Anyone here live in TACOMA, WA?

[natenapril]

My DH is considering taking a job in Tacoma. A little nervous. It seems to be a pretty big city and that's overwhelming
Hoping to get opinions fom people who live there or have lived there previously
We have school aged children from 8th grade on down to kindergarten and I am in school to become a social worker and will need a good college to transfer to.
Also good districts to buy/rent. We are planning to rent for the first year though.
This is all shaky now but my Dh really loves Washington while I was hoping for east coast

Thanks in advance.

 

[teacherlisa1978]

Bumbershoot posts often here and she does. I'm nearby and would tell you that the U of WA has a good branch campus in Tacoma. When you start looking, also look at South Federal Way which borders Tacoma and has some good areas for homes. Tacoma home prices are definitely more affordable than Seattle. I've lived here my whole life and love it. Good luck to you!

 

[natenapril]

Bumbershoot posts often here and she does. I'm nearby and would tell you that the U of WA has a good branch campus in Tacoma. When you start looking, also look at South Federal Way which borders Tacoma and has some good areas for homes. Tacoma home prices are definitely more affordable than Seattle. I've lived here my whole life and love it. Good luck to you!

Thanks. We will be close to Fort Lewis and it a little overwhelming all the choices. Getting excited though!

 

[disykat]

I haven't lived in that area for many years, but my first thought if you are going to be in the Fort Lewis area, would be to head south and look at Lacey.

There are quite a few good private schools in the Tacoma area, but several state schools have local extentions.

 

[staley7580]

I live in Lakewood, Wa.. Which is right by Fort Lewis.. we actually live right on the border of McChord AFB, which borders Ft. Lewis. I love it here. I prefer Lakewood to Tacoma.. But that is just me. It definitely has a more small town atmosphere then Tacoma. To me, anyways!

It is GORGEOUS here. I wouldnt live anywhere else! Rent can be very reasonable. You can get a three bedroom house for around $1000. Dupont is the town off of Ft. Lewis, but it is EXPENSIVE. I LOVE the school my ds is in, he is in Elementary school..

 

[barkley]

My DH is considering taking a job in Tacoma. A little nervous. It seems to be a pretty big city and that's overwhelming
Hoping to get opinions fom people who live there or have lived there previously
We have school aged children from 8th grade on down to kindergarten and I am in school to become a social worker and will need a good college to transfer to.
Also good districts to buy/rent. We are planning to rent for the first year though.
This is all shaky now but my Dh really loves Washington while I was hoping for east coast

Thanks in advance.

we're on the other side of the state, but just as a heads up-

if you're going to college to be a social worker you might want to hit the state website to see what the job requirements are here vs. the state you've been taking classes in. dh and i both worked for social services in another state and it was interesting to see the differences in education for identical jobs in different states.

you also want to check out the rules for residency and how it applies to tuition. i know you have to have lived here at least one year, and it might be as much as two to qualify for in-state resident's tuition rates, and it can be a HUGE difference. at the state university dh attends residents pay $1780 for full time per quarter vs. non residents who pay $4866 (undergraduate programs). his university pushes their msw program to out of state people because they "only" charge 50% higher tuition to them vs. other colleges who charge insanely more.

i don't know how it works in washington, but the state we worked/moved from had allot of social services (governement) agencies that had imbedded programs where if you could become an employee of the agency (even entry level clerical) they had realy great tuition assistance programs if you were pursuing a degree they needed-it could be well worth it given the amount you'de (at least initialy) have to pay for tuition.

 

[bumbershoot]

I live right at the edge of downtown and Stadium District. I yearn to live in the Proctor District or near my alma mater, University of Puget Sound, but houses right now are out of our reach (we'd want something already made nicer...no interest in renovating on our own, which increases the cost).

I would probably recommend sticking with a private school, or perhaps going for the schools closer to University Place or Fircrest, rather than the schools right in Tacoma. NOT the best reputations...

