Why Tacoma? A Few Answers. (31. May 2006, 20:48 by Derek Young) ~ Reader Participation Is A Good Thing

Prompted by a co-worker I asked you to tell me why you live in Tacoma and whether you’d stay if your situation changed. I received twenty two responses from city residents and two from non-residents. What did I learn? I was surprised by the variety of answers. Nobody’s story was simple. I came here for school, discovered I liked it here, found a job, found love, and will stay for a long time. Somewhere along the way I started Exit133. Your stories for being in Tacoma involved jobs, professors, babies, parents, love found or lost, and the great experiment we call Tacoma.

By and large you are optimistic about Tacoma, but pessimistic about your chances of staying here.

The Summary

45% of you came to Tacoma because of someone else. You followed a spouse, significant other, boyfriend, or girlfriend, that came here for a job or school. You came here to help family through a situation of some sort.

23% of you arrived in Tacoma because of school. UPS, PLU, and UWT were all represented.

9% of you came to Tacoma to get away from a past relationship and/or start over.

The rest of you chose Tacoma as your place to live after arriving because of a job. 9% of you work at one of these schools mentioned above.

Why Tacoma? I consistently heard that it’s relatively cheap to buy a house or rent an apartment here. However, 18% of you thought Tacoma was now too expensive. I heard that Tacoma has so much “potential without the pretentious attitude.” “Tacoma seems much more alive to me than seattle draped in all her airs.” You “like the grit.” “Tacoma’s not too big, not too small, has plenty of good food, is easy to get around, has a touch of history, in a beautiful setting, and is bettering itself all the time.” 14% of you used the word “entrenched” to describe your situation here.

91% of you are generally optimistic about Tacoma. Several of you described Tacoma like it was an urban planning experiment that couldn’t be missed – a spectator event for most, a game to be played by… three of you.

What really surprised me was the sheer number of people that didn’t see themselves in Tacoma beyond the present. 82% of you didn’t think you had a long future here. 14% of you didn’t think you would be in Tacoma by year end. You like it here, but… Once you’re done taking care of family, you’ll be on your way. Your memories here make you want to start over somewhere else. It sounded like a lot of you found a job here by chance and don’t expect to find another one here. Your job prospects are better on the East Side (I’m sooo sorry). Your job prospects simply don’t exist here. You work in Seattle and hate the commute. A couple of you want to end up someplace sunnier.

What does this all mean? Well, Exit133 readers are a varied group of people. Exit133 readers live here by circumstance, but want to make the most of it. In fact, they’re excited to be a part of it. Exit133 readers believe in Tacoma and where it’s going. Exit133 readers would love to find a job in town, but don’t see it happening. Hey, city folks, we need some more jobs here. Exit133 readers want to help Tacoma become a better place.

If you do leave Tacoma, we’ll be here for the foreseeable future and and will welcome you back.

Thank you for your responses.