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Old 03-31-2011, 05:20 PM
 
Location: NC
55 posts, read 123,822 times
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Looking for the best towns to live in between Everett and Ft. Lewis? Where would you recommend that would be safe and a somewhat equal commute between the two?
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Old 03-31-2011, 05:39 PM
 
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Do you want the commute to be equal in time or in distance? What else makes a town the "best"? (Fortunately, there isn't just one "best", or most of us would be left out.)
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Old 03-31-2011, 06:10 PM
 
Location: Spokane, WA
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Seattle and slightly south of there is probably your best bet. Can't help much else without some specifics.
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Old 03-31-2011, 06:40 PM
 
Location: DuPont, WA
541 posts, read 2,138,221 times
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All I can say is I feel sorry for you!!! That's going to be a heck of a commute to both locations. Traffic here is HORRIBLE. We used to live in Federal Way which is ~25 miles north of Ft Lewis. The morning commute for my husband was not too bad as he left the house at 5:15 am, but the afternoon commute was terrible. On a good day it would take him 45 minutes to an hour, but on a bad day it would take anywhere from an hour and a half to two. Going north to Everett would be just as bad if not worse from anywhere Seattle/south.
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Old 03-31-2011, 06:42 PM
 
Location: NC
55 posts, read 123,822 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sll3454 View Post
Do you want the commute to be equal in time or in distance? What else makes a town the "best"? (Fortunately, there isn't just one "best", or most of us would be left out.)
Time over distance. Yes, you are right, best is in the eye of the beholder. Mainly looking for some suggestions to research further. Would prefer suburbs/rural over urban city living but not some where totally out in the middle of nowhere if that makes sense. Just wondering if there were some decent locations in between the two areas since we'd be commuting in opposite directions....
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Old 03-31-2011, 06:45 PM
 
Location: NC
55 posts, read 123,822 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Seattleite61 View Post
All I can say is I feel sorry for you!!! That's going to be a heck of a commute to both locations. Traffic here is HORRIBLE. We used to live in Federal Way which is ~25 miles north of Ft Lewis. The morning commute for my husband was not too bad as he left the house at 5:15 am, but the afternoon commute was terrible. On a good day it would take him 45 minutes to an hour, but on a bad day it would take anywhere from an hour and a half to two. Going north to Everett would be just as bad if not worse from anywhere Seattle/south.
Where is the traffic coming from? The Seattle area? Does the highway infrastructure not support the traffic? I have the option to transfer within my current company to Everett, and he would be PCSing to Ft. Lewis - so I have the flexibility as far as job location, he's stuck where he's at. Hard to research the area having never been there so I'm trying to get some info from the locals.

How do you like living in WA?
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Old 03-31-2011, 08:14 PM
 
7,743 posts, read 15,868,485 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jlbour View Post
Where is the traffic coming from? The Seattle area? Does the highway infrastructure not support the traffic? I have the option to transfer within my current company to Everett, and he would be PCSing to Ft. Lewis - so I have the flexibility as far as job location, he's stuck where he's at.
Oh, wow... that does suck.

There's a lot of bottlenecks between Everett and Ft. Lewis. 75 miles separate the two cities. Even if you decide to meet somewhere in the middle and live in... say Renton. If driving during regular commuting hours, you'll still looking at over an hour (and a half) driving time. Driving south would be a tad easier for your man.

A lot of people do live outside of Seattle and commute to work in Seattle and ultimately, there's only so much room for the freeway to expand. The worst bottlenecks are in the DT Seattle area and the Tacoma s-curves (passing DT Tacoma). 405 is not much better, and in fact recently was mentioned being in the top ten worst congestion spot in the US ( 50 Worst Commutes: America's Highways to Hell - The Daily Beast ). There's also other sources saying Seattle is 10th in the nation for worst congestion (shared with ATL).

Is there any other locations in the Seattle area you can look at?
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Old 03-31-2011, 08:55 PM
 
Location: DuPont, WA
541 posts, read 2,138,221 times
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There are two major freeways that run north-south - checkout mapquest to see I-5 and I-405. You can also check out Welcome to the Washington State Department of Transportation for traffic cameras during the times you would be commuting. I stand by what I said earlier - anywhere half way between Everett and Ft Lewis will be a bear of a commute to both locations.

You say PCS - so I take it you are a military spouse as well. Think about this - if your husband has to report to formation at ~6 am, from a half way point he would need to leave no later than 4:30-4:45 am. If he leaves work by 5:00 pm (which is fairly normal here at Lewis), he will be looking at at least an hour and a half to two hour commute. That pretty much means a 14+ hour day for him Traffic getting out of Ft Lewis is pretty bad on most days. Of course, if he has an MOS that works off hours, it wouldn't be quite so bad. We live in DuPont about 2 miles from one of the gates. We don't attempt to go anywhere after about 3 pm on week days due to traffic and wait until at least 6:30 pm.

I don't mean to be Debbie Downer, but there is no way I'd do it. Both I-5 and I405 can get extremely backed up during rush hour, going in either direction. I've lived here my entire life so speak from years of experience. We are looking to PCS when my husband returns from his current deployment, and I cannot wait to get away from this traffic!
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Old 04-01-2011, 08:57 AM
 
3,695 posts, read 11,370,975 times
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Look east, around where 18 crosses I-90.

The Fort Lewis commuter can go down 18 to 512 and bypass the I-5 mess through Tacoma.

The Everett commuter can join the slog north on I-405 and I-5 to Everett.

Both commutes will suck, but being to the east will make it just a little less aggravating since neither of you will have to deal with downtown Seattle and the 520/I-5 interchange.
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Old 04-01-2011, 11:50 AM
 
Location: DuPont, WA
541 posts, read 2,138,221 times
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Sorry, but the commute out of Ft Lewis via 512/167 is equally as bad as I-5 in the afternoons. I have friends that make that commute regularly. It is a bear as well! While it might be a tad bit better, there are only two lanes in each direction and it can get extremely backed up. The merge onto I-405 from 167 can be a nightmare during rush hour, too. I have friend who live in Puyallup off 512, which much closer to Ft Lewis than the area you mention, and it takes the husband at least 45 minutes on a good day. The area you suggest is at least another 45 minutes beyond that, again, on a good day! Anyway you look at it, this will be a horrible commute both ways.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sean98125 View Post
Look east, around where 18 crosses I-90.

The Fort Lewis commuter can go down 18 to 512 and bypass the I-5 mess through Tacoma.

The Everett commuter can join the slog north on I-405 and I-5 to Everett.

Both commutes will suck, but being to the east will make it just a little less aggravating since neither of you will have to deal with downtown Seattle and the 520/I-5 interchange.
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