Gig Harbor anyone?

santo614

I intro'd myself on this board a bit ago, but haven't been back much. I'm moving from Washington, DC at the end of the summer with a preschooler and a brand new baby. I'm married but DH can't move (we're both military). I just made a crazy decision to rent a house on Raft Island, and I have a lot of worries about child care and living with 2 young kids in a place where I know no one. Hoping to make friends, find a before and after care situation, etc.

gina000

Welcome. 

May_31_2008

What ship/base will you be associated with?  Are either of you officers?  One of my husband's co-workers and his wife are both active duty and expecting their first child this summer.  Their plan is to use the day care on base, or the CDC (I think that's what its called) .... if you can't tell, I am not very good with the military lingo, even though my husband has been active duty for 3 years.  I live in Bainbridge, which is a pretty long drive from where you will be living, so I wish I could be of more assistance.  Also, my husband was actually supposed to transfer to Bethesda this summer, but then decided last minute to take shore duty at Bangor.

 Good luck with everything!

  

santo614

Thanks, guys. I'll be at Fort Lewis, so a longer drive but worth it to me. My husband and I are both officers. Living in DC (Bethesda, actually) and having a more flexible schedule has spoiled us, so I'm very choosy about day cares. CDC is fine/great for babies, but we HATED it for my son once he got older. I really want to send him to this preschool with a class of 9 similar-aged kids (not too small, but not the 20-24 per class you'll find at CDCs), but I need to find a before-after nanny to make that happen. Seems that might be a little harder to do, since no one south of there wants to cross the bridge and pay the toll twice a day for a 2 hour job. Lets hope I can meet someone nice and local... :0)

mertense

Welcome to the board! I'm from Tacoma but live in Walla Walla now. Gig Harbor is a great area but the drive is crazy! It can take an hour+ to get across the bridge during rush hour plus the drive to Lewis-McCord is another 1+ hours. I don't know what time you will be driving across the bridge but hopefully it isn't during rush hour since it'll be a very long commute! My friend lives in Lacy and has found a really nice preschool for her daughter. I don't know if you would look at taking your ds with you into Tacoma as you might have a better chance of finding a preschool. Gig Harbor has grown a lot since I lived on the west side. I hope you find everything!

May_31_2008

I've found that the officer spouse's club has the BEST resources.  I wasn't technically allowed to join until my husband was officially on the Stennis, but the women(sorry, it was mostly women), in the club would email me back with any questions I had about various things.  Is there an officer spouse club you could contact?

 

Em7.31.04

Welcome!  I don't know where Raft Island is compared to the heart of Gig Harbor, but I'm guessing your drive from door to door (to JBLM) will be about an hour.  There is a major construction project happening at the I-5/Hwy 16 interchange that is about to get worse, although with 2 bridges open now, that part isn't as bad as the previous poster made it sound.  City of Tacoma has a Childcare Resource & Referral service that may help you find care in Pierce County.  There are some good Montessori programs in west Tacoma/University Place, close to Hwy 16 just across the bridge.  Montessori in Motion is in University Place & Arcadia Montessori is in west Tacoma.  Both provide full-time care for ages 2.5+.  Good luck!