To be curt, that Tacoma is actually really really a hit or miss shithole. The part of Tacoma you're finding those apartments in, I can almost guarantee if you v

To be curt, that Tacoma is actually really really a hit or miss shithole. The part of Tacoma you're finding those apartments in, I can almost guarantee if you visit will not be the part of town you want to live in. If you look at the conforming loan limits for both King and Pierce counties - the county that Seattle and Tacoma are in respectively - they have the same limit which is like $871k I think? There's really not much going on in Tacoma and taking the link from there to Seattle is a pain - sure its doable but you're talk about a huge hit to quality of your life. They are trying to make public transit better in the region but its a 20 year plan before its expanded to where it needs to be. The small towns around Tacoma are either military towns or also very expensive - Lakewood is basically a town for JBLM and Gig Harbor is mostly retirees cashing out and moving on the water.