Though if you've ever seen the movie 10 Things I Hate About You (with Heath Ledger), you've been in Tacoma. It was set in Seattle, but apart from the scene where they play paintball, it was all filmed in Tacoma. And their school was Stadium High, which is right up the street from me.

The city isn't big at all! Maybe 200,000 people? Might be bigger than what you're used to in AK, but it's not really big. WDW is bigger. Though that's the city proper. If you're down near Fort Lewis, that's a different area.

If you have ANY say over when you move, try to move in late late Spring or well into the Summer. Getting used to this area in Fall/Winter is very very hard. The sunshine is hard to find, the grey rain, while helpful and lovely in its own way, can get on your nerves, and it can just feel dreary. It's difficult to love that area if that's how you come into it, so to maximize your happy-factor, try to move during the months when it's a higher chance of being more sunny.


Where are you moving from? (forgot to check your Location) There's no state tax here, and sales tax is on products and prepared foods. Groceries (that you would make things with) don't get charged sales tax. But sales tax is over 9% (depends on the exact county/city you're in).

Feel free to ask any questions you have!

 

[bumbershoot]

UW Tacoma is downtown, and is an interesting space! It's really grown up a lot since it got its start around 15 years ago. They do have a Masters in Social Work, and "To be eligible to pay resident fees, students must have been domiciled in the state for one full year before registration."

You would definitely want to wait until you were a resident:

"Undergraduate tuition and fees for 2009–2010 are $7,125 for full-time resident students and $23,800 for full-time nonresident students."

"Graduate tuition and fees for 2009–2010 are approximately $10,160 for full-time Day Program or Advanced Standing Program students. Nonresident full-time students are charged $23,500 annually."

Quite the difference!

 

[natenapril]

I haven't lived in that area for many years, but my first thought if you are going to be in the Fort Lewis area, would be to head south and look at Lacey.

There are quite a few good private schools in the Tacoma area, but several state schools have local extentions.

Lacey was recommendd to us as well as Dupont and Steilacoom. Looking into those now so thanks for the recommendation.

I live in Lakewood, Wa.. Which is right by Fort Lewis.. we actually live right on the border of McChord AFB, which borders Ft. Lewis. I love it here. I prefer Lakewood to Tacoma.. But that is just me. It definitely has a more small town atmosphere then Tacoma. To me, anyways!

It is GORGEOUS here. I wouldnt live anywhere else! Rent can be very reasonable. You can get a three bedroom house for around $1000. Dupont is the town off of Ft. Lewis, but it is EXPENSIVE. I LOVE the school my ds is in, he is in Elementary school..

My Dh is Air Guard and will be working on Ft Lewis all though he is prior Air FOrce so we COULD live on McCHord but he doesn't want to. I guess alot of military familes live in Dupont too.

we're on the other side of the state, but just as a heads up-

if you're going to college to be a social worker you might want to hit the state website to see what the job requirements are here vs. the state you've been taking classes in. dh and i both worked for social services in another state and it was interesting to see the differences in education for identical jobs in different states.

you also want to check out the rules for residency and how it applies to tuition. i know you have to have lived here at least one year, and it might be as much as two to qualify for in-state resident's tuition rates, and it can be a HUGE difference. at the state university dh attends residents pay $1780 for full time per quarter vs. non residents who pay $4866 (undergraduate programs). his university pushes their msw program to out of state people because they "only" charge 50% higher tuition to them vs. other colleges who charge insanely more.

i don't know how it works in washington, but the state we worked/moved from had allot of social services (governement) agencies that had imbedded programs where if you could become an employee of the agency (even entry level clerical) they had realy great tuition assistance programs if you were pursuing a degree they needed-it could be well worth it given the amount you'de (at least initialy) have to pay for tuition.

