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Why on earth would you live in Pierce County?
Quality of life has very specific meaning for every individual. Choosing a home in a particular geographic location is often tied directly to those individual quality of life definitions to include proximity to recreation and environmental jewels. Pierce County, comprised of Tacoma, Gig Harbor, University Place, and beyond, is uniquely positioned within Washington State to provide a pivot or launch point for easy access to breathtaking recreation and natural settings.
The Olympic National Forest is one of those amazing milieu's. This National Park is located along the northwestern most corner of Washington State. Nestled along the southeast portion of this park, just 1 hour from Tacoma, Gig Harbor and University Place, Washington is a place called, The Staircase Rapids Trail. Towering old growth Douglas Fir trees and other Evergreens create a canopy of moss adorned branches, rocks and waterfalls.
The curvy drive along the Hoods Canal, Lake Cushman and Skokomish River provide time and opportunity for quiet reflection of journeys once made by mule and cart while hauling logs and supplies through the Olympic Peninsula. A dam on Lake Cushman, originally created by glaciers during the last ice age, now provides electricity to the growing City of Tacoma carried across the lines that span the Tacoma Narrows, an active supply since March of 1926.
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Sometimes it is hard to imagine how this location, so close to home, could remain so wild and free. Even in Spring, the peaks of the mountains wear dustings of snow from low passing clouds building pack to supply the lake below and in turn, electricity for the City of Tacoma and nourishment for flora and fauna in the seasons to come. The waters of the river and the lake are so aqua-green-blue, you can feel and smell the frigid, clean and cold temperature without even a touch.
The Olympic National Forest is within arms reach of any resident fortunate enough to have chosen to live and breathe within Tacoma, Gig Harbor and University Place. To ride in your vehicle and hour or so west while gazing at passing Bald Eagles, tufts of white bubbly current along river ways, tumbling lake beds and waterfalls provides a much different experience than driving north in commuter traffic for an hour or more. So, when considering what to do to enhance your quality of life by touching nature, absorbing pure wild west ambiance, throw the Olympic Peninsula and the Staircase Rapid Trails into the mix–I pledge to you, your exposure to this wilderness and beauty will bring you a sense of peace and awe, not just about what you have seen, smelled, touched and tasted, but that you live so close to such an unbelievable utopia.
People buy their “Why’s” not their “Whats”!
The significant CHOICES that we make in life, when really dissected, come down to the baseline motivation of the "why's." For instance, 'why' do we want a big kitchen; is it because we like to have the family gather in that space to share in the cooking experience, is it because we entertain a lot and think that this equates to needing a ginormous kitchen space with fancy gadgets to prepare food for the masses? 'Why' do we want macaroni & cheese for dinner versus spinach and broccoli? 'Why' do we want 4 faucet heads in the shower? When talking about home choices, the 'what's' are the features; 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 3 car garage which don't always satisfy the 'why's that bring you closer to functional and emotional satisfaction………so, when going through the decision making and selection process of your next home, try this exercise:
Each of those that will be involved in the decision making process are given a sheet of paper. Make 2 columns, the one on the left given a title of the 'WHAT'S' (features desired), the column on the right titled the 'WHY'S' (benefits derived from the features). Each individual typically is motivated by their own drivers, justification and desires for the 'why's' so it best serves everyone if each get their own sheet to fill out. Once each of you have filled out your paper, sit down and compare what has been listed. 
You might be surprised what are the why's behind the what's–some will be similar and some will end up being 'WOW's'. Once you have gone through this exercise, narrow your scope even further and, out of your 'what's and why's', prioritize them so that you know, understand, and have great clarity on which facets are your team non-negotiables in priority order for this huge life decision of purchasing a new or different home. After walking yourselves through this exercise, your home selection, toilet seat selection, or dinner selection will feel and be remarkably streamlined and efficient—it is the science behind choices. A simple exercise that yields great results.
The Miracle of Living in University Place, Washington
Good fortune, work and opportunity have exposed me to places in the world from Efate' to Jerusalem, Kuwait to London, Chengdu to Jakarta and beyond. At sunrise in many of these places, what you may hear is the guttural crank and throats clear of a freight truck or transport bus and quite possibly, air or water filled with unknown molecules that provide a burn of nasal passage and a foul taste or undetermined smell. 
As I stroll at dawn on this beautiful day towards University Place's Day Island in Washington State, I gaze west at Gig Harbor and to the north at the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. These peaceful moments remind me of the miracle of living in University Place. All I can hear are a Robin's chirp at a quickly approaching Spring and Starling's call serenading Black Capped Chickadees' search for Birch Tree bugs. Ever so faintly in the distance I hear the fall of water and rush over rock as the hillside slopes into the Puget Sound with the splash of rain and runoff.
The Olympics just to the west are kissed with a snow dust as a harbor seal barks with a missed attempt to grab his morning fish. Canada Geese honk in laughter as they coolly paddle in synchronicity with the strong channel current. To have a choice, to select a home anywhere in this wide and wonderful world, I would always choose the miracle of University Place, Tacoma, or Gig Harbor Washington.
Would your wish be to live within a ‘Driver’s’ reach of a Premier Golf Course?
When I was a little girl, I lived just a couple of miles north of what was at that time, a huge gravel and sand pit. I remember several times a week driving by the pit on the way to soccer practice in Lakewood gazing out the window at the beautiful Puget Sound and distant views of the south side of Fox Island. I used to tell Mom that, 'one day, I am going to build a giant house down there, right on the beach as soon as they stop digging gravel out of it.' She would always smile at me and just nod her head not wanting do dampen my vivid imagination or slow my habits of dreaming big.
While attending both Curtis Jr. and Sr. High Schools, the 'Pit' became a place where some would gather in the hours of darkness to enjoy the scent of seaweed and sips of refreshment while building their own memories and friendships. Just to the west of the gravel pit was conveniently the New Tacoma Cemetery-a place for teens to also explore and visit ghostly figures in the hours of darkness.
As I grew up, I decided not to wait for a someday opportunity to buy a slice of gravel pit heaven to build my castle upon and instead settled 3 miles north of the 'Pit' on a different slice of University Place landscape. Good thing I didn't hold out for a piece of the Pit because today, it has been transformed into a magnificent seaside world class 18-hole golf course, Chambers Bay. This is the home of the 2015 US Open, a links style course with sandy windswept dunes, undulating slopes in the fairways and mottled greens framed with wispy sea grasses.
The course is rimmed with a paved walking, running, dog loving trail. This golf course perimeter takes your breath away both physiologically and mentally as you scale the ups and downs of the hills kissed by tall Douglas Fir trees while hearing the whistle of the passing trains along the beach front. Inclusive of the childrens play area, a dog park and remnant monoliths of industries gone by, there are few who could not have some sensorial satisfaction or activity quenched by this hidden fingerprint of Scottish descent with a Northwest flare–how grand it would be, and is, to live just a 'Driver's' reach from such a magnificent, mystical place.
