It's true, you really will like Tacoma. In fact you will probably love it! It's also called The City of Destiny! When I tell people where we live a lot of them cringe when they hear the word Tacoma. Tacoma has a bad history of being the 'armpit' of Washington. Seriously, I have heard multiple people call it that. Sure, Tacoma has it's sketchy areas and has had some bad history and crime, but what city hasn't. That's what makes it such a great place. And now that we are living in the year 2015, things have changed, things are different, things are better, much better.
Tacoma is an awesome city, and here is my list of why I love living here with my family:
- It is very kid and family friendly! Being a family man myself, it is nice to have so many parks, splash pads and other kid areas that are open year round and are free!
- There is so much water! Tacoma is pretty much surrounded by water on 3 sides of the city. You have downtown, the North End/Ruston and the West End/University Place. This means there are tons of public beaches and trails with amazing views of the Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.
- The Art scene! There are quite a few museums and there are tons of murals all over the city. in fact, I am on a mission to find every mural in the city and take my kiddos picture by them all. Some of them change on a routine basis and it's fun to find new ones and explore the nooks and crannies of this city.
- You get the feeling on a small tight knit community, but can drive ten minutes to downtown Tacoma and feel like you are in a big city with awesome buildings, cool architecture and amazing views of the water and the port.
- There is always some type of event, market, art walk, concert, sporting event, food truck rally, or something going on pretty much every week. Some weeks there are multiple events happening and we can't make it to all of them. There is plenty to see and do around town.
- Location! Tacoma is close enough to Seattle where you can pop up to the big with a 50 minute drive for the afternoon or for another event, or game. It also, just about 25minutes from Olympia, which is the capital on WA state. We still go both directions on the I-5 to explore.
- Community gardens! There are community gardens all over the city and our favorite one is the community blueberry farm! Later this summer we can and will pick berries all the time and even make a blueberry pie or some jam!
- Museums! There are so many to choose from and they are also rotating their exhibits so there is always something new. We love the Lemay Car Museum, Museum of Glass, Tacoma Art Museum, WA State History Museum and of course the Children's Museum. Each is unique in it's own way and all have some sort of children's exhibit/play area.
- Mt. Rainier! No matter where you are you will get amazing views of Mt. Rainier. Even from the freeways you get to see the huge volcano. The views of Mt. Rainier never get old. The drive to the mountain is less than 2 hours and is totally worth it when you want to hike and see some new scenery and get some cooler temperatures.
- Tacoma Narrows Bridge! The bridges are beautiful and you can run/walk/bike across them. (See my previous post about the bridges HERE) They offer amazing views of Gig Harbor, Fox Island, Day Island and more! Plus they are a beautiful backdrop as well.
- We have ferry boats too! It's true. You can hop on a small ferry boat in Steilacoom and head over to Anderson Island, or you can leave from Point Defiance and spend the day on Vashon/Maury Islands. Both are great options to try something new and explore new islands that are so close to us while soaking up the amazing views!
- Food! Tacoma has an amazing variety of different types of food, coffee shops and donuts! Plus they have Cronuts here! The markets offer awesome food and there are plenty of fun, new and cool restaurants and food trucks always opening.
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