I was born in Tacoma and at one time it was wealthier than Seattle and the wealthiest part of Tacoma other than the Northend was Lakewood. The largest mansions were around Gravelly Lake and American Lake and built by the lumber barons like Weyerhaeuser. Then Ft. Lewis came in and the area expanded with off base low income housing particularly during the Korean and Vietnamese wars with Little Korea, Elmo's bookstore (porno parlor) strip clubs and other low rent businesses for a transient military population. The first time I saw crystal meth was from a Banditos motorcycle gang member when he was selling a bag of Mexican weed to my friend's older brother in 1978 at a motel just off of Pac Ave. Things got worse as time went on and eventually Lakewood incorporated into a municipality with its own police force. The Lakewood PD had a particularly bad reputation back in the 90s. Bottom line is it would not be my first or even my last choice to call home in 2023.