Mcchord AFB - Safety, best cities/towns to live in (Seattle: cul-de-sac, apartments)

[charrogirl]

Hello everyone! Before anyone mentions it, yes, I have read all the previous Mcchord AFB posts, but none mention specific info I want and they all seem to be so old. So no worries about me posting about something already answered.

Me and my husband (he's in the AF) will be relocated there in a couple of months, and I happen to be a little paranoid about safety. As far as all the reviews of apartments around the base, this area of Washington seems to be horrible! I don't want to believe every word the reviews say... so I humbly ask for your help.

Could anyone tell me the safest town/cities/places to live near Mcchord AFB? My husband told me that he doesn't mind a long-ish commute, (I'd rather not, that's together time cut from us) but so far anything near it seems to be a bad choice. Also, if you could be kind enough to include any personal/known experiences of renting apartments/condos/homes/etc, and which would be better? I don't care if it's expensive as long as I'm safe... but my husband prefers not to spend sooo much in rent.

Additional info: We don't have children, so school districts and such don't matter to us. But if it's around a good district, I wouldn't mind living there.

The more detailed the post, the better it is for me. I thank anyone who helps me, I truly appreciate your time!

[RotseCherut]

Safe means you live away from the base, as Lakewood and South Tacoma is rather ghetto.. Try Lacey, Olympia or you can live in better part of Tacoma or Puyallup.

[Sandy Nelson]

Farmers Insurance and Sperling's Best Places to live have ranked Olympia, WA as the safest mid sized US city several times in the past few years.
If safety is a top concern for you, I would recommend you fins a place to live in Olympia or Dupont.

[charrogirl]

Thank you for your responses, guys! I appreciate the input and I will take it into consideration. I did noticed the apartments near that area you mention had horrible reviews. Thank you!

If anyone has any other suggestions (near or far-ish but manageable from base), I'll take them!

[RotseCherut]

Originally Posted by charrogirl

Thank you for your responses, guys! I appreciate the input and I will take it into consideration. I did noticed the apartments near that area you mention had horrible reviews. Thank you!

If anyone has any other suggestions (near or far-ish but manageable from base), I'll take them!

Lacey is affordable and not too far away.. I'd seriously consider Lacey.. You have Cabela's nearby and all types of shopping and don't have the ghetto element you would have living near the base or in Tacoma/Lakewood.

[christmasintheusa]

Hi charrogirl,
Like you, I am also the wife of an Air Force member and we are moving back to Lewis-McChord in July for the second time. We bought a home in Lacey the last time we lived there (we're currently renting it out) and we really liked it for these reasons:
1. It was safe. Every town has issues, but I always felt safe with my kids (ages at the time were high school, middle, and kindergarten), especially when my husband was deployed. We lived in a quiet cul-de-sac off Ruddell Road and were pleased with the area. The Olympia newspaper has a section that you can access on-line which shows a crime map in Olympia and Lacey. It is updated weekly, if not more often, and it details everything from the registered sex offenders, to thefts etc.. That should help you as well.
2. The schools were great. Olympia school district has a higher reputation, but my daughters went to Timberline High and my other went to Komachin Middle and it was fine. Good teachers, normal kids, good activities. I know you don't have kids, but there will be kids living around you and it's good to know what kind of neighbors you have.
3. It was only about 16 miles from the base. I was able to get to Lewis in about 20 minutes during the morning when everyone was at school and work. McChord took about 30 minutes. Traffic was of course higher during rush hour so the commute was longer.
4. Olympia is right next door and it's a cool, laid-back town. It has a mall, restaurants, art etc.. and all of the other things that keep it "weird".
5. The people were great.
6. The public transportation was excellent. I had no problem letting my teenagers take the bus around town or to Olympia.
When we move back this summer we are going to be looking north of the base only because so much of we like to do is in Seattle -- the Mariners, downtown, etc. Two of our kids are our kids are grown and out of the house now and our lifestyle is changing a bit, so our needs are changing too.
Here is the major drawback with Lacey:
1. If you or your husband travel a lot, or you have friends and family flying in, you will find the drive to the airport is a killer. My husband flew in and out of Seattle a ton and it was a long drive (thanks to traffic, particularly around Tacoma). Or if you want to do anything north of the base (Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Puyallup etc..) the traffic from your house will be a nightmare.
The area around the base is absolutely gross (like most bases) so don't live there.
I know that Steilacoom is also an absolutely darling area. Old fashioned street lights, right on the water. It sort of looks like the town from "Murder She Wrote".
Check ahrn.com since you're a military member. There are tons of rentals in the Lacey/Olympia area and you really can't go wrong with either town.
Best of luck to you!

[Creature of the Wheel]

Stay away from Lakehood. Just as others have stated, Olympia and Lacey are real good alternatives.