Thak you so much for the heads up with the tuition. Holy COW! I am losing my spuse tuition assistance by coming back to the states so that will already hurt financially. I would hate to take a year off from school though because I think I would put off going back.
I will look into the social service agencies that may have a program that would work for me. Thanks!

I live right at the edge of downtown and Stadium District. I yearn to live in the Proctor District or near my alma mater, University of Puget Sound, but houses right now are out of our reach (we'd want something already made nicer...no interest in renovating on our own, which increases the cost).

I would probably recommend sticking with a private school, or perhaps going for the schools closer to University Place or Fircrest, rather than the schools right in Tacoma. NOT the best reputations...

Though if you've ever seen the movie 10 Things I Hate About You (with Heath Ledger), you've been in Tacoma. It was set in Seattle, but apart from the scene where they play paintball, it was all filmed in Tacoma. And their school was Stadium High, which is right up the street from me.

The city isn't big at all! Maybe 200,000 people? Might be bigger than what you're used to in AK, but it's not really big. WDW is bigger. Though that's the city proper. If you're down near Fort Lewis, that's a different area.

If you have ANY say over when you move, try to move in late late Spring or well into the Summer. Getting used to this area in Fall/Winter is very very hard. The sunshine is hard to find, the grey rain, while helpful and lovely in its own way, can get on your nerves, and it can just feel dreary. It's difficult to love that area if that's how you come into it, so to maximize your happy-factor, try to move during the months when it's a higher chance of being more sunny.


Where are you moving from? (forgot to check your Location) There's no state tax here, and sales tax is on products and prepared foods. Groceries (that you would make things with) don't get charged sales tax. But sales tax is over 9% (depends on the exact county/city you're in).

Feel free to ask any questions you have!

We are moving for Alaska. My Dh is in the Alaska Air National Guard. If we move it will be in the next 2-3 months and as late as May.
We also have no state tax which is pretty nice!

UW Tacoma is downtown, and is an interesting space! It's really grown up a lot since it got its start around 15 years ago. They do have a Masters in Social Work, and "To be eligible to pay resident fees, students must have been domiciled in the state for one full year before registration."

You would definitely want to wait until you were a resident:

"Undergraduate tuition and fees for 2009–2010 are $7,125 for full-time resident students and $23,800 for full-time nonresident students."

"Graduate tuition and fees for 2009–2010 are approximately $10,160 for full-time Day Program or Advanced Standing Program students. Nonresident full-time students are charged $23,500 annually."

Quite the difference!

I am probably not going to be able to swing the cost gfro out of state costs so that may factor in to our decision so thanks for the heads up.

Private school for the kids will not be an option either. It's really expensive and since we will be down to just my DH working it would be impossible to put 3 kids through private school.

CHOICES< CHOICES< CHOICES!!!

 

[bumbershoot]

Good point about moving from Alaska. I'm so used to people moving here from CA in November and leaving by March, I totally forgot that AK has some dark times as well!

I think the schools further south, where you will be, are better than the ones right in Tacoma. And I'm mainly talking high schools...interestingly, there's a *public* Montessori school right in Tacoma! Huge waiting list, of course, but what a cool idea, right?

If you have any thoughts of homeschooling, that's not a bad option in WA. Just as a thought, in case it's something you've thought about.

 

[natenapril]

Good point about moving from Alaska. I'm so used to people moving here from CA in November and leaving by March, I totally forgot that AK has some dark times as well!

I think the schools further south, where you will be, are better than the ones right in Tacoma. And I'm mainly talking high schools...interestingly, there's a *public* Montessori school right in Tacoma! Huge waiting list, of course, but what a cool idea, right?

If you have any thoughts of homeschooling, that's not a bad option in WA. Just as a thought, in case it's something you've thought about.

Nope. Not interested in homeschooling t all. I just would not be good at it and my kids do well in public schools now.

Still not sure how I feel about not being able to go to school for a year so that is a huge factor. Usually military members can get waived but I can;t seem to find that info for WA.