Possible move to Tacoma: best neighborhood, schools? (rentals, houses)

[MBfamilyof4]

Hi, everyone. I've been lurking for a few months now but figured I'd jump right in as my family's possibility of moving to the Tacoma area is looking more likely every week.

I'm looking for advice on neighborhood and schools. I have one child in middle school and another with one year left in elementary school. The move will be hard on them, leaving their neighbors and friends, so we're looking for a great, safe neighborhood atmosphere where we can let them run around, ride bikes to friends' houses and walk our dog. That's what we'd be leaving, so we want to do our best in replicating that childhood experience. I'd say it's right next to great schools in our list of most important aspects. If all goes well, we'd like to stay in the area until they're through high school, so we're looking for the best system possible.

We'd like to rent a house the first year to make sure we're comfortable in the chosen area, but it appears most rentals don't accept large dogs and/or cats. Is this usually negotiable? Both are litter/house trained and neither animal is destructive at all. Our budget would be around $2,500-3k, with the possibility of stretching it if we fell in love.

This would be an actual coast to coast move for us, going from SC to Tacoma, so any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[homesinseattle]

I love the "North End" historic neighborhoods of Tacoma, very treed and beautiful, tight community too.