[charrogirl]

Originally Posted by christmasintheusa

Hi charrogirl,
Like you, I am also the wife of an Air Force member and we are moving back to Lewis-McChord in July for the second time. We bought a home in Lacey the last time we lived there (we're currently renting it out) and we really liked it for these reasons:
1. It was safe. Every town has issues, but I always felt safe with my kids (ages at the time were high school, middle, and kindergarten), especially when my husband was deployed. We lived in a quiet cul-de-sac off Ruddell Road and were pleased with the area. The Olympia newspaper has a section that you can access on-line which shows a crime map in Olympia and Lacey. It is updated weekly, if not more often, and it details everything from the registered sex offenders, to thefts etc.. That should help you as well.
2. The schools were great. Olympia school district has a higher reputation, but my daughters went to Timberline High and my other went to Komachin Middle and it was fine. Good teachers, normal kids, good activities. I know you don't have kids, but there will be kids living around you and it's good to know what kind of neighbors you have.
3. It was only about 16 miles from the base. I was able to get to Lewis in about 20 minutes during the morning when everyone was at school and work. McChord took about 30 minutes. Traffic was of course higher during rush hour so the commute was longer.
4. Olympia is right next door and it's a cool, laid-back town. It has a mall, restaurants, art etc.. and all of the other things that keep it "weird".
5. The people were great.
6. The public transportation was excellent. I had no problem letting my teenagers take the bus around town or to Olympia.
When we move back this summer we are going to be looking north of the base only because so much of we like to do is in Seattle -- the Mariners, downtown, etc. Two of our kids are our kids are grown and out of the house now and our lifestyle is changing a bit, so our needs are changing too.
Here is the major drawback with Lacey:
1. If you or your husband travel a lot, or you have friends and family flying in, you will find the drive to the airport is a killer. My husband flew in and out of Seattle a ton and it was a long drive (thanks to traffic, particularly around Tacoma). Or if you want to do anything north of the base (Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Puyallup etc..) the traffic from your house will be a nightmare.
The area around the base is absolutely gross (like most bases) so don't live there.
I know that Steilacoom is also an absolutely darling area. Old fashioned street lights, right on the water. It sort of looks like the town from "Murder She Wrote".
Check ahrn.com since you're a military member. There are tons of rentals in the Lacey/Olympia area and you really can't go wrong with either town.
Best of luck to you!

My God! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS! It's detailed and we're on the same position (minus the children), so thank you! Now that you mention it, I'm sure my husband would rather us live closer to Seattle just because we do love the nightlife (more like dinners out, going out with friends, etc). so I will look into finding somewhere save north of the base. If you happen to find a safe city north of the base, do tell me. Good luck to you and your family!

[P0g0p0P3]

To the OP, check out Milton to the north. Not much of a commute (I believe around 10 miles or so) and it's a great little town. I moved to the east coast in 2012 from Milton. I loved living there. Very friendly neighbors, small town kinda feel...a few months after I moved to Milton, all the ladies at the bank knew my name, same at the post office. I could spend an hour at the post office talking to the clerks about weather, politics, etc. There's a Veteran's memorial in Milton and the VFW guys are known to have the occasional pancake breakfast.
I always got thanks for my service (Army) by the old timers in town. Some of the schools with running tracks allow public access even during school hours. Pound for pound, Milton is great.
I would stay away from Olympia. It's a nice area but there are pockets that are very unfriendly toward military (just my experiences).
Puyallup isn't bad if you don't mind a lot of mini malls, shopping centers, sprawl...
Yelm is nice if you prefer rural living. And if you take the east gate onto Ft. Lewis you can be at McChord in no time.
People in WA get a bad rap for being social. I've lived in ten states so far and I've found WA residents to be among the most loyal in the country. Sometimes it takes a little while to get to know the locals. But once you do, you'll have lifelong friends. My very closest friends right now are all native Washingtonians.

[charrogirl]

Originally Posted by P0g0p0P3

To the OP, check out Milton to the north. Not much of a commute (I believe around 10 miles or so) and it's a great little town. I moved to the east coast in 2012 from Milton. I loved living there. Very friendly neighbors, small town kinda feel...a few months after I moved to Milton, all the ladies at the bank knew my name, same at the post office. I could spend an hour at the post office talking to the clerks about weather, politics, etc. There's a Veteran's memorial in Milton and the VFW guys are known to have the occasional pancake breakfast.
I always got thanks for my service (Army) by the old timers in town. Some of the schools with running tracks allow public access even during school hours. Pound for pound, Milton is great.
I would stay away from Olympia. It's a nice area but there are pockets that are very unfriendly toward military (just my experiences).
Puyallup isn't bad if you don't mind a lot of mini malls, shopping centers, sprawl...
Yelm is nice if you prefer rural living. And if you take the east gate onto Ft. Lewis you can be at McChord in no time.
People in WA get a bad rap for being social. I've lived in ten states so far and I've found WA residents to be among the most loyal in the country. Sometimes it takes a little while to get to know the locals. But once you do, you'll have lifelong friends. My very closest friends right now are all native Washingtonians.

Thank you for all that!! I will definitely keep it in mind since the date is getting closer and closer, and I did read some reviews of not-so-friendly places in Olympia. Thank you so much for taking your time to answer!!