BSN required (or obtained within 5 years). Qualified external candidates with a BSN and at least 3 years of RN experience may be eligible for up to $10,000 sign-on bonus and up to $10,000 in relocation assistance.
Neighborhoods+North Tacoma is the walkable, higher-end choice: Proctor District for shops and restaurants, Stadium District for historic homes and city views, and Old Town for waterfront charm. The North End and West End skew more family-suburban—North End median homes around $466,000 with stronger school stats; West End mixes urban-suburban life with beaches; Northeast Tacoma is suburban with outdoor access (median around $405,000). Central Tacoma along 6th Avenue is the practical in-town base for commuters, with Craftsman homes and a median around $294,000 in one 2025–26 snapshot, while South Tacoma and Eastside are the affordable and first-time-buyer tiers, with more lot size in the south and more block-to-block variability on the Eastside. Nearby Ruston, University Place, Fircrest, Gig Harbor, and Steilacoom come up constantly as alternatives for people who work in Tacoma but want waterfront or quieter suburban streets.
North Tacoma is the walkable, higher-end choice: Proctor District for shops and restaurants, Stadium District for historic homes and city views, and Old Town for waterfront charm. The North End and West End skew more family-suburban—North End median homes around $466,000 with stronger school stats; West End mixes urban-suburban life with beaches; Northeast Tacoma is suburban with outdoor access (median around $405,000).
Central Tacoma along 6th Avenue is the practical in-town base for commuters, with Craftsman homes and a median around $294,000 in one 2025–26 snapshot, while South Tacoma and Eastside are the affordable and first-time-buyer tiers, with more lot size in the south and more block-to-block variability on the Eastside. Nearby Ruston, University Place, Fircrest, Gig Harbor, and Steilacoom come up constantly as alternatives for people who work in Tacoma but want waterfront or quieter suburban streets.
Getting around+Tacoma sits about 32 miles southwest of Seattle on I-5, with an average Seattle commute cited at 45 minutes and roughly an hour in non-peak traffic. Inside the city, Pierce Transit buses and the T Line light rail run through downtown, and Central Tacoma is the neighborhood most often described as convenient to both north and south plus major roads. Joint Base Lewis-McChord anchors a huge share of Pierce County jobs, and two major health systems employ thousands locally, so many hospital workers live in-city rather than reverse-commuting north. These sources do not spell out drive times or parking at specific hospital campuses.
Tacoma sits about 32 miles southwest of Seattle on I-5, with an average Seattle commute cited at 45 minutes and roughly an hour in non-peak traffic. Inside the city, Pierce Transit buses and the T Line light rail run through downtown, and Central Tacoma is the neighborhood most often described as convenient to both north and south plus major roads.
Joint Base Lewis-McChord anchors a huge share of Pierce County jobs, and two major health systems employ thousands locally, so many hospital workers live in-city rather than reverse-commuting north. These sources do not spell out drive times or parking at specific hospital campuses.
Outdoors+Point Defiance Park is the outdoor anchor: 760 acres of old-growth forest, Japanese and rose gardens, Owen Beach for kayaks and picnics, plus a zoo and aquarium, often ranked among the largest urban parks in the country. Ruston Way is the paved promenade along Commencement Bay with Mount Rainier views on clear days; Wright Park, Tacoma Nature Center, Fireman’s Park, Fort Steilacoom Park, Chambers Creek Regional Park, Chambers Bay, and Kopachuck State Park’s saltwater beach fill out weekends. Tacoma claims more than 70 parks and 46 miles of trails, with a scenic drive or hike around Mount Rainier as the standard longer outing.
Point Defiance Park is the outdoor anchor: 760 acres of old-growth forest, Japanese and rose gardens, Owen Beach for kayaks and picnics, plus a zoo and aquarium, often ranked among the largest urban parks in the country. Ruston Way is the paved promenade along Commencement Bay with Mount Rainier views on clear days; Wright Park, Tacoma Nature Center, Fireman’s Park, Fort Steilacoom Park, Chambers Creek Regional Park, Chambers Bay, and Kopachuck State Park’s saltwater beach fill out weekends.
Tacoma claims more than 70 parks and 46 miles of trails, with a scenic drive or hike around Mount Rainier as the standard longer outing.
Tacoma is where many healthcare workers land when Seattle prices push them south: about 223,000 people, 32 miles down I-5, no state income tax, two large health systems, and a mid-2026 Zillow home-value index around $496,000. The distinct mix is Point Defiance’s 760 acres of old-growth and Owen Beach, the Chihuly Bridge and Museum of Glass, the T Line through downtown, and streets that swing from walkable Proctor and Stadium to South Tacoma and Eastside starter prices. Lifestyle-minded nurses usually look at North Tacoma, the North End, West End, or nearby Ruston and University Place; tighter $80k–$150k budgets more often land in Central Tacoma along 6th Avenue or farther south. Tradeoffs are real: living costs still run well above the national average—housing, groceries, transportation, and healthcare especially—Eastside quality varies block to block, and the old Grit City industrial edge has not fully vanished. Weekends mean Ruston Way, the farmers market, Pantages shows, and a Rainier view on one of about 141 sunny days a year.
