Military Brides

PCSing to Washington State

Hey all,

I suppose I'm the new kid in town and thought I should introduce myself. I'm an Army bride-to-be, planning a June 2012 wedding and keeping my fingers crossed the groom will be in attendance (pretty common story from what I understand lol). We are planning our wedding in our home state, which is no where near where we are stationed now, and to make things even more stressful we just found out we are PCSing to Fort Lewis (or is it Joint Base McChord-Lewis... or Lewis-McChord... I don't know. I'm still new.) near Tacoma, Washington.

Is anyone familiar with the Tacoma/Lakewood area? We're looking for some good leads on military and dog friendly apartments or rental homes. Also, does anyone know anything about Fort Lewis? Is it a fun place? Is there lots to do? Going farther west than we already are is super disappointing to me - our families are back east and we were so hoping to get closer to home, not farther away. I'm trying really hard to stay positive about this because we are going either way and a negative attitude won't do anyone any good. Someone give me some positive highlights to look forward to! :)

Thanks!

Re: PCSing to Washington State

  • edited December 2011
    Fort lewis is close enough to tacoma which has lots to do (it's a medium sized city) you'll be near a water park, the state fair, and still within driving distance of Seattle for a Saturday trip. You will love Washington state. We live up north with the Navy. Mcchord is the air force base right there, lewis is army :)
    staying positive is the only thing you can do, but Washington is incredibly beautiful and if you are an outdoorsy type you could not have come to a better state. I know it sucks being away from the family (my FI's family is all in Chattanooga, TN) but it will give them a chance to travel! And maybe it's a good thing for the two of you to step away from the family as a newlywedded couple and live life just the two of you. :)
    There is a wive's club that can help fill you in on info and living arrangements. Try not to get overwhelmed with the moving process, but you have lots of people here for you to vent to, and a couple of us are in WA state right now, so feel free to PM with any q's or vents. PCSing is a pain, but it won't be your last so all you can do is master your organization skills! ;)
  • edited December 2011
    (ps.. yes it is a "joint base" so you will see both people.. but it's somewhat separated so you won't really KNOW a lot of af people, just to clarify)
    also:
    http://www.jblmmwr.com/

    This is your local MWR page (that's the organization for military families whether it's support, info, child care, events, etc.) This will give you an idea of what the base is like, what events go on there, etc. just for an idea of what the community is like.

    Since I'm a little more north, I'm not very aware of the living arrangements down there, sorry I can't help more.
  • msjenna519msjenna519 member
    Fourth Anniversary 100 Comments
    edited September 2013
  • KendallR10KendallR10 member
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I live about 4 hours from there
    Military Brides December 2011 Siggy. Holiday picture with your SO. We suck and don't have one :/ Those who matter don't mind and those who mind don't matter.
  • edited December 2011
    Washington state is beautiful. I stayed out there for a couple months last year to visit my FI while he was stationed out there. There are sooo many things to do near Tacoma. I know that there's a 24hr mini-golf place in Tacoma. I never went, but my FI said it was pretty boom-bangin'. The Glass Museum is gorgeous too.

