I saw said the average age was about 45. We have four kids under 11; is Fox Island a retirement community, or are families welcomed?

Thanks for any info you can provide.

[gallo]

I'm not sure about the demographics of Fox Island, but I can tell you for certain that the roads in the Puget Sound area will be near empty at 6:00am.

[rustychloe]

Originally Posted by Prodigal Coug

After several years of moving around the US, my job is finally bringing us back to Washington, probably Tacoma. I have a few questions for anyone familiar with Gig Harbor, and especially Fox Island.

It looks like Voyager Elementary does well on the WASL, and that Gig Harbor HS is pretty good also. Is that accurate?

I've noticed that most people say that the commute over the Tacoma Narrows bridge is "horrendous" but that's subjective. How long will it take to get from Fox Island to downtown Tacoma at 6:00 am?

What's the community like on Fox Island? One demographic I saw said the average age was about 45. We have four kids under 11; is Fox Island a retirement community, or are families welcomed?

Thanks for any info you can provide.

Fox Island is a very nice place to live. It mainly consist of homes only and you will be going to Gig Harbor to do all of your shopping. However it is only apprx 15 min. from gig Harbor.

If you live on Fox Island and work in Tacoma. Your morning commute will not be to bad as long as you are on the freeway (Hwy 16) by 6:00am. Your evening commute, remains to be seen. There is a second bridge that will open in july 07. So hopefully the traffic will not be as bad as it is now. Currently it can be a nightmare, crossing from Tacoma to Gig Harbor. Especially if there is an accident or if it is raining. Once you have crossed the bridge (The Narrows Bridge, very beautiful scenery) you will be in another traffic jam, heading to Fox Island crossing the Fox Island Bridge. However as I stated before there is a second bridge and hopefully this traffic will be relieve. Keep in mind though, that there will be a toll of 1.75 to cross into Tacoma. Next year it is slated to go up to 3.00. You only pay one way to pay for the new bridge.

Gig Harbor and Fox Island are thought of as one place. The school system is good. However some see the high school becoming a school full of weathly spoiled kids, that pretty much don't care about anyone but themselves. I sent my kids to private school. Like a lot of HS, Gig Harbor HS has a drug and alcohol problem. Too many kids with too much money and too much time on their hands, as their parents work hard to give them everything.

Some people think of Fox Island and Gig Harbor residents as snobs. There is a high income level that lives in both areas.

The area is beautiful. Downtown Gig Harbor is quaint and friendly.

[jengreene14]

My husband is from Fox Island and mentioned that the cost of housing there is very high, which may explain why there is a small number of young families. It is not a retirement community, but it is expensive for young couples.

[Tony1790]

Originally Posted by gallo

I'm not sure about the demographics of Fox Island, but I can tell you for certain that the roads in the Puget Sound area will be near empty at 6:00am.

Whoa put down the crack pipe buddy, I don't know what's in that thing, but you ain't seeing empty roads in Puget sound at 6am, maybe 3 am, having made the drive from Kitsap county to Seattle for years, traffic starts getting bad at 4am, then horrible by 6am, no where near empty......as I say all of this from the safety of Kansas City, MO where I've been for the last week, after escaping the Hell of Seattle traffic ;-)

Rehab is all I can advise......(just teasing now)

Tony

p.s. As far a living in Gig Harbor and commuting to Tacoma, as long as you get off by 2:30 pm the afternoon commute is tolerable, it gets bad by 3 pm to 6 pm (give or take). And the tolls are supposed to go up to what...$6 bucks eventuall is what I read somewhere.

[Prodigal Coug]

Thanks for all the advice. We are flying in on Wednesday for a househunting trip, and we will do both the am and pm commutes before we make our final decision. From what we can tell from the internet, Gig Harbor H.S. is just about the best in the Tacoma area, and thankfully we have been blessed such that the houses on Fox Island aren't out of our financial means.

If the Fox Island commute is too bad, we will probably look at somewhere in Gig Harbor closer to Highway 16.

Thanks.

[T-TownNicky]

Having 5 children of my own, I understand the importance of sending your children to a great school, but don't give up on Tacoma so quickly. You can find a very nice home in NE Tacoma (Browns Point) that has great schools. Stadium HS has high WASL scores as well, not much different from Gig Harbor. Even Old Town (Tacoma), Ruston, and north Tacoma near the zoo / bridge are wonderful areas. All Tacoma schools have optional enrollment, and there are a few private schools as well. Even University Place would be a good option and has its own school district.

Once the toll goes into affect, Gig Harbor may turn into something you won't care for. I know that it is more and more difficult to sell homes over there and they aren't cheap! Judging traffic this time of the year when it's beautiful is not going to do you any good. Be prepared to waste hours and hours of your life every week due to the commute - hours you could be using to spend with your large family! Not to mention times when the bridge is shut down due to strong winds...

I've lived in Tacoma for much of my life, it's not as bad as everyone makes it sound. Like any big city, it is important to know where the undesired parts of town are. I think Tcoma gets such a bad rap because the most awful parts are what you see on your way from Seattle.

Good luck on your search!

[Prodigal Coug]

We ended up buying a home in the Sunrise subdivision in South Hill, Puyallup, in the Edgerton / Glacier View / Emerald Ridge school pyramid. Gig Harbor and Fox Island just didn't seem as child friendly as did Puyallup. Gig didn't have many sidewalks, not many true neighborhoods, and had an almost complete lack of soccer /baseball / football fields and parks.

On the other hand, the housing dollar went a LOT further in South Hill, and it was basically impossible to go anywhere in the area without seeing dozens of kids out riding their bikes, playing basketball, or just drawing on the sidewalk with chalk.

We drove both commutes to Puyallup and Gig Harbor during both morning and evening rush hours, and in my opinion the "terrible" commute to Gig Harbor is overblown. In fact, I'm pretty sure that my commute from South Hill will be worse than the commute from Fox Island. My two cents is that northwest natives aren't used to either real traffic or tolls. From what I saw, although traffic isn't good, it's nowhere near as bad as trying to get into downtown Washington, D.C. on a daily basis.

Thanks for the advice.