Fox Island

[Xenobion]

That's pretty accurate. Most island folk in Washington follow fall into the older close to retirement types as the hussle and bustle of enduring the ferry system isn't so great when having a job. But then again I always see many professionals riding the ferry to Vashon Island as well as Vashon having its own High School. Living on an island if you can will certainly keep things more wooded looking and undeveloped (Minus Mercer Island near Seattle).

[mthomson]

Fox Island is a beautiful place, but it can be a bit out of the way. If you're commuting to Seattle or Tacoma, it adds some time to the commute. It rarely snows, but will occassionally.

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The houses really vary, with prices in the mid $200's to well over a million. Rentals can be pretty affordable, depending on the home. There are some small cabins hidden in the woods, there are huge homes on the water, and there are nice small subdivisions. Your schools are Kopachuck Middle, Voyager Elem (both about 5 min from the Fox Island Bridge) and Gig Harbor High (about 10 min from the bridge). The Island is all homes, with one gas station and one small store.

[JimTheFrog]

I've lived on Fox Island for 6 years. It's very nice here -- quiet, fresh air, beautiful scenery, not crowded. It's about a 20-minute drive one way to grocery stores and anything commercial (other than the single gas station/convenience store on the island), so it's rather out of the way. Tons of new development in nearby Gig Harbor since the second Tacoma Narrows Bridge was finished in 2006 (Costco, YMCA, digital theater complex, etc.). The island is mostly trees. You can definitely find secluded houses in the woods, but you can also find developments of 20 to 40 houses that look a lot like average suburban areas. As posters have said, houses vary from inexpensive old ramblers to new multimillion-dollar spreads. Public schools (not on the island, about a 10 to 15-minute drive) are among the best in the state. It snows maybe once or twice a year, a few inches that usually melts within a day. Weather is typical for Puget Sound -- fabulous in spring and summer, wet and grey in fall and winter.