cdub7

I may be moving to Federal Way this August and would appreciate some suggestions on where to live. I'd like to live in a relatively safe area, quiet area, but have easy access to museums/restaurants/bars,etc. Maybe on the north side to be close all that Seattle offers? I'd be renting an apartment. THANKS for your suggestions/comments!!!!

christy1

Do you have to live IN Federal Way? If being close to city things-museums, restaurants, etc-is important to you, and it sounds like it is, Federal Way is a bad choice. It's a very generic suburb with horrible traffic to Seattle.
If you are trying to stay close to FW for a job, perhaps West Seattle would work for you. Lots of good restaurants, bars, parks/beaches, cute downtown shopping area, great neighborhoods, but not an unreasonable commute to FW.

waikikigirl

Tacoma is a great little town. A lot money has been going into it in the past few years, it's close to the water, homes are still affordable, there's plenty to do and the people are wonderful.

sgorces

It doesn't sound like Christy has ever been past the mall in our town. Yes, "dowtown" Federal Way is a strip mall mess, although many improvements have been done in the past few years and much more is yet to come. New shops are being constructed at the mall and they will be built up to the street so we will finally start getting rid of the acres of barren parking lot. Deeper in Federal Way where Christy has never been there are many nice neighborhoods. The Dash Point area sounds like a good spot for you to explore. The north end of the community, often called the Star Lake neighborhood may be a bit too active for your quiet, safe desires. If higher rents are in your price range you might also look at some of the terrific view units in the Redondo and Redondo Heights areas. Indochine Satay Bar is one of the best Thai restaurants around. Koharu offers very respectable sushi. Metropolitan Market is our shiney new upscale grocery store and a great addition to the community. Hylebos Wetlands State Park is a virtually unknown gem and several natural parks offer access to the Puget Sound shore. Many Federal Way neighborhoods have spectacular water and mountain views.

Driving to Seattle is a pain at rush hour, but not much of a problem any other time. The location in the region is actually very good. We have great access to the airport and travel routes to Seattle, Tacoma and over the mountain passes.

suze

Hopefully you can visit each & see for yourself the areas discussed above before deciding where you will live? The different ammenities and personalities will be readily apparent.

Without sounding harsh or insulting to my neighbors to the south... I personally would figure out some way to live in or near Seattle (were I in your shoes) and take the commute.

mike_b12

Just wondering, I will be in Tacoma for one day what is there to do? How is the downtown area?

dsquared

Mike, there are a couple of responses to your thread.

cdub7, I have a relative who used to live in FW. While there are nice neighborhoods, the traffic and suburban sprawl just got to be too much for them.

Take a look at Tacoma; specifically the Proctor district http://www.proctordistrict.com/
or the Stadium district (an 1890s hotel turned into a high school with a football stadium overlooking Commencement Bay, not the Tacoma Dome ;-) ) http://www.tacomabusinessdistricts.c...sp?district=10

Both areas have a real community feel and you can easily walk to restaurants, stores, services, etc.

Good luck!

sgorces

Mike- the commercial core of Tacoma is not too terribly active. The newer redeveloped area on the south end of Pacific Avenue has come along nicely though. There are shops and restaurants, notably Indochine Satay Bar (Thai) and El Gaucho (expensive steakhouse, but good). The Washington State History Museum is descent and the nearby Museum of Glass is terrific. The area along the Thea Foss waterway has been converted into something of a boardwalk and is improving from it's former tired working waterfront past. The Commencement Bay waterfront area a mile north of downtown has a great waterfront footpath and a half dozen or so waterfront restaurants. It's a nice area for a walk and lunch or dinner. Point Defiance park is a wonderful urban woodland park with forest trails and stunning views of Puget Sound. Have a nice visit.

Bobmrg

We had friends who lived on the west side of FW in a very nice location. Just off of 21st, if you have a map. Also had a buddy who lived on Dash Point...kinda pricy, but he was a retired airline pilot. Redondo is another nice location.

"north of FW" makes me think of White Center. Ugh.

luvs2pack

living in Seattle would be wonderful IF you can afford it. I agree west seattle is a good choice. You can even take the water taxi over to Seattle waterfront. Federal Way is close to some nice parks and the waterfront. But not much in the way bars,culture. But IS alot cheaper.

Orcas

Original post was a year ago. Wonder what cdub7 decided to do.

luvs2pack

That would be fun to know!

cdub7

Hi, I have no idea if anyone still hangs around here anymore, but I thought I'd take a chance and write something. I'm sorry for taking so long to return to this site! Well, I posted the original message of this thread in July of 2005 when I was deciding where to move. I had a choice between Albuquerque, Austin, or Federal Way, and I ended up in....drumroll please....Albuquerque! Having lived there for a year, and since having returned to Illinois, it's really interesting to look back at what everyone had to say about the city. Everyone was so helpful and very opinionated! I like it! Anyway, I loved Albuquerque. I loved the work I did there most of all because I got to work directly with so many wonderful people. It was quite a change living near mountains, and it was really amazing. I miss it! So, thanks to all of you for replying to my post. Hopefully, someday I'll get to visit the cities that I passed up for Abq. THANK YOU ALL!

Orcas

I'm still hanging around. Thanks for the update. Glad you enjoyed Albuquerque! Was it hard to move back to Illinois?