Best area near Lewis McChord

tokmom, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2013

Not an expert by any means, but Tacoma can have some nice areas and some pretty seedy ones. Fircrest is a nice area. I would personally avoid Parkland area. There is the Puyallup area, but that's about 30 (ish) min away from JBLM That would put you near multiple hospitals, such as Good Samaritan, Auburn Regional, St Francis (pushing the 30 minute). St. Claire, Madigan (close to 30), St Joseph, Tacoma General.

Hope this helps some.

Casey, RN · Aug 30, 2013

Thanks for the info! I appreciate it!

tokmom, BSN, RN · Aug 31, 2013

Glad I could be of some help. I used to live near McChord as step dad was USAF. I spent 4 years in Parkland and lived just a few blocks from Washington High School. Yeah, not the best area. Not sure about Spanaway. I'm hoping others in the area have an idea of what is nice. Puyallup and the neighboring area, Fruitland, Midland, I think even Graham (more country, but probably pushing the 30 min mark) is a nice rural setting. You will have a multitude of hospitals to choose from though. There is even Madigan on base itself!

anichka · Sep 1, 2013

Oly is on the other (south/west) side of JBLM and we have St Pete's and Capital Medical Center. It can take a long time to land a job at St Pete's, so start looking/applying now if you're interested. I prefer Oly to Tacoma, but I prefer medium sized towns over cities. Tacoma is a good option for lots of places, though traffic can get hairy around here and make commuting times bad (mostly if you're working a regular 9 to 5 schedule though).

tokmom, BSN, RN · Sep 2, 2013

Olympia is a nice area. I guess you can toss in Roy and Lacey as well can't you? Is that roughly 30 from JBLM?

anichka · Sep 2, 2013

I don't know Roy (I've only lived in WA for about year and a half), but Lacey is right next to Oly, slightly closer to JBLM, and a very military heavy town. Probably about 15 miles from JBLM.

Casey, RN · Sep 6, 2013

I'm really interested in Olympia, but I wondered about it being hard to get a job there. Can anyone offer insight into what hospitals pay around there? You can PM me if you want want to post on here. The cost of living is a lot higher there, than where we are now, so I'm hoping the pay will be, too :)

anichka · Sep 7, 2013

Not sure what the hospitals pay, but I work at a SNF now and one of the LPNs told me the other day she makes more than $27/hour. She didn't say how much more, but I was surprised! I wasn't expecting it to be that much.

I think they pay pretty well around here, but I've heard it literally can take a year - or more - of applying for a hospital job to land one. & of course then it won't necessarily be exactly what you want. You just have to get your foot in the door. It sounds like you might have some experience though, so it may be easier for you. I know mostly new grads looking for jobs right now.

tokmom, BSN, RN · Sep 16, 2013

Check out the hospital and look them up by union.

Here are hospitals covered by SEIU1199NW

Chapters | SEIU Healthcare 1199NW

WSNA:

Labor Relations - Washington State Nurses Association

Casey, RN · Sep 16, 2013

Check out the hospital and look them up by union.
Here are hospitals covered by SEIU1199NW
Chapters | SEIU Healthcare 1199NW
WSNA:
Labor Relations - Washington State Nurses Association

Thank you!!

conscientiousnurse · Oct 3, 2013

I agree that Lacey is a nice place to live. But it can be hard to find jobs here. Better to either get a job before moving, or else live closer to the King county area where it would be easier to find work. King County is still listed as "in demand" for RN jobs, whereas Thurston and it's surrounding counties, and also Pierce county, are both classifying R.N. jobs as "balanced" for jobs. If you're a very experienced R.N. with a BSN and great references, you might not have too much trouble getting a job here, but otherwise I'd hate to have you stuck with a house in Lacey, having to commute all the way to Seattle for work.