Crime from olympia to Seattle (Tacoma, Lacey: apartment complexes, lease, house)

[Linds0322]

So I feel really silly as I have been doing more and more research. I was under the impression that Seattle was a very safe city to live in, at least compared to most major cities.

I'm moving to olympia area in the spring and was under the impression the area was nice and not super crime ridden. I always though Tacoma was awful and refuse to move there. However now I feel like the whole area from olympia to Seattle just isn't the greatest.

I currently live 45 minutes outside of philadelphia. My area is very safe, I never feel nervous about going places alone and my town is small. All our towns are right next to each other but the main towns I go to are all safe. However we have some bad towns that I don't like entering, but they are specific towns that we just know aren't the nicest.

I am hoping to move somewhere that I will feel comfortable going places alone or being home alone at night and that sort of thing. I'm a 25 yr old female who's rather small and I probably look to be about 19 or 20 years old so I'm worried about that.

I keep seeing a lot about gangs. Are the gang issues gang to gang or do they target "normal" people as well. What are the areas to avoid? Even in specific towns. I'm not used to towns having different sub divisions or whatever you call it. Philly has different areas to it but our other towns don't. So I get confused on that as well.

I just don't want to be moving to somewhere that isn't safe. I tend to be some what "paranoid" or nervous so the idea of moving to an area that isn't safe terrifies me. I don't want my home getting broken into or being afraid of being mugged or raped or getting hit with a stray bullet.

I'm just looking for a clear answer as I keep finding things about how it depends on the area and blah blah. It's like that here too. However it's town to town. The closest area I don't like going to is a 20 minute drive. Not like I will be driving and accidentally enter an area I shouldn't be in and it kinda sounds like that's how WA is.

What are some specific areas that are decent to live in or even really good apartment complexes in good areas. I've been there a bunch of times as I have famiy in Tacoma but I usually do the tourist thing so I'm going out there blind when it comes to apartment hunting while I'm still in Pennsylvania.
Thanks!

[Sandy Nelson]

I've been living in Olympia for 13 years. I live in town and have never felt unsafe. We've had some car prowls in my neighborhood in the past, and I see some graffiti and pan-handling downtown. Overall this does not make me fear for my safety. There really aren't any neighborhoods in Olympia that I would consider "the wrong side of the tracks".

[NewbiePoster]

I never noticed any gang activity in Seattle. North Seattle is pretty bucolic, except for the University District. And there are other quiet areas, like Magnolia. Even going to nightlife venues downtown at night, you're pretty safe in the busy areas.

[Linds0322]

Thanks for the responses! I've been to olympia and didn't feel unsafe at all just reading stuff about gangs and everything had me kind of worried. Where my family is in Tacoma makes me very nervous. But I'm also used to where I currently live with all new development and areas there look old and run down. Not that they are just places aren't brand new. Most of my area besides homes in town have even knocked down and re built within the past 10 years. I feel like when you briefly visit somewhere what it looks like plays a role. I guess I've been "reading a book by it's cover" so to speak. Thanks I feel better now!

[NWarty]

Originally Posted by Sandy Nelson

I've been living in Olympia for 13 years. I live in town and have never felt unsafe. We've had some car prowls in my neighborhood in the past, and I see some graffiti and pan-handling downtown. Overall this does not make me fear for my safety. There really aren't any neighborhoods in Olympia that I would consider "the wrong side of the tracks".

Sandy,
I live in the South Capitol and it's been going downhill for over a decade (I've lived in this neighborhood for 12 years).

Transients and bums. In the past month I've had a meth head knock on my door at 4am wanting "gas money", two transients were on the side of my neighbor's house jimmying the windows, five transients sleeping on the other side of my other neighbor's yard with their dog, bum hitting the Frog Pond lady in the head, transients in the gully behind my home. Drugs are cheap, $10 meth bag and heroin is getting super cheap also. Property crime around this neighbor is rampant as it is on Carlyon and Wildwood. Some dude was caught sleeping in my across-street-neighbor's car at 1am. Sketchy, trashy, lowlifes.

As far as neighborhoods being near "the wrong side of the tracks", nuking the transient camp at the old brewery railway tunnel would be a good start.

[lady fern]

Tacoma and Olympia are two different animals. Tacoma has had its issues with gangs for as long as I can remember. I would say the city has cleaned up quite a bit over the past 10 years or so though.

Olympia tends to have more of an issue with panhandlers and drug addicts. IMO the city has been way too tolerant of this and it is starting to create a lot of issues. With the mild climate, you can expect a larger transient population than PA. That being said, for the most part it is a safe town and you are not likely to be a victim of a drive by shooting or some sort of gang initiation.

[CrazyDonkey]

Hard to generalize about cities - most have both "safe" and "less safe" areas. That's true of Seattle, Tacoma, and, I presume, Olympia.

Seattle has online crime maps where you can see the number and kind of 911 calls by address. See:

Online Crime Maps - Seattle Police Department

I don't feel unsafe in most areas in Seattle, day or night, but I'm a 6'2", 200+ lb. male.

[SantosLHalper]

Agree with the comment on the panhandlers in Olympia, they are pretty much on every corner of every freeway exit, downtown, parks, etc. You feel bad for some, others seem to have made it a lifestyle choice. It's not always a comfortable vibe, even in the suburban areas where we've seen it. No one has been aggressive, but I'd say it's a bit more than what you are used to. We have not seen anything gang related here and I would not worry about that in Olympia.

We grew up not too far from you and don't see the Township or Burrough situation here. There is a town called Dupont that is very close to the bases here, I've been to the suburbs out there, and really liked it. They have a newer section that has apartments in it you could check out. The town has a historic part too. We live in the Hawk's Prairie area of Lacey. This area is nice, but mixed in places. Above I-5 seems a bit nicer, but depends where you are. We don't generally love the Target or Walmart here, isn't bad, just different. The Kohl's is pretty nice (2 floors), the mall in Olympia is super clean and nice. Mixed on downtown, the area near the marina is really pretty, but walking around downtown doesn't always leave me feeling the best vibe. It's all relative though.

I would strongly suggest coming in for a week, giving yourself time to get to know the areas before you make the jump. Sign a short term lease so if you don't like the area you are in you can get out more easily. You really need someone local to show you around. We got lucky and thanks to this forum ended up in a solid neighborhood, it's older but the people are nice and it's been very safe. I think the secret is to be tucked away a little bit. Generally criminals want to go somewhere where the access is easy. Maybe find an apt. that has an alarm if that's something you are concerned about.

There isn't going to be the "right" answer. You need to see for yourself because only you know what will make you feel most comfortable. Best wishes!