    We were about a 30 minute drive away, so I only know of one complex, but I doubt it would be near enough to your base for you to live. :(
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_pcsing-washington-state?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:13Discussion:36395118-42ce-4d1a-b99e-3d5c68a3ef54Post:706ccb30-9653-48d5-8c68-f0cd96be06ed">PCSing to Washington State</a>:
    [QUOTE]Hey all, I suppose I'm the new kid in town and thought I should introduce myself. I'm an Army bride-to-be, planning a June 2012 wedding and keeping my fingers crossed the groom will be in attendance (pretty common story from what I understand lol). We are planning our wedding in our home state, which is no where near where we are stationed now, and to make things even more stressful we just found out we are PCSing to Fort Lewis (or is it Joint Base McChord-Lewis... or Lewis-McChord... I don't know. I'm still new.) near Tacoma, Washington. Is anyone familiar with the Tacoma/Lakewood area? We're looking for some good leads on military and dog friendly apartments or rental homes. Also, does anyone know anything about Fort Lewis? Is it a fun place? Is there lots to do? Going farther west than we already are is super disappointing to me - our families are back east and we were so hoping to get closer to home, not farther away. I'm trying really hard to stay positive about this because we are going either way and a negative attitude won't do anyone any good. Someone give me some positive highlights to look forward to! :) Thanks!
    Posted by jesssull[/QUOTE]
    I'm an Army bride to be and having a June 2012 wedding welcome :)
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  • edited December 2011
    @firsttimersluck: Thank you so so so much for the links and the info. It is greatly appreciated! I've never been an outdoorsy type person. I've never been too fond of nature, especially when it's on me.. (read: super girly-girl lol) but from the pictures of Mt. Rainier and everything everyone keeps telling me I think I might just have to "man up", as FI likes to tell me, and give it a good go! I'm nervous about PCSing, it's my first official move with the Army and it's a little scary! Definitely working on the organization though :) And I totally agree that it's probably best for us to be newlyweds that are removed from our families - especially since both sides tend to be really overbearing and like to be super involved (even when it's not necessarily wanted lol). The more I think about it, the more the west coast gets more appealing!

    @msjenna519: I will definitely do that! Thanks so much! :)

    @KendallR10: I have a good friend from high school who lives just outside of Portland. Is it really only about a four hour drive? That would be fantastic! How exciting!

    @MissAnnThorpee: Gasp! A 24-hour mini golf place? Oh Lord, FI is going to be like a kid on Christmas morning when he finds out! Haha, he'll never be home again! That is really cool to find out though, it will definitely make him happy, and the Glass Museum sounds right up my alley. Thanks for the recommendations, we will definitely have to check them out :)

    @katelyn26: How cool is that?! We're June 16, that's not your date too is it? That would be too funny. Thanks for the welcome! :)
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_pcsing-washington-state?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:13Discussion:36395118-42ce-4d1a-b99e-3d5c68a3ef54Post:13739e98-0768-4b2d-a92a-02376b141424">Re: PCSing to Washington State</a>:
    [QUOTE]@firsttimersluck: Thank you so so so much for the links and the info. It is greatly appreciated! I've never been an outdoorsy type person. I've never been too fond of nature, especially when it's on me.. (read: super girly-girl lol) but from the pictures of Mt. Rainier and everything everyone keeps telling me I think I might just have to "man up", as FI likes to tell me, and give it a good go! I'm nervous about PCSing, it's my first official move with the Army and it's a little scary! Definitely working on the organization though :) And I totally agree that it's probably best for us to be newlyweds that are removed from our families - especially since both sides tend to be really overbearing and like to be super involved (even when it's not necessarily wanted lol). The more I think about it, the more the west coast gets more appealing! @msjenna519: I will definitely do that! Thanks so much! :) @KendallR10: I have a good friend from high school who lives just outside of Portland. Is it really only about a four hour drive? That would be fantastic! How exciting! @MissAnnThorpee: Gasp! A 24-hour mini golf place? Oh Lord, FI is going to be like a kid on Christmas morning when he finds out! Haha, he'll never be home again! That is really cool to find out though, it will definitely make him happy, and the Glass Museum sounds right up my alley. Thanks for the recommendations, we will definitely have to check them out :) @katelyn26: How cool is that?! We're June 16, that's not your date too is it? That would be too funny. Thanks for the welcome! :)
    Posted by jesssull[/QUOTE]
    Haha no ours is June 2
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  • edited December 2011
    Also, Elandan Garden! That's where my FI proposed. :D
  • edited December 2011
    I am from the Tacoma area. My fiance is in the national guard. we have both lived here our wholes lives! There are lots of fun things to do in the area, mountains are really close, water is close... best of both worlds! Yelm, lacey and dupont are really nice places to live, and are close to base. feel free to pm me if you would like!
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