Moving from Cali to WA this fall (Tacoma, Olympia: to rent, house)

[skrude1]

Honestly, Tacoma is like any other densely populated area. There are good areas and bad areas in it. Used to live on a real busy street (pac ave eastside tac) and one night there was a brick thrown throw the window. Not sure what it was about. Might have been a hate crime. Keep in mind though, that is probably one of the busiest streets in the tacoma area and it spans from downtown tacoma all the way to like...spanaway.

I live across the freeway from one of the gates, and the 2 or 3 exits heading south go on base. Past that it becomes lacey. I just started a job in lacey at a great company. Albeit, through a staffing agency, but its a hell of a lot better than unemployed. In my little time spent there, it seems to be really quiet but a bit country like. If you're more of a street walker apposed to road rider, then stick to tacoma areas. But if you like open area with distance between you and civilization, then head further south towards lacey.

From my own empircal data, the lacey/olympia area seems to be growing. There is also a state college there. (evergreen) Only reason i know about it is I was looking at their mech engineering program.

[pnwretired]

Originally Posted by PNWobsessed

Thank you for the feedback. I know some people here are suggesting I should move to Portand or Olympia but since my husband will be working in LakeWood for the Army, Tacoma is our closest city that seems to have job options for me as well. I come from a very nice expensive part of south Orange County but still am very down to earth and love my walmart and ross dress for less shopping.
I found this apartment Apex Apartments that seems really nice at ApexApartments.com in Tacoma. Can anyone give me feedback on that as I have not been there yet in person? It looks great from the website considering I want a place that has a washer and dryer, fireplace, a view, walk in closet and allows pets. It seems to have all that and be close to the mall. If you know of a good apartment under $1000 that has all that please give me the website!! Thanks
Im just trying to pick out a good place to live near base. Lakewood didnt seem very nice but Tacoma didnt see bad at all. But Im sure like Orange County it has its nice and less nice places.

I have seen those apartments when I go to the mall. They were just built. You can walk to the mall. The area is ok. We actually lived in that area when we were first married. Had to park on street and our car was never vandalized or anything. Moved into our home and in the first 2 weeks neighbors home was broken into. So, I really can't say anything bad about the area even though some will probably say avoid it.

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by skrude1

Honestly, Tacoma is like any other densely populated area. There are good areas and bad areas in it.

Sure, if you manage to overlook the relative abundance of bad areas, it's just the same as anywhere else!

[PNWobsessed]

Ok, so tell me more about Lacey... Someone mentioned it being "country". I love nature, views and open spaces, but also want to be a short driving distance to everything I need. Most importantly 1- I cant be too far from base 2- want to be close to the mall, preferably a mall with Sephora 2- close to a community collage 4- pretty safe area 5- apartment under $1000

[pnwretired]

I like Lacy. It is not far from the base but don't know about the traffic heading north to the base during work hours. That would make a long commute. Don't believe there are any malls there. Zillow.com will give you rentals in the areas your interested in.

[PNWobsessed]

What city would you say compares to Orange County (safe and suburban but city-like stuff to do like malls and movie theaters and nice places to eat)

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by PNWobsessed

What city would you say compares to Orange County (safe and suburban but city-like stuff to do like malls and movie theaters and nice places to eat)

Bellevue.

[pnwretired]

Originally Posted by PNWobsessed

What city would you say compares to Orange County (safe and suburban but city-like stuff to do like malls and movie theaters and nice places to eat)

Agree with Bellevue. Having lived in CA. you will not find any place like that near the base. You might as well deal with it since you are married to a guy in the military and don't have a choice or you do. Stay in Orange County.

[poopskooper]

Originally Posted by PNWobsessed

Ok, so tell me more about Lacey... Someone mentioned it being "country". I love nature, views and open spaces, but also want to be a short driving distance to everything I need. Most importantly 1- I cant be too far from base 2- want to be close to the mall, preferably a mall with Sephora 2- close to a community collage 4- pretty safe area 5- apartment under $1000

I wouldn't say Lacy is "country" (I may not understand the true meaning of "country," however). To me it's a typical suburbia. It's where I do most of my shopping and other business when I'm staying in Washington.

It's a sprawling suburbia with no defined nor quaint downtown area. It has several different commercial neighborhoods and several neighborhoods where it "shares" with Olympia and unincorporated Thurston County. In the "downtown area" where city hall and administrative offices are located, there is a large commercial area radiating from the South Sound Center, an open mall, and several series of strip and satellite malls. The other predominant commercial and corresponding residential areas in Lacey include Hawks Prairie/Tanglewilde (Costco, Walmart, Home Depot, etc. with again, a large array of sprawling strip and satellite malls in the general area), and the area in south Lacey centered around Corporate Center and College St. where many of the newer developments in Lacey are located.

Again, Lacey is home to a lot of military families because of its close proximity of JBLM and being a family oriented area with relatively low crime.

To reiterate, I believe Lacey to be the compromise in your search. I'm not that familiar with southern California so I can't give what cities would be comparable to Tacoma or Lacey/Olympia. However, I believe Thurston County (Olympia/Lacey) has a much better reputation for being safe compared to Tacoma.

I wasn't sure what Sephora is so I did research it a bit and it seems to be sold/featured at J.C. Penny locations in most of the malls in western Washington where J.C. Penny is located. So you'd have one in the Capital Mall in west Olympia which is about 15-minutes (8-9 miles) from Lacey.

So Lacey/Olympia would be close to JBLM, close to Capital Mall in west Olympia, is a safe area, has apartments for $1,000 or less, and has South Puget Sound Community College in southwest Olympia, St. Martin's University in Lacey (private) and The Evergreen State College in west Olympia (a very liberal state institution). That, and the fact it is safer than most areas, neighborhoods, and suburbs of Tacoma, to me makes it a good compromise pertaining to what you're looking for.

[PNWobsessed]

Thanks for all the feedback! I need all the help I can get, having never been there. Are there some nice apartments in Lacey that have websites I can look at? I have been doing searches on ForRent's website but its hard to tell if they will be clean and have decent people without seeing them in person.