Terrell Lawman: There are lots of kid friendly parks and recreation opportunities in the area. Tacoma has a children's museum in addition to the zoo. Seattle is about 1 hour away and also has a children's museum, zoo, aquarium and the Pacific Science Center.Some things to be aware of -Tacoma has some lovely areas of town, and a few rougher areas. Don't agree to rent/buy anything without driving through the neighborhood and getting a feel for it first.You will likely find the cost of living here to be higher than in Alabama. Gasoline taxes are high, so our gasoline prices are on the high side of the National average. Food costs are more here, and rents tend to be higher. On the other hand, electricity costs are usually much loser (due to hydro power), and there's no need to air condition most homes in the summer.Be prepared for 9 long months of grey, damp weather. My family survived it by getting outside whenever the rain stopped, even if it meant walking through th! e puddles that were still ever present. Keep a towel in the car/stroller to dry off wet playground equipment. Many recreation centers in the area offer indoor play times for toddlers where they open up the gym and bring out the big plastic ride-on equipment for the kids to run around on indoors.There are lots of opportunities for hiking and camping here - Hood Canal, Olympic National Park and Mt. Rainier are all not too far away.You've got plenty of choice in grocery stores here - most neighborhoods have more than one of the following: Fred Meyer, Albertsons, Safeway, QFC. Most stores do not double coupons here, or do so with strong limits (Albertsons has "double your coupon" coupons in their weekly flyer - but you can only use 6.) There are very few Super Targets and Walmarts here, but you might find one near where you settle.Discount stores - are you looking for discount supermarkets, or other discount stores? The only discount supermarket here is Grocery Outlet. ! WinCo has recently opened a few stores here also, and they te! nd to have slightly lower prices than the other markets, but I don't know if they are considered a discount market.Good Luck with your relocation!...Show more
Shawnna Kusky: In boaz, al there are several discount grocery markets and furniture thrift stores...was wondering if there is anything like that there and if so what the best stores are. We would be leaving all of our furniture here at my in-laws and bringing only what we needed or can't replace. We would be staying in tacoma for 2-3 years. My husband's new work would be on J Street in Tacoma. I highly doubt we'll have the luxury of going to Tacoma and looking around before starting the move....Show more
Elaina Adolfson: I live in the suburbs of Seattle, but I can tell you about Tacoma. Tacoma, I personally think, is a great town for your family! All around Washington, there are both churches for all religions, and parks and recreation GALORE! Washington, including Tacoma, is mostly forested, with many ! trails for bikes (bikes are more than welcome in Washington!). The highlight zoo of Washington, Point Defiance Zoo, is located right in Tacoma, too, and it is loads of fun for all! Many stores (Safeway, Fred Meyer, Goodwill, etc.) are in the area also. Parks for children are almost on every Tacoma street corner. All in all, Tacoma is a GREAT town, and I'd definitely reccommend it to your family! Have fun in Washington (if you do decide so)!...Show more
Idell Dufort: The other two answers are good. Tacoma is about 90 minute drive from beautiful ocean beaches, wide and sandy, but the water is too cold to go in. wilderness is close, lots of very dense forest. The culture is quite different, if you are an Alabama native. Western Washington is liberal and has about the lowest church attendance in the country. That part of what I love about it.
