Tacoma vs. Olympia (Seattle, Puyallup, Lacey: rental, crime rate, mortgage)

[Sunshine783]

My husband and I are PCS-ing to Ft. Lewis next month and are trying to figure out where to live. It seems like it kind of comes down to Tacoma and Olympia...which side of post you want to be on (and I've only heard bad things about the Spanaway/Puyallup side). I'm not a huge fan of the whole housing development type neighborhood...I like mature trees, houses that aren't that "cookie-cutter" look, etc. I guess I just want to know people's opinions on the pros and cons of the two areas. And if it makes more sense to rent or to buy...I've also heard that the housing market is pretty depressed and we don't want to get into something that we can't get out of in about 4 years. Thoughts?

[MJ5150]

What is your budget for renting or buying? With a four year turnaround, I would be nervous about buying.

-Mike

[LookinForMayberry]

Originally Posted by Sunshine783

Thoughts?

I've only visited either, but I think Olympia is more in line with what you've described you want for yourself. It also has greater access to other areas for weekend exploration to other attractive areas. I have to say, though, that I've never been a big fan of Tacoma. Too industrial for me.

[slan490]

Olympia is a great city! Lacey and Tumwater are also clustered right around it.

Cost of housing is a bit more in Olympia but there are many beautiful neighborhoods. If you do buy, as long as you buy in the right area as far as reasonable pricing and history of appreciation you should have no problem selling in 4 years.

If you have kids here is the link to Great Schools:

GreatSchools.org Search: olympia

Dupont and Steilacoom are also close to base and have some older homes and beautiful scenery.

Tacoma is a beautiful city and has some very vibrant areas. University Place has good schools and a charming feel.

[PS90]

I have not lived in either of these cities, but I did live in Centralia (about 20 miles south of Olympia) and would have to say that this choice would be a "no-brainer" for me. You basically will have to drive to Fort Lewis, probably via I-5, correct?

That being the case, the only, and I mean the ONLY, reason to choose Tacoma over Olympia would be slightly less commute time. Slightly. Tacoma has a much higher crime rate (although this varies between neighborhoods), is a much bigger city (you mentioned you wanted more nature, I think), and is much more industrial and congested.

Olympia is a relatively small town with a nice downtown area, right on the Puget Sound (Budd bay and a couple of other inlets), and has enough chain establishments and amenities without being overwhelmed by them.

Of course, myself and others that I knew in Centralia may have been biased - but almost everyone I knew despised Tacoma. They would drive for shopping/eating/hanging-out to Olympia, or possibly Seattle, but there was kind-of a "culture" of avoiding Tacoma if they could.

As far as renting or buying - IMO that is also a no-brainer. If you plan on buying in this housing climate and then plan on moving in four years, there is a very good chance that you could be in trouble as far as successfully selling your house. The housing situation in Western WA continues to be bleak, and it doesn't seem to be improving very quickly. We moved back to Eastern WA (thankfully) in 2008, continued to pay our mortgage on our house, all the while dropping the price considerably, and got one offer in three years - for about 25% of our asking price. Personally, even if the market does improve, I will never buy a house again unless I plan to put down roots somewhere for at least 10 or 12 years or so.

[Sandy Nelson]

The first time we PCSed to Fort lewis we bought a house in South Tacoma because the commute was only 10 minutes (back then). We did not consider crime or schools (it was our first house). In hindsight, we should have rented first and explored the various areas before hand. A few years later, when our second tour to Fort Lewis came around, we opted to live in Olympia. We did not buy right away and chose our neighborhood based on the schools, crime and appeal (we also don't like cookie cutter homes). My son just garduated from Olympia High School and he had a great school experience. I love the authentic feel of Olympia's downtown, especially the market and the board walk. Whether to buy or rent is a decission you have to make based on your comfort level and amenability for risk. Home prices at the moment are as low as they were in 2004 and interest rates are at record low-leves. I come across a number of homes priced at levels that result in a lower monthly mortgage rate than renting similar homes. Keep in mind, though, that with home ownership also come the responsiblities of home maintenance costs, utilities and the market risk for re-sale.

Best of luck!

[lady fern]

I agree with one of the above posters - it's a no brainer. I only go to Tacoma when I absolutely have to. Of course there will be some from Tacoma that will argue that they've cleaned it up and there's some nice pockets, etc. IMO, the traffic is terrible and it seems the city hates trees.
Olympia does have its share of cookie cutter homes but there are plenty of nice neighborhoods. I agree with the above poster that it probably isn't such a bad time to buy. I think we have either hit or neared the bottom of the housing market and the rates are fabulously low for mortgages right now. You could always consider renting out your house for extra income if you weren't ready to sell. Chances are the rent would be more than your mortgage.

[Zara Ray]

I would go for Tacoma. It's more lively and has more going on than Olympia. I know in the suburbs of Tacoma there's lots of little unique bungalow style homes with neighborhoods that have plenty of vegetation's and trees. Schools vary but there's some good ones to pick if you look in the right location.

[Sunshine783]

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions! It looks like we'll start looking in the Olympia area, which we sort of leaning towards in the first place. It's nice to get input. I know that rental rates and the cost of owning a home is going to be higher than what we're used to...we're coming from Ft. Campbell, KY and have been living in Clarksville, TN where you can get into a really decent place for under $1,000! We're trying to put that all into perspective and know that we'll definitely have to spend more to get something nice. Again, thanks!

[sams]

Lacey is where you would want to live (lots of military). The corridor between the two cities is all ghetto except there.