Northwest Dive Club

I am planning on moving to Washington and am excited to start exploring Puget Sound. I am hoping to be close driving distance to shore diving sites. I was considering Tacoma because it looks like it will be cheaper and more relaxed than Seattle. My question is Tacoma a good base for diving? What is the commute like to Redondo and Alki beach? Is there a more central location that is still relatively affordable? Any tips or pointers would be much appreciated!

Commute from anywhere to anywhere in the Puget Sound area sucks. Shore diving is available pretty much everywhere, though, which is nice. Being in Tacoma means easy access to the peninsula, Fox Island, Day Island, the narrows, etc... You can fall in the water close to wherever you're going to be.

There are few dives that aren't timing dives, though, so get familiar with reading tide tables and charts. The current never gets tired.

Welcome!
Where to live, that's a tough one. I think it would depend on how often and when you'll be able to dive and what you're looking for. and how much you're willing to drive on the weekends

I almost bought a house in Anacortes, because I prefer to dive the more colorful sites like Keystone, Deception, Skyline and the San Juans. And I love Anacortes... (way more than Tacoma, lol). But moving there I would miss easily diving Redondo on Thursday night, and the occasional dive to Day Island and Sunrise. It also gets further from Salt Creek and Sekiu. And there are less options for windy days and the winter up there.

Currently I live in Issaquah, I feel that's pretty centrally located, and I90 has the easiest traffic on the east side. On weekends its usually a drive to Keystone or Anacortes or similar, unless the tides are bad or its windy. I don't think too many from Tacoma make it to Deception or Keystone often for example.

If you're into wrecks or deep, bottle hunting, or lake diving, then your mileage may vary.

You may want to dive around a bit before going full in on a house.

Hope you love it!

I would take Tacoma, its overall cheaper. You are about midway between Hood Canal and Seattle area diving, plus have Ruston Way right there.

I agree with Yelloweye, you should dive around before buying! And nobody really mentioned the fantastic diving in Hood Canal. Factor that in also.

Anyone who considers dive site access as a priority in selecting where they plan to reside is alright by me!

As the others said, traffic can really suck if you have to go during the commute times. If you’re flexible then it can be no sweat during off-peak times of the day, but for meeting up at weekly dives you’re usually tied to the schedule everyone else is on which means traffic on the way there.

I’ve lived in Seattle for many years and I enjoyed being more or less midway between the northern and southern sound dive sites, and right across the water from Alki.

I think it’s a good idea that was mentioned to come visit or rent for awhile to do some local diving before settling permanently somewhere, assuming diving is a major factor in deciding where to live. The dive sites are somewhat subjective and what is a favorite dive site for one person could be just socially fun for someone else.

Lots of good diving in the north end too ...
Whidbey , island, Edmonds, and other places...
Towns would be , Marysville, Stanwood, Arlington ...

There's also Kitsap County to consider. Way cheaper, with still fairly easy access. Might want to take a ferry to some sites, but way less traffic this side as well. I live on Bainbridge Island which isn't really any cheaper, but the rest of Kitsap is significantly less.