What is it like living on Fox Island?

What is it really like living on Fox Island, Washington? MoveToTacoma.com creator Marguerite Martin went right to the source, Kris Jones, who has lived on Fox Island, to find out. They sat down at a low bank waterfront listing (with its own sand spit, a 40-foot boat dock out front, and the water lapping a few steps from the deck) and talked about what life is actually like for the people who call Fox Island home.

If you’re thinking about moving to Fox Island, this video is a great introduction to what life is really like on the island. Kris shares the things she loves most about Fox Island living, walks through what it costs to buy a home on the island, and explains the things that confuse most relocation buyers about waterfront homes in the Pacific Northwest.

Where is Fox Island?

Fox Island sits in Hale Passage off the Gig Harbor peninsula in Pierce County, about 30 minutes west of downtown Tacoma. It’s connected to the mainland by a single bridge that drops you onto the island after you’ve already crossed the Tacoma Narrows Bridge from Tacoma. So if you live on Fox Island and you’re coming home from Tacoma, you cross two bridges to get there.

Kris calls it the double cleanse. You wash the day off crossing the Narrows, and whatever’s left washes off crossing onto the island. From the listing Marguerite and Kris filmed at, it’s exactly 17 minutes to the Narrows Bridge. That’s the thing people don’t understand about Fox Island until they actually drive it. It feels remote in your body. It is not remote on a map.

What is the commute like from Fox Island?

Here are some rough drive times from Fox Island:

• Gig Harbor for Groceries & Entertrainment: 15-20 minutes
• Downtown Tacoma: about 30 to 35 minutes
• Joint Base Lewis-McChord: about 40 to 45 minutes
• Sea-Tac Airport: plan on an hour, pad to an hour fifteen or twenty if you’re being safe
• Downtown Seattle for a night out: plan on an hour and a half worst case

So a daily Seattle commute by car isn’t the most pleasant scenario (people do it though), but JBLM, the airport, and anywhere in Tacoma or Gig Harbor are all very manageable. Most people moving to Fox Island are looking for the slower pace and the privacy, and they’re willing to absorb a 30 minute drive to get into the city.

How much does it cost to buy a house on Fox Island?

Fox Island has a wide range of home prices, and the reason is simple: there’s more waterfront per capita on Fox Island than almost anywhere else in the area, which pulls the average up.

Waterfront homes on Fox Island start around 1.5 million for something smaller or in need of work, and go up well past 3 and 4 million. The listing Marguerite and Kris were sitting at the day they filmed was listed at 3.7 million. A big factor in waterfront pricing is whether the home has a dock, because new docks are very difficult to permit. If a waterfront home already has a dock, especially a deep water dock, it commands a real premium.

Interior homes on Fox Island, meaning homes that are not on the water, start in the 700s. Most homes on the island sit on larger lots, so even the non-waterfront prices reflect more than just the house. You’re paying for the land, the privacy, and the fact that you cross two bridges to get home.

What does low bank, high bank, and no bank waterfront actually mean?

This is one of the things Kris and Marguerite spent some time on in the video, because it comes up constantly with relocation buyers. “Waterfront” by itself is doing a lot of heavy lifting as a term, and on Fox Island specifically the bank type makes a huge difference in both lifestyle and price.

Low bank or no bank waterfront means you can walk from your house to the water without much elevation change. Maybe a couple of steps. Maybe a flat walk to the dock. Your toes are in the sand. This is what most people picture when they hear “waterfront,” and it’s the most expensive by a wide margin because direct, easy access to the water is rare. The home Marguerite and Kris filmed at is low bank at its finest, sitting on a sand spit, with the kind of beach you can dig clams from.

High bank waterfront means the house sits up on a bluff above the water. The views are usually spectacular, but the beach access is limited. You might have a steep staircase down, or honestly no real practical way to get to the water on a daily basis. People who buy high bank are usually buying the view rather than the access.

Medium bank falls in between. Enough elevation to have a real view, and enough of a slope or staircase that getting to the water is a project rather than a casual thing.

Docks, buoys, and boat life on Fox Island

If you’re moving to Fox Island with a boat, the dock conversation matters. A real deep water dock that can hold a 40-foot boat year-round is rare. The dock at the home Marguerite and Kris filmed at can do it, and the homeowner kept a 40 foot boat there year-round, only moving it to his buoy a couple of days a year on minus tides. But those docks are increasingly rare because new ones are very difficult to permit. The ones that exist have been grandfathered in.

More commonly, waterfront homes on Fox Island have a buoy and maybe a shorter dock or float. People who don’t have waterfront moorage often store their boats at the Fox Island Yacht Club, which is also one of the main social hubs on the island.

What is there to do on Fox Island?

Fox Island is rural, but it’s not isolated. The community is small, around 3,000 people, but there’s a real social fabric to the place.

The Fox Island Yacht Club hosts social events, concerts, weddings, graduations, and is generally the gathering place for the island community. Kris mentioned that her son’s graduation party was there. She also mentioned that the Yacht Club is a great place to find friends with boats, which is its own kind of pro tip.

Zog’s is the casual go-to local spot. This is where locals stop on the way home to grab a pizza and not cook. There’s a little speakeasy-style restaurant tucked into a gas station near the bridge that has live music on Friday nights all summer.

Fox Island Museum: There’s a small art & history museum on the island. There are more than 3000 artifacts on display in Dioramas, Showcases, and free standing exhibits.

What else? There’s a whole-island garage sale every summer that the whole community participates in. There’s a reader board at the bridge entrance that tells everyone what’s coming up next, because every Fox Island resident drives past it on their way home.

There are public beach accesses scattered around the island where neighbors meet up for evening walks. The Fox Island Fishing Pier at the south end of the island is popular for salmon and perch, and is a peaceful spot for sunsets. The sand spit and Bella Bella Beach are favorite spots for beachcombing and just being outside.

What are the schools on Fox Island?

Fox Island is served by the Peninsula School District, which also serves Gig Harbor and the Key Peninsula. Specific school assignments can vary by address on the island, and boundaries do shift over time. Always confirm directly with the Peninsula School District School Boundaries Map the most current information when you’re looking at a specific home.

What do neighbors love about living on Fox Island?

When asked what people are really looking for when they move to Fox Island, Fox Islanders talk about space, privacy, low bank waterfront, and a slower pace. It’s a community that supports itself. There’s a mix of people who came here to be a little reclusive and a much larger group of people who want community and more connection.

Kris’s pitch for the island is simple: you have to come experience it before you make any assumptions. Once you cross that bridge, you’ll know. As she put it, you have to see it to believe it.

MoveToTacoma.com creator Marguerite Martin has been interviewing real people about real neighborhoods in the South Sound for over a decade. Watch the full video about living on Fox Island above to see everything Marguerite and Kris talked about, and visit MoveToTacoma.com for dozens more neighborhood guides, hundreds of podcast episodes about living in Tacoma, and help finding your place in the South Sound.

What other neighborhoods are close to Fox Island?

Gig Harbor — Just over the Fox Island bridge, Gig Harbor is the closest “town” experience to Fox Island. A historic working waterfront, walkable downtown, more shopping and restaurants than the island itself, and a similar boating culture. Many Fox Island residents do their regular errands, dining, and weekly life in Gig Harbor.

Gig Harbor North – Gig Harbor North is one of the fastest growing parts of Gig Harbor. This growth is all part of Gig Harbor’s strategy to absorb the tens of thousands of new folks moving to Pierce County in the coming years. Many of the new construction neighborhoods, stores, and facilities in Gig Harbor North have been built in the past ten years, with many more homes and businesses still to be built. If you want to live closer to Costco, the YMCA, and Target- you want Gig Harbor North.

Artondale – Artondale is deeper into Gig Harbor- most of it is in the center of Gig Harbor. Artondale is more rural than Uptown or Downtown Gig Harbor. It takes about 10 minutes to get to Downtown Gig Harbor from most parts of Artondale and about 10 minutes to get to the Narrows Bridge.

Kopachuck Ridge / Horsehead Bay – Kopachuck ridge and Horsehead Bay is a very special place. In the past area families had cabins on Kopachuck Ridge and Horsehead Bay. Nowadays cabins are being replaced by some of the most expensive homes in Pierce County. Kopachuck Ridge Estates is a community of 76 homes. Kopachuck RIdge has s a series of cul-de-sacs and combines custom-built homes with sweeping views and more modest homes. There are many choices for many budgets. Many of the homes have views of the Olympic Mountains, Puget Sound, and Mount Rainier.

Key Peninsula — Across Hale Passage to the west, the Key Peninsula is a more rural area with larger lots, more acreage, and a slