Relocation to Tacoma - Help me choose where to land!

[DaKahuna]

My company is offering to relocate me to the Tacoma area this summer. I am looking for suggestions on where to find affordable rental houses with a short commute to Tacoma.
Where I live in SoCal, I am used to being able to come home from work and head back out and go ride up a mountain in the evening. Are there any areas close to Tacoma that have good riding? I am an Exp. DH racer, so I like the tech stuff and I like to get my tires off the ground. But I am also used to riding to the top of the hill to get my reward....
Hope to meet some locals, maybe in as little as 6 weeks from now!

Thanks in advance for any help you all can give.

[pnj]

Hilltops nice and cheap. plus, you could just coast to work....

[Toshi]

Hilltops nice and cheap. plus, you could just coast to work....
:D

i would recommend not commuting from puyallup unless you hate life. i used to live near gravelly lake, and it was a nice neighborhood. stray too far in the wrong direction in lakewood and it becomes less nice... try fircrest, university place.

[DaKahuna]

Thanks for the suggestions so far, but what's the story with P - Wallup? Why would I be hating life? It's one of the areas I looked at rentals online.

I have also looked up in the Gig Harbor area and even further up past that area, but I'm trying to keep the commute to a half hour or less if possible (to the suburb of Fife, actually). Any suggestions on boundaries for that kind of commute? City X from the north, City Y from the south, etc.

Thanks again.

[Toshi]

huh, fife changes things. yeah, north puyallup might work. the commute on 512 is supposed to be hellish for those heading to lakewood. i'd try to live as close as possible. traffic is teh devil.

<-- i live in seattle and ride the bus or my bike during the day for the most part, instead of beating my head against my car's dashboard.

[pnj]

oh yea, get ready for the worst traffic in the world. srsly.