Relocating to Ft. Lewis/Madigan

Hi there! I grew up in University Place and Spanaway and both are nice places. It just depends on the exact locations which can be hard to describe without ever having been there.
I do agree that the nicer parts of Spanaway (where my parents live), near Bethel High School, may be a little far, but still doable. UP (University Place) and parts of Steilacom are very nice and quiet, with amenities nearby. They are also both close to I-5 and 512 so you can easily drive anywhere.
Unfortunately, like someone else said, 20 mins may be a bit of wishful thinking since the traffic all over the Puget Sound can be heinous.
You can private message me if you feel like you might need more info-good luck to you guys!!

You are so right, there are less than desirable areas in every city.

I was born and raised in the military, was active-duty myself and my husband retired after 20plus years in the Army.

Unless you know someone who has the same criteria as you, I would suggest looking for rentals once you are here. The Liberty Inn in Dupont is a nice place to stay and across I5 from Ft. Lewis.

Coming from D.C. (you didn't mention if you lived on-post) you must be used to the commute around the Greenbelt. I loved D.C. but couldn't stand the commuting! Sorry to say that although our I5 corrider is not as bad, there are many days that it seems like a parking lot.

The Ft. Lewis/McChord AFB is a very large and diverse area. Dupont is a planned community that is less than 5 minutes from the Dupont Gate of Ft. Lewis. With sidewalks and playgrounds and a nearby golf course, Dupont attracts a lot of military, both active-duty and retired.

You may not want to go South but there are a lot of new housing areas in Lacey, 10minutes from Ft. Lewis.

Steilacoom is a mix of old and new housing.

If you choose Tacoma, there are buses and trains daily into Seattle if you don't feel like driving. Tacoma is a historical city, gets a bad rap from Seattle but it has it's charm. We moved to Tacoma from Lacey a few months ago, so maybe I'm a bit biased ^j^ the commute was getting to be too much for us (20 miles that used to take 30 minutes was becoming 1 to 1 1/2 hrs on a regular basis).

Yelm and Roy, are growing communitites with a lot of military people. What I don't like though is these 2 towns have not maintained roads to keep pace with the population explosion (many areas are still 2 lane).

University Place and Spanaway have great areas too. I think it will come down to how much time do you want to spend driving.

The only area that I wouldn't recommend is Tillicum. It's the typical town outside a military post.

Hope I've helped.
E.

Hello!

Unfortunately I don't have any advice about the south area as we live north of that in Des Moines, near the SeaTac airport. I wanted to say hello and welcome to the area. What stuck out about you for me is that you guys have a little boy who was born with a congenital heart defect. Our little boy, who is will be 3 in May, was also born with one as well and we are back home after being stationed down in Ft Rucker Alabama. We were Army too! Would love to get to know more about your family :)

Hi,

I grew up always within a 20 minute drive to the base. Tacoma, Spanaway, Parkland, ect... all have a bit of a bad repuatation. Tacoma really was so bad twenty years ago that there was a special federal task force to take care of the drug, gang, and crime rate. However, things are a lot better now.

Here is where I would avoid: Tilicum and most of Lakewood. There is a lot of attractive sounding housing right by the base. When my hubby and I first married, we got a very cheap, older, but pleasant apartment there. My brother in law came to visit and said "HEY! I know this place! I've seen it on COPS!". Sure enough, in the three-months we lived there, they Cops TV show people were there at 3 a.m. one morning (thanks to our lovely neighbors 5 doors down).

Fife is okay, but I wouldn't choose to live there. It is further away, not as community minded, and more expensive.

The East side of Tacoma and Parkland/parts of Spanaway were the areas targeted by the task force. They still are rampant in poverty and would be the less desirable places to end up. (Also the cheaper ones naturally.) As you progress down Pacific Avenue/HWY 7 away from Parkland and further into Spanaway, it gets nicer. Most of the areas in the Bethel School District are nice decent areas (and the school district is fairly good).

Puyallup is a very nice place, but further from the base and much more expensive (they also have the best schools).

North Tacoma is a nicer area. It's a mix of good and bad, but traditionally has been a cleaner, safer area. I would live there, but only if it is convenient to where you are going every day. Traffic in the Pierce county area is something to be avoided!! There is a lot of value to live near where you work or go to school in the area.

My advice, if you can find a good rental would be a small "town" called Frederickson. It is the neighborhood I spent most of my childhood in (we moved away from Eastside Tacoma when I was 10). At the time, it was just an un-incorporated area of the county, it is way over-built up. The residents formed a city in order to stop some of the over building. However, a lot of small businesses have moved in and it is very close to the base once you know the back roads. The crime rate is low, and it is a pleasant area to live in. It is in the Bethel School District.

If you live in Frederickson, you can drive down 176 to Spanaway and then down Pacific Avenue to Military Road (by Sprinker Rec Center). If you go down Military Road, it is actually a civilian use road that drives between Ft. Lewis and McChord AFB. Using this you can be on the base in less than 1/2 hour from Frederickson.

Best of luck!! And, welcome to Washington. It does rain a lot, but it makes the area so very beautiful! And make sure you check out Pike's Place Market in Seattle and plan on two days to the Puyallup Fair in September. LOL

Puyallup is a good location. However to get from Madigan to most of Puyallup you go I5 and then 512 which can both back up. Most of Lakewood is about 20 min from Madigan, especially once you learn backroads to get off I5 sooner. We rent an apt in Lakewood and my husband is stationed at Ft Lewis. There are some nice houses, but generally smaller than what you would find in Puyallup or University Place. University Place is the next town from Lakewood so it is a little farther but a little nicer. Lakewood's school district is Clover Park and the same as ft lewis. It seems to be a good district, but my kids are still young.
Besides looking for houses look at a good map and see how far you are willing to look.
Living Nort of Ft Lewis would be more convenient than South if he is working at Madigan since it is at the Northernmost gate.

I live near the area you are talking about. I agree with the rest of the people that the south hill area near puyallup is nice, but a little far to drive in traffic to get to work unless you can take 176th Street or Military Road like one other person suggested.

I live off of Canyon Road, south of 512. The area isn't the nicest. We had to move without looking at the place first too, and we regret it now (Husband was in the Navy and we moved from Maryland). The area is so hit and miss whether it is nice to trashy, it changes block by block. The best thing to do is to check the sex offender registry, there are ALOT in Pierce County, its scary.

There are areas off of HWY 7 and Canyon that are nice, but it gets nicer the farter away you get from 512. The areas between 512 and meridian are generally pretty nice (but again, a bit of a drive). There are areas west of canyon around the fredrickson area and west of there. If you are looking at Spanaway, I haven't seen anything nice north of 128th Street area, but south of there is better.

As a matter of fact I have the perfect place for you to look at. we are in south hill, puyallup. that is due east of the fort. my husband works right out by McCord and Ft. Lewis. and it is about 20-25 min drive. we are in a neighborhood that is absolutlely wonderful. It is a gated cul-de-sac with about 30 houses. It is safe and quite. there are alot of little kids on the street. We have a private part at the end of the cul-de-sac and during the summer all the kids get out the sidwalk chalk and draw roads for their bikes and scooters all over the street. Very family friendly. we are really close to alot of stores everything is very accessable. Houses sell really quickly on this street and right now we have 2 houses for rent that are empty right now. they are 4 bedroom homes. I think if you saw it you would fall in love with it. the street is 119th Ave. Ct E puyallup wa 98374 just off of 168th. If you are interested I could find out the rental companies for you. It is definately worth checking out. I have 6 of the kids on the street. 3yr old boy/girl twins, a 7, 9, 12, 19 yr old boy. there are three other military families on the street as well. I was born and raised in this area and have lived here all my life, I have read all the other posts and the area they say are bad are bad. If I had to choose an area to live in, it would be puyallup. It is the best area around and is not far from the base. Our neighborhood is worh checking out. even the whole South Hill area of Puyallup is worth looking at. there are alot of houses for rent right now also. gook luck with your search. ,J.

I know you said that you wanted something NORTH of Ft Lewis....but while I was stationed at Ft Lewis back in 1997, I lived "off base" in Lacey. It really is close to Ft Lewis, close to south gate entrance (not at busy at main gate). The neighborhoods are all pretty decent, easy access to I-5...it is smaller than Tacoma and I dont think it has as many "bad areas" you have to watch out for....also....Tacoma is known for the "Tacoma Aroma".....it is an extremely unpleasant smell of dead sea critters baking in the sun for about 3 days at 100 degrees!!! YIKES! The rents in Lacey (at that time) were also LESS than rents in Tacoma. You might want to just check it out....it is about 15 minutes (or less) south of Ft Lewis and about 10 minutes north of Olympia. Good luck!

Hi. My husband was stationed at Ft Lewis and we lived in University Place. It is about a 30 minute drive from post. We really loved it there, great neighborhoods and great schools. If you like to go walking there is a fabulous trail that goes around Chambers Bay Golf Course with views of the water.

Hello!

I would recommend North End Tacoma. It is super nice, quiet, and very quaint. I lived there for 6 years and loved it! I wouldn't hesitate raising a family there. There are always a bunch of rental homes in that area since University of Puget Sound is right there, and the Proctor district is really cute. Try to be north of 6th Avenue. Definately avoid Hilltop, Spanaway, Parkland, and areas near the Tacoma Mall. University Place is also really nice. I wouldn't worry about the "Tacoma Aroma" that someone else mentioned. You smell it driving through Tacoma on 1-5, but you'd never smell it in the North End or University Place. I hope that helps!

There are some nice new neighbor hoods in Spanaway, but you may not be as close to amenities as you would like. I have a friend who lives in Dupont, which is one or two exits south of the base, but a nice community.

There is an area around 176th between Meridian and Canyon roads (I think the area is called Fredrickson) that has some nice newer family orientated neighborhoods.

I would stay away from Lakewood, and the area of Tacoma around the Mall (72nd and Pacific to 38th and Pacific...although my grandma has lived in that area for 50 years, some neighborhoods are nicer than others, and you would have to physically visit there to make sure it is ok).

"North Tacoma" is pretty nice, but very expensive.

Areas of Fife recently flooded, so be careful there.

Good luck.

I'm from Tacoma originally but right now we're in Germany (Air Force). There are some really nice places aroung Ft. Lewis. DuPont is really nice area that's recently been built up. Lakewood has it's nice areas to live in. There's Steilicoom. I see that you've looked into Spanaway. There are some nice new housing areas out that way. Look off of Military Rd (Fredrickson area) and you'll find some a new housing development and some older houses which I'm sure some are for rent. There are nice neighborhoods in Tacoma. I like the S. Tacoma area but you'll have to look around and find the nice areas there because they may have changed since I was there last. Stay away from the Hiltop/Downtown Tacoma area. It kind be a bit sketchy. The Northend of Tacoma is nice but a bit more expensive. The Stadium district of Tacoma is pretty nice.

Hopefully this gives you an idea. If you want feel free to send me a message if you have more questions. I grew up there so I know the area pretty well. And don't be nervous about moving with a little one. We just moved overseas with 3 month old twins and it was easier than I anticipated. We even found a house off base with them, lol. Good luck.

We are currently stationed at Fort Lewis and my husband works at Madigan as well. We used to live in Lacey, which we loved, but about 9 months ago an entire brigade returned home at the same time a new brigade was relocated to here. Traffic got so terrible, that the hospital issued us orders to move closer to post. My husband has to pull call and from 3 to 6 pm you are not able to make it from Lacey to Fort Lewis in less than half an hour. That goes for anywhere north of Lakewood as well. His co-workers who live in Puyallup and Spanaway were also ordered to move. We had to relocate to post housing, which is much nicer than you'd think, because there wasn't anything available in the time frame we needed. DuPont is excellent, if I could have gotten a house there I would have. Lakewood is ok, but you have to have "boots on the ground" before you commit to anything. Steilacoom is very pricey but gorgeous. Hope everything goes well for you!

Welcome soon! My famiily just bought a house about 15 minutes North of Ft. Lewis. We are just off I-5. I had heard all these bad things about Tacoma before we moved here but it has been nice. Our neighborhood is poorer but quiet and peaceful. Good luck on your search. I just wanted to let you know that I have a preschool program that you can check out once you arrive. I wish I could refer you to wich exact neighborhood. We live on Fairbanks off of Portland Ave.

The "aroma" is from a lumber mill, nothing else! And I don't notice it as much as I did years ago. Im not sure of exact neighborhood names but there are some good areas of north Tacoma (definitely browns point is good) and some areas in federal way too. Good luck and welcome to the pacific nw!

I live literally 20 mins. away from Ft. Lewis driving. I live in Lakewood in an apartment in a decent neighborhood (which yes is hard to find), but I did live south of Ft. Lewis in Lacey before moving to Lakewood. Lacey driving wise was a much easier commute (10 mins.). We're expecting our first baby and after our 1 year lease is up we're looking for a 3 bedroom in Lacey. The houses are newer and the neighborhoods are quieter and prettier.
I will add though that if we can't find anything we like in Lacey then our second choice would be Dupont. It actually reminds me a little of the movie Pleasantville because everything is clean and has it's place and it is a cute little community.
You do have to see everything for yourself once you get here, but you're doing the smart thing by doing your research first. Good luck to you because I know what it feels like to have to be rushed into a decision first hand. My husband and myself are in the military and we didn't even get to see inside of our apartment before we moved in. On post housing has a ridiculous waiting list, which I'm so glad we don't live on post. We had to move into a place ASAP, and fortunately we like our apartment, but unfortunately we're running out of room.
One thing you'll appreciate is in May the weather will be A LOT nicer than it is now. So, house hunting could be somewhat pleasant. Again, good luck!

Because traffic is heavy around the Ft. Lewis area, 20 minutes isn't that large of a radius and you limit your choices considerably. Are you applying for on-base housing? There are homes in the Lakewood area that would meet your needs. Not wanting to live south of the base isn't realistic, as the Dupont area is a growing area that doesn't have many of the challenges you are concerned about. It would also meet your 20 minute commute. Being closer to Seattle or next to I-5 aren't necessarily pluses. You can easily be within 10-15 minutes of the freeway in most neighborhoods. Welcome to the northwest!!!