Help! Where to move to! (Seattle, Tacoma: neighborhoods, school, university)

[AKgyrl]

My husband and I are moving to Washington in exactly 298 days! I cannot wait! My husband is getting stationed to Ft. Lewis and I will be going to school in Seattle. I don't mind the drive back and forth to Seattle, but it wouldn't work for my husband. So, the question, where do we move to?

Places I have been looking at are:
Lacey
Dupont
Yelm
Graham

Any suggestions? We don't have kids right now, but what we are looking for is safe, modern, clean neighborhoods in areas close to fun activities (malls, city life, hiking anything "fun" for a young couple).

Thanks so much for your help in advance! This move is heaven sent! Now all of family in Anchorage will be able to come and visit. We simply can't wait!

Happy AKgyrl

[Sandy Nelson]

The closest town on your list to Fort Lewis is Dupont. That location will give both you and your husband the fastest commute to Seattle or Fort Lewis. You may want to look at a few town that are north of Fort Lewis to shorten your commute to school. I'd recommend looking at Edgewood, Tacoma, University Place, Lakewood.
Lacey would be a good option as well, but the drive from Lacey to Fort Lewis is 15-25 minutes (depending on where you live in Lacey) and to Seattle a minimum of 1 hour 15 minutes.

[RDH35]

The towns you've listed don't strike me as "fun" for a young couple without children. They are more suburban than urban and don't have much in the way of entertainment. I agree with Sandy Nelson, I would check out Tacoma. Lots of restaurants and such. Also, the commute will suck from those southern points headed north towards base. What can be 15-20 minute can turn into 35-45 with rush hour congestion. ESPECIALLY in that I-5 corridor along the base. It's less of a commuting nightmare heading south towards the base.

[Gardyloo]

Originally Posted by AKgyrl

I don't mind the drive back and forth to Seattle, but it wouldn't work for my husband. So, the question, where do we move to?

Places I have been looking at are:
Lacey
Dupont
Yelm
Graham

I think you'd mind driving back and forth to Seattle very much. Depending on where in Seattle, you'd have two or possibly three or even four trafficky zones to transit (around JBLM, Tacoma, Southcenter, Seattle itself) and it could take up to two hours on bad days. That's a LOT of time spent behind the wheel.

(You'd immediately want to check on car or vanpools - a fair number of people commute from Seattle to Olympia, but that's in the reverse direction.)

I'd agree with Tacoma, and I'd really look at bus options for you.