Base Location: Tacoma, WA
How long have you been here? (give years please, ex. 2003-present) 2008-present
What is housing like? On-post? (waiting list, conditions, etc.) Off-post? Any areas to stay away from? Average price to rent or buy? Off post near base- unsafe neighborhoods, off-post away from base-$1200 for a 2 br apt., no utilities included. On post-nice
Rate the PX & Commissary. Ok…both are cheaper than going off post and paying taxes. The taxes are 8+%
Activities on base? A lot. There is always something going on at the PX.
Active Spouses Club? yes…enlisted and officers.
Things to do in area? Tons….Seattle is an hr. drive. Around town within a half hour drive, lots to do.
School System? Great!!! Clover Park School System is great. Kindergarten only attends 1/2 a day and if you want full day, you have to pay for it though. In the public school district which I think is dumb.
Any colleges in area? Lots
Jobs? (on post and off) I can’t find one. I have been an AAFES employee before, eligible for re-hire and still can not get a job with them. It is one excuse after another.
Favorite aspect of this base/surrounding city? Beautiful mountains.
Least favorite aspect? Rain, finance, housing
Local websites? (base, chamber, newspaper, schools, etc.) unknown
Any other tips? Don’t move here unless you have no other choice. Off base housing is expensive, wait time for on post housing is 6-18 months, finance always seems to mess up my husband’s pay and then takes months to fix it, don’t do the RPP program (rent assistance program) as they caused us to be evicted due to non payment of rent even though they took our BAH and sent it to our old base, non-stop rain. If you live off base, don’t bring pets because a lot of places charge lots of $$$ for a pet deposit and then adds $$ to your monthly rent as a pet rent. If you have to come here and you are bringing your family, make sure you have $3000-4000 with you for utility deposits (outrageous), down payments and security deposits outrageous. The only thing good about this base, is that my husband LOVES his unit and the guys in it really take care of each other and the families involved.
In response to housing being expensive it certainly will seem expensive. If you just came from GA or NC. But in reality we are getting 1600 in BAH where in NC we are only going to get 1200. I actually found it much easier to find a decent place off post here (we’ve been here almost 5 years and moved to 3 different locations, just for fun) and I like the on post housing better than the pictures I’m seeing of housing at NC. My favorite thing to do (we live in North End Tacoma about 20-30 minutes from North Fort Lewis) is to just walk around and look at the gorgeous gardens literally everyone has and it’s fairly easy to be within walking distance to the water and incredible views. You are so close to so many trails and beautiful hikes, so really, when you add it all up I think it’s cheaper for a family who is getting paid $400 extra just to live in this area.