Anyone here from the Bremerton-Seattle Puget Sound area? I am considering accepting a position offer with the Navy MWR at Base Kitsap by the end of next month and moving out that way very early June. I would like to start some general convo with anyone living out there to get some inside information of the city, the nightlife, entertainment, gyms, etc.
Hit me up folks, much appreciated!
[quote]La Crosse Grad wrote:
Anyone here from the Bremerton-Seattle Puget Sound area? I am considering accepting a position offer with the Navy MWR at Base Kitsap by the end of next month and moving out that way very early June. I would like to start some general convo with anyone living out there to get some inside information of the city, the nightlife, entertainment, gyms, etc.
Hit me up folks, much appreciated![/quote]
I live in the Tacoma area.
How far would a salary of 48k get me in Bremerton you think?
[quote]La Crosse Grad wrote:
How far would a salary of 48k get me in Bremerton you think?[/quote]
48,000 dollar store rain coats.
I go to Kitsap for work two or three times a year.
It’s beautiful.
It’s country.
It’s blue collar.
There is a lot of wildlife, to include bald eagles, deer, raccoons. There’s fishing to be done and lots of great history there as well, from the logging to the whaling that got the whole region on its’ feet back in the day.
However, the weather can go from complete bullshit to not too bad and then back to bullshit in the span of a day or less.
You’ll be working at one of three bases.
Bangor Sub base
Bremerton Hospital
Puget Sound Shipyard in Bremerton proper.
My favorite gym of the three is down at Puget. It’s got everything you need plus a pretty nice pool and despite the location there are very active and motivated Sailors staying fit.
Nightlife: Everything closes pretty early. If you’re relying on entertainment on the Penninsula you’ll want to get out early or you’ll find yourself just getting tuned up when last call happens.
The Main City is Silverdale, which has everything you’d need. Target, a Mall, Movie Theater, a really good brewery-restaurant called “Silver City Brewery.” The beers are nice and the food is borderline great.
My favorite town in the area is Paulsbo, and I’d recommend that you find a place to live up that way. There will be traffic issues no matter where you live because there are only a few main roads.
There are a few ferry stops that will get you to Seattle, I recommend taking the ferry rather than driving for experiencing Seattle. They’re relaxing and you don’t have to worry about DUI’s or navigating Seattle’s tricky downtown in a car. The ferry drops you off mere minutes from Pikes Place which is one of Seattles main attractions.
Seattle is a different post all together, though.
On a Salary of 48k you’re going to be ok. You won’t be super high on the hog, and overall the standard enlisted person who is on a housing allowance will be making just as much as you if not a little more. If you do your due dilligence, though, you’ll find some really nice properties on big pieces of land (couple of acres, maybe more) for a decent price.
If you haven’t already, learn the Navy rank structure and what each rank stands for. If you’re at Bangor you’ll be dealing with the submariner community which at times can be very quirky and aloof. Cliquey, if you will. Security is also very tight on that base and understandably so. The submarines that park there are equipped with enough nuclear weaponry to turn all of China into glass. If you’re with MWR you will more than likely never see where those Submarines are, nor should you ask to see one.
If you’re at the hospital the people there are more social.
If you’re at Puget/Bremerton the people are your standard navy folk, more than likely from the carriers or support staff.
I love visiting and working on the Kitsap Penninsula though, and if I were offered a position there I would really have to sit down with my wife and consider it.
Long post, sorry.
Viernes speaks the truth. I grew up in Tacoma and currently work in South Seattle. Listen to Viernes.
I live on the eastside, but I hear that most of the people there are navy. It is pretty and you can always take a ferry to Seattle.
Bremerton must be a 90 minute drive from Seattle. The two cities are not even close to being part the same metropolitan area and have nothing in common.
Personally I hate Bremerton and all of Kitsap County. It’s a bumfuck area and not remotely beautiful IMO.
The Seattle/King area is awesome and I regret not moving there when I was younger.
I’m originally from Gig Harbor, which is close to Bremerton and the only nice place in Pierce County as far as I know.
King > Pierce > Kitsap
[quote]belligerent wrote:
Bremerton must be a 90 minute drive from Seattle. The two cities are not even close to being part the same metropolitan area and have nothing in common.
Personally I hate Bremerton and all of Kitsap County. It is a bumfuck area and not remotely beautiful IMO.
The Seattle/King area is awesome and I regret not moving there when I was younger.
I’m originally from Gig Harbor, which is close to Bremerton and the only nice place in Pierce County as far as I know.
King > Pierce > Kitsap[/quote]
Thurston County is really nice also. I really dont know the peninsula very well at all.
Viernes… this is most helpful! Thanks a freaking ton bro! This is one of the most straight forward responses on all the main context of the area I am looking to learn about. Thanks x10! I like the insights you gave on popular cities, nightlife, wildlife (I love to fish!) and the Ferry. I would plan to make several trips to Settle while in Bremerton. Pikes Place already has my eyes bugging out of my head at the pictures I see of this place online.
I am looking at getting an apartment in West Port Orchard (Lippert Drive) thats $800 a month for 650sq/ft. Its listed here on Rent.com which has open rooms at the time I would relocate (June 1)
I have called the apartment and spoke to a manager and they seem really nice and professional. She is sending me information, pictures, details etc on the property. They offer short term lease options which I need given the job I will have there.
My job is going to be on the USS Ronald Reagan as the ships “Fit Boss” meaning I would be in charge of all fitness requirements for 3000-5000 sailors who are assigned to the ships 20 departments. One on one and group training, conditioning, rehab etc. I would also maintain and manage the ships 5 gyms and the equipment within it. While in port I work mostly on land and some on ship. When we go off to sea I go with them. Durations can be 3-6 months long in which I share a room on board with other statesmen. This being the reason for 6 month lease options.
The one unknown I cant really put my head around is how I would respond to life at sea for that long (who really can?) I am single so I have no concerns with the move upsetting others. I REALLY want to get back to training hands on with military demographics as I have before. The college/university seen is getting old real quick as is the red tape crap, hoops to jump through, limitation of my job and pure lack of working with anyone on fitness (despite a working title of strength and conditioning coordinator???) 2 years now and not trained anyone other then those I find outside the university at a local gym in town.
I make $38,100 a year now in mid Missouri and do fine on that (no retirement of any kind mind you.
I wont make it 3 more months here in my role now strictly due to what I am not doing here, not what I am doing.
I have worked with many Army National Guard members in years past and become fairly familiar with their ranking system, phonetic alphabet, directional terms, acronyms and what not. Navy I am sure is different but if I can learn one system I assume I can take on another.
The only reason I hold off in giving my committment to this gig now is that I am waiting to see if I get a call back Monday or Tuesday for a job in Milwaukee, WI (90 mins from my hometown) and the same city I did my undergrad in…as assistant director of sports performance and fitness for a large high school athletics department. Salary is about the same if not a hair higher then the Navy MWR Fit Boss job would pay. Only work about 30 hours a week in summer months, set M-F work days during school year, very strong CEU program for its coaches, kick ass gym for a high school of any kind let alone some D3 colleges I have seen.
If I do not have an offer on the table from this position in Milwaukee by Friday morning…I am taking the offer from the Navy and getting my ass up to Washington by the end of next month.
Lets keep in touch Viernes.
Got my place all lined up in Bremerton just blocks from the fair grounds area. A couple miles south of the Silverdale shopping center as well. Its listed as 8 miles from the Naval Shipyard I will be working at so not bad on the end either for the daily commute.
I move out there on July 25th for good. Start the 30th. I first fly out to Norfolk, VA for 1 week of procedures HR training from the 15th-20th. Then I come back home for 4 days to get the last of my shit packed up and moved out to Bremerton. I already have my storage unit and car set up with companies to move it all out there by the 25th at the latest.
I get $4000 in relocation funds to work with from the DoD so not bad! They also pay my round trip flights to and from Norfolk, VA as well so no bitching from me!