moving from italy to fort lewis, help! (Seattle, Tacoma: apartment complexes, rental)

[natalie_06]

hi, i am married with an american soldier (we are in italy now and i am italian) and next year he will be depolyed in fort lewis for three years. i want to have some information about living off post, because i checked some of the cities near fort lewis and the crime level is making me crazy, because here i know where to go and not to go, because i am italian, but there i don't know anything. so if somebody could say something to me about the area where it can be the best to live in and where the rental prices are the best. thanks for all the answers

[mthomson]

Looking South towards Dupont and Lacey is a good option, or west towards University Place or Steilacoom is also a good option. Rental prices will be a bit higher in the nicer areas, but probably worth it.
I'd encourage you to find some other military families at Ft Lewis who live off base and have them show you around.

[Sandy Nelson]

Natalie,

I'm also from Europe and was concerned about crime when I moved to the US. I have lived in Olympia with my family for many years and feel very safe here. If you're looking to rent, you might want to stay away from large apartment complexes and opt for a rental home or condo in a mostly single-family residential area.

Where are you from in Italy? My daughter lives in Italy and I visit there every year. You'll probably experience some culture shock when you move here, and I can recommend a few things that will make the transition easier for you.

1. If you currently live in a small town, try to find a town that's similar in size here.
2. Connect with people in the area in advance. The city-data forum is a great place. You might also want to join the Ft. Lewis Spouses Yahoo Group, or find similar groups online.
3. Urge your husband to request a unit sponsor who will send you a welcome packet and will help you coordinate when you get here.
4. Find places, people and events that let you connect with Italian nationals, and Italian culture, for example here:Nonna Rosa Cafe Tea Room, New Caldonia, Olympia, WA - Official webpage here. (http://www.theteahousetimes.com/nonnarosacafetearoom.htm - broken link) Isn't the Internet great?

5. Find a neighborhood to live in that is not too remote from Fort Lewis and other military families. Military families tend to have a close bond and be supportive of new-comers. This support is helpful if your husband gets deployed or if you need help to get oriented in a new community.

Popular places for military families to live are Dupont, Lacey and Olympia. The commute to Fort Lewis is quick and convenient, there are plenty of shopping, dining and entertainment venues, the schools are good and they're located just a little over a one-hour drive from the Pacific Ocean, the mountains, the international airport and Seattle.

I hope this helps and don't hesitate to ask for more information.

Benvenuto.

Sandy

[Ira500]

Crime stats can be misleading. For example, Lakewood looks bad on paper, because there are certain parts of the town ( closest to the base) where crime happens, but other parts of the area ( near Steilacoom or lLakewold Gardens) have very little crime, but the numbers from one little area skew the whole city and make it look bad.

[4 A Blue Ocean]

Hi Natalie-

Are you in Vicenza? My husband was there for 3 yrs and we may be going over this year ourselves! We are at Ft Lewis right now.

There a lot of nice areas right around Ft Lewis so dont worry. Ft Lewis is the most requested duty station from what I hear. My favorite area is DuPont where we live. I also like Lacey and Olympia.

I will send you an email with some other info.

[dvoncannon3]

We have lived about 3 miles from the McChord AFB main gate for 7 years now and love our neighborhood. It's quiet and the neighbors have been around for years (most of them). Our kids all walk to school without problems and we are right off the 512 freeway. It really depends on your neighborhood. Ours is tucked away, yet to get to school, our kids have to walk out into the world. You are fortunate in that this area is heavily diverse and it's not a big deal to see foreigners walking around. The area is heavily populated with people from all over the world and as long as you are not walking the streets at 2 am alone, you will be fine - but this can be said of any major city.

Tacoma's downtown area has a lot of work needed still and the Lakewood area keeps having issues here and there. We are firm believers that WE make our neighborhood better and that running from a neighborhood that needs work does nothing to make it better. Our family does walks and WE pick up trash to beautify our own neighborhood. In other words, we CARE!

There are good and bad everywhere - you can't run from everywhere. But I do understand your concern for the really bad. I've learned that people's opinions of what is bad REALLY differs as well. My siblings who live in the country automatically think our outer-city life is full of dirt and crime and guns - LOL. But my kids think the country is dangerous with predators and crazy gun wielders.

Keep looking. You don't have to go to Olympia or Lacey and commute every day. And Dupont is getting crazy. It's becoming like a big-brother neighborhood where everyone lives the same. BORING!

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My point is that we live in S. Tacoma near the bases and are not a garbage neighborhood. Our kids are in honors programs at the neighborhood schools and thru these schools, our eldest applied and was accepted to Tacoma's School of the Arts. She has been doing professional singing for 7 years now. Not all of Tacoma is trash.

Good luck on your search. Remember, living in Lacey or Olympia is going to be expensive on the gas. There's not strong bus service to the bases from Olympia/Lacey although there is some and even so, it is long. When it's rainy and cold here, you will not be a fan of the outdoors all of the time and will want to drive a lot. But the bus system ROCKS here. BTW - our combined incomes are over $100K a year - educated, well employed people live in Tacoma.


To add, we are both former soldiers. My husband was with 1SFG on Fort Lewis (support) and I was a Reservist (14 yrs) with a chinook unit here. Some of our neighbors are military and were stationed in Italy. They are pretty permanent here now and the soldier does his travels while the family stays (they are all American).