Questions about Puyallup (Seattle, Tacoma, Everett: apartments, to rent, how much) - Washington (WA) - City-Data Forum

Pepper492 · 04-30-2012, 10:45 PM

I'm a 30 something single female and I'm thinking of relocating to Puyallup and have some questions.

1-What is the employment like? Are there many job opportunities in that area (including Tacoma and Seattle) for receptionists, desk clerks, payroll clerks, cashiers or waitresses?

2-What about cost of living? I've googled it, but keep getting conflicting answers. I don't mind if it's a bit more expensive (I'm living in Salt Lake at the moment) but don't want it to be too high cost.

3-What about the walkability? I've gone to walkscore.com and the overall score is car dependent, as are the individual zip codes but some of the apartments listed are walk friendly (meaning most everyday errands can be handled by walking). Can anyone verify either answer?

4-What about dating? Are there many 30 something single guys in the area (Tacoma, Seattle, etc.)?

And if the cost of living is really high or the walkability bad, can anyone give me better suggestions in the area? Thanks.

Sobefobik · 05-01-2012, 10:56 AM

Pepper, what made you choose Puyallup? I"ll be honest, I don't like Puyallup and never have. It used to be a small farming community--my grandma and her family had a blueberry farm there a long time ago. Since then it has grown into a kind of suburbia. There are areas where you can own more property and have horses and such, but a lot of it is just suburban (like South Hill). They seem to be having a hard time keeping up with the growth and the infrastructure just simply can't keep up with the traffic. You have a lot of these small country roads that have major backups (don't even get me started on Meridian).

1: I'm not the best person to ask, but I think for these positions you shouldn't have too many problems, especially if you have some experience in those fields. There was another person on here from Salt Lake who was trying to get a job here, and she had a master's degree. She's still looking for a job. But these positions I think would be fine.

2: What do you mean by too high cost? That can be different for a lot of people. How much do you want to spend on rent? Or are you buying? Tacoma is very reasonable where you can find a nice 1 bedroom apartment for around $600 to $800. I'm not sure about Puyallup, but I believe that costs to buy are fairly high. Seattle is very expensive.

3: I doubt there's much walkability in Puyallup unless you live downtown. You will be using your car most of the time. Downtown Tacoma or north Tacoma would have more walkability, and Seattle of course.

4: The Seattle metro area has a population of over 3 million people, so your chances of dating I would think are pretty high.

Before I can recommend more you need to give me an idea of your price range. Are you more interested in rural? Urban? Suburban?

Pepper492 · 05-02-2012, 07:37 PM

A friend lived there 10 years ago and recommended it. I'm looking to rent at about $800/month. What's the worst part of Puyallup, in your opinion? You said it used to be a farming town but now it's more suburbia. Is that still a small town thing? Thanks.

Sobefobik · 05-03-2012, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pepper492

A friend lived there 10 years ago and recommended it. I'm looking to rent at about $800/month. What's the worst part of Puyallup, in your opinion? You said it used to be a farming town but now it's more suburbia. Is that still a small town thing? Thanks.

I wouldn't say that there's necessarily a bad area of Puyallup, but I would stay away from Meridian because of traffic problems. South Hill is also a big traffic area with the mall. River Road seems a little seedy in some spots.

If I were to move to Puyallup, I would stick closer to the downtown vicinity. When I say suburbia, I mean there's a lot of new development (strip malls, housing developments) that is taking over a lot of the old farming lands. The roads can't keep up with all this new development.

In general I don't care for the area, but the downtown is kind of cute. It has a western vibe to it with a lot of retired folks. The Puyallup Fair is fun.

Hopefully someone that lives in Puyallup can give you more info, especially on good/bad areas.

Pepper492 · 05-03-2012, 06:52 PM

So is it a more elderly population? B/c I'm looking for something with a small town feel, that's walkable, low cost ($800 rent) and has a lot of ages groups. I don't want Disneyland (for kids, by kids, etc.), NY (for singles, by singles, etc.) or a retirement community but something in-between. Good employment rates are a must. And it doesn't have to be in Washington, necessarily. I'm only looking there b/c my friend recommended it. But OR, MT, WY, CO, CA or NV would be fine, too. I'm just looking to get out of UT. I like the mountains but the employment, cost of living and walkability factors are the most important.

Inkpoe · 05-03-2012, 10:12 PM

Hmm... I don't live in Puyallup. But if you're looking for for small town feel, then I'd agree with the poster with the live in the "downtown" area rec because it does have that facade. While Puyallup does have 40K people, you have to realize there's a huge portion of the area that isn't incorporated. I remember reading awhile back where they were talking about Puyallup and the unincorporated area... that if you were to add the populations together, then it would easily be in the top 5 populous cities in the state or so. And again the previous poster is correct, Puyallup doesn't have the right infrastructure to support a huge population. So to me... Puyallup is hardly "small town" and with traffic I've had to deal getting through, it lacks the "small town" feel.

Tacoma could work but for the "small town" feel... it might not feel small enough for you. Auburn, if you live near downtown area which also provides great public transit to both Seattle and Tacoma while providing a small town element to it. Des Moines, near the marina could work as well.

PollyGlott · 05-03-2012, 11:33 PM

Yes, I agree - Puyallup doesn't have a "small town" feel at all. As far as I'm concerned, it's just the nearest place to shop (every store known to man is found on Meridian Ave) and to sit in traffic, as early as 6AM and as late as 10PM.
Too big and spread-out for a "small town" feel, yet too small to have much to offer (besides the shopping).

Sobefobik · 05-04-2012, 08:30 AM

I agree with the others--I don't think Puyallup is what you're looking for. I would look into Enumclaw. It has a real country town feel, and if you live downtown almost everything is walkable. You're very close to Mt. Rainier too. You also might like Bellingham. The Proctor District in Tacoma might fit those needs, but it might not have that small town feel you're looking for.

NWbyNW · 05-07-2012, 11:23 AM

I wouldn't be looking at the Puyallup or the south sound. If you want a small town feel close to employment, look at Snohomish, Washington. A quick ten minute drive to the "big city" of Everett. Snohomish has just about 9,000 people a very nice, historic downtown that has fun events all year round. Quaint shops, river, and just a very nice area in general. I would look into it. They do have a Fred Meyer outside of town, and a number of chain stores as well, so it's not like you are isolated. You are also close to a Costco in Everett.