Does anyone know anything about Bremerton?

[laharadesert]

For god sakes. You people act like were living in the ghetto of Seattle or Compton! *L* Bremerton is not that bad as long as you stay on the eastside. And I really don't even think the westside is ALL that bad. No, I wouldn't live there, but again, it's no Compton!

[ST CRoix To Seattle]

Right now I am living in a beach house in East Bremerton until we find our perfect for us new Puget Sound area home and I feel safe...I saw a deer jaywalking and urinating in public but aside from that I would be suprised if this part of Bremerton had any crime worth mentioning...most of the crime from what I gather from the BPD happens in a 10-15 block radius near the shipyard....

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by ST CRoix To Seattle

Right now I am living in a beach house in East Bremerton until we find our perfect for us new Puget Sound area home and I feel safe...I saw a deer jaywalking and urinating in public but aside from that I would be suprised if this part of Bremerton had any crime worth mentioning...most of the crime from what I gather from the BPD happens in a 10-15 block radius near the shipyard....

I think another factor may be just the fact that it's a shipyard town and many people don't like shipyard towns.

[wildmaven]

Originally Posted by new girl about town

I am a liscensed cosmetologist, not military, and i wanted to know the employment opportunities that may be available and best location. Where are the hair salons located? I guess that's it for now. Thank you to all that reply.
new girl....

There are LOTS of hair salons in Bremerton. Look along Wheaton/Warren and you'll even find supply stores for you. Silverdale and Poulsbo have more upscale salons than Bremerton. Silverdale is about 20-25 minutes from the shipyard and Poulsbo is even further than that.

There are issues with crime directly around the shipyard area, but about 5 minutes away you have lovely little neighborhoods.

I work in East Bremerton and have never been fearful for my safety.

[ubercat]

I moved to Bremerton because it's a great time to get in and build a business or two. Lots of reasons, but I won't bore you with `em.

This is a rough little town. I lived in NYC for 10 years, L.A. for 3, and I've toured the US a few times, and this is about as tough as town as you can find in the 48.

When I moved here, I moved to the Callow Area, and six months later I witnessed an attempted murder - out my front window, in the middle of a sunny day (believe it or not - it really was sunny). A man shot his gf of a few years (they had two children) six times, while the kids where in the back seat.

Five months after that, and after numerous assurances from my snake landlord that the area was safe, a man killed his wife in the shower directly across the street. My landlord's response was, "Oh. I was afraid you saw that."

I moved. My new garage was inhabited by a couple of homeless people.

The biggest issues in this town are:

1) Landlords/Parking Fiefdoms. Total stranglehold on the city.

2) Too few Police. I'm not a big fan of being policed, because I think I can do a pretty good job on my lonesome. Some of these nitwits, in this town, need to be policed.

3) 1 + 2 = Crap Synergy.

4) High homeless population.

Some of us are trying to fight back against the crime - and the downtown area is actually nice to walk around in the evening. It's not as bad as it was even a year ago. If you move to Bremerton, there's a lot of opportunity, and you'd probably make a good home in the downtown area, but you better have a thick hide and a well-oiled bs-detector...

On a personal note, I LOVE all the highwires that drape through the city.

[tindo80]

Ive always liked Bremerton. People give it crap for its perceived 'crime' rate, but honestly I cant think of a single suburb other than Kirkland, Bellevue and Issaquah in Seattle that I havent heard a washingtonian tell me how 'ghetto' or 'grimey' it is. (For the record..there is NOWHERE in Seattle that even nearly qualifies as 'ghetto' or even 'very dangerous'. I would recommend anyone who thinks otherwise to visit California or Texas or Illinois) Everytime Ive been, the people have been very open and friendly.

[team_evans]

Well, when I was in high school in neighboring Silverdale in the late 90s, my friends and I would park and walk onto the Bremerton ferry over to Seattle for concerts and so on and return to downtown B'ton in the middle of the night, and we were never frightened or bothered by anyone. And there's been a LOT of investment in that area since then, trying to take it more upscale. But even in its worst days, if a bunch of middle-class Silverdale parents let their 16 year old, not very streetwise daughters walk through there at 1 am it couldn't be that bad, right?

East Bremerton, from the Tracyton/Hwy 303 end down to the Warren Ave bridge, is boring old strip malls and houses built in the '70s and '80s.

West Bremerton, from the WAB past Olympic College, over to the shipyard and ferry terminal, is the older part of town, with houses built in the 40s when the shipyard was booming. Although the shipyard and the Navy base are still functioning and employ middle-class/working class people, none of those people live in West Bremerton. Lots of low-income people there, and the kind of establishments that spring up around military bases (tattoo parlors, adult bookstores, payday loan places). Definitely a skeevy part of town, but you can walk down the street without getting assaulted or anything.

[Sadie707]

I have lived in Bremerton, West Bremerton specifically for almost 10 years, and have worked at the shipyard for 8 as a civilian employee. I prefer West Bremerton to East Bremerton; I found there was more petty crime in East Bremerton than West, although it depends where you are.
I have walked the streets at all hours while going to work on different shifts, and have never had any problems.
I bought a house in West Bremerton six years ago so I could walk to work instead of driving everyday (unlike what another reply said, many homes are owned by shipyard workers).
The difference over the past 10 years in West Bremerton is dramatic, especially near the ferry. It is interesting to note that the safe/nice neighborhoods in West Bremerton vary by block; one street will have beautiful, well cared for 100 year old brick homes, and two blocks away are run-down rentals. It all depends on the street (And Callow, the street that another replier said they saw a shooting, is a bad street that is quite a number of blocks away from the ferry...I would never live in this area of town).
I do agree with another replier that Bremerton can be VERY boring, although it all depends on what your interests are. The Poulsbo and Silverdale area are also nicer, although more expensive; Silverdale does have quite a few apartment buildings and is close to shopping.
If you move to Bremerton, just do your research on the area you choose to live in; the Kitsap Peninsula is a beautiful area and seems to be fairly recession proof.