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Originally Posted by ratbastid
And it smells. Don't forget that.
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Actually, it smells a lot less than it used to. Downtown Tacoma is very up and coming, with lots of museums, restaurants, and good public transportation. The Port of Tacoma is on pace to become the largest port north of Los Angeles within the next 10 years. It's already the largest port in the Pacific Northwest.
And while extensive parts of it are still seedy, there are some very nice places too. Even the Hilltop neighborhood has cleaned up considerably in the last 5 or so years, which is saying something.
It's also worth looking at the West Sound--Gig Harbor, Port Orchard, Bremerton/Silverdale, and Poulsbo. That is also an area worth looking at, with relatively low housing costs, good economy (thanks to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton) and an easy ferry connection to Seattle (a 1-hr ride, but at least you're not in traffic). There, you're very close to the Olympics and the Washington coast, as well as being right on the Sound. My parents live on the Kitsap Peninsula, near the Hood Canal. It's really beautiful, and not quite as built up as other places yet. Once they finish the new bridge to Tacoma, the trip there will also be much easier.