I need to know everything about Tacoma, from the weather to hot spots. Living there, whats it like and so on. I'm from the central valley here in California and I want to move so bad. I also need to know how close tacoma is from seattle. Whats the job market like for females. Also I need to know about other great communities, if there are any. I also want to buy a house when I get to Washington and need to know which place is going to give me the most house for my money. And if anybody knows about the nursing job market there that would be a plus. Are there lots of great schools, not just for children but to continue your education. Basically everything about Washington. And please only people that live there or have lived there!
2007-10-04 12:22:52 · 5 answers · asked by ? 5 in Travel ➔ United States ➔ Seattle
Tacoma is a fine city. It's cooler than California and has more rainy days per year than most of California. It's a port city and the Port of Tacoma is busier than the Port of Seattle. If traffic flows smoothly, it's about an hours drive from Downtown Tacoma to Downtown Seattle, maybe less if you drive a bit fast. There's also a train that travels weekday mornings to Seattle from Tacoma and weekday afternoons from Seattle to Tacoma. The nursing job market is very good in this area, as it is in most areas of the country, as nurses are in high demand. The University of Washington in Seattle is one of the best universities in the country, and it has a branch located in Downtown Tacoma. Tacoma also has Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Puget Sound (both well-respected, private colleges) as well as an Evergreen State College (main branch in Olympia) branch. The schools of Tacoma are relatively good for being in a fairly large city and Tacoma has recently gone back to teaching math the "old way" which should see math test scores improve markedly. I would say Tacoma schools are superior to Seattle schools, but inferior to the best schools in the state, which are located east of Seattle. In Seattle, the University of Washington's nursing school and medical school are among the best (and hardest to get in to) in the country. Many nurses and students make the commute via train or bus to Seattle from Tacoma every day. Tacoma has many trendy spots, they are mainly clustered along Pacific Avenue and 6th Avenue. There is also a thriving theater district in Tacoma and there's a nice trolly (called the Link) that takes people from the Tacoma dome to the theater district, and all along Pacific Avenue. Pacific Avenue and the nearby Theater district are more for people with mature, refined, grown up tastes, with the exception of the very popular Loft nightclub which is located there. 6th Avenue is for the younger set, and features more live music and jam-packed clubs and trendier restaurants.
The best places to live in Tacoma are in the North End, The West Side, and the area of Brown's Point (in the North East). These areas feature the largest, best, and oldest homes in Tacoma and boast the best schools and the safest neighborhoods. Talk of Tacoma crime is overblown, Tacoma is a very safe city, with few problems, and those problems are concentrated mostly on the lower east side of the city, but Police have had great success in tackling crime since it reached it's height some 15 years ago. Tacoma has seen a renaissance of sorts and has become an exciting, trendy place.
Other places nearby that are good to live are: Federal Way, a suburb. Puyallup, a suburb that used to be a rural area. Sumner, a suburb that is still more rural than suburban. Fircrest, Parkland, and University Place are also nice, nearby suburbs. It is best to steer clear of Spannaway, and Lakewood, both located to the South of Tacoma.
As for buying a house, the best thing to do is shop around. Average home prices for any Tacoma zip code can be found right here on Yahoo. Know that the price goes down for living in a worse area and the price goes up for living in a good area and the suburbs still have among the best prices. The farther you go from any downtown, urban area, the cheaper it will be, but your commute will be longer.
Washington is an excellent state to live in, I've lived in many parts of the state and currently live in Tacoma. I've lived in Seattle too, but I'd rather live in Tacoma than Seattle. Tacoma's cheaper, easier to travel around in and has Point Defiance park, the best city park outside of New York's Central Park. Tacoma has quicker access than Seattle to Mt. Rainier National Park, The Olympic Peninsula, Mt. St. Helens, Portland, Oregeon, and the Ocean Beaches of the coast. If you are a nurse, there are several hospitals in the greater Tacoma area and there is a shortage of nurses throughout Washington State, so employment would be little problem. I hope that helps.
2007-10-04 19:47:35 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
Tacoma was rated one of the most unsafest places in Washington regarding crime. That was a few years ago but there are still reports on an occassional criminal incident here and there.
Tacoma however is also beautiful. I-5 is the main use of transportation and it's also considerably close to the Seattle Tacoma International Airport.
Driving can be somewhat of a pain but a new four lane bridge has been opened, hoping to relieve the traffic congestion that has plagued through Tacoma. There is also a few colleges nearby, and you can even commute to universities to complete your education.
Jobs are always a plus in Tacoma. It's a big city so you shouldn't find too much trouble placing a job you want. Residential life is generally quiet, but that depends on where you live. The outskirts of Tacoma are beautiful and there are some pretty amazing views.
If you plan to commute to Seattle, it'd be about a 30 minute drive depending on the flow of traffic. That's actually not bad, considering both cities are notorious for a lot of drivers.
It rains a lot sometimes but generally doing the fall and spring. In the winter, it can get pretty cold, well below freezing so make sure you're a bit experienced in ice slick driving. As for summers, they are beautiful every year. Many call Seattle the Emerald City, because it glistens from the fresh air to the beautiful Puget Sound.
2007-10-04 14:08:49 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yeah, Tacoma sucks. Tacompton. Washington is awesome though. Move somewhere else like Seattle, Kirkland, etc.
2016-05-21 01:42:56 · answer #3 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Tacoma is a depressing city, near a big harbour and transport center, weather is a little bit like CA, not too cold but wetter and greener, There are lot of nursing jobs in seattle area about $20 per hour, house in tacoma is cheapest in seattle area, about $200,000.
2007-10-04 16:18:15 · answer #4 · answered by tom c 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Avoid Tacoma at all costs.
It is a smelly crime ridden City -
I would not touch it with a Barge Pole.
2007-10-05 04:02:03 · answer #5 · answered by fatsausage 7 · 0⤊ 3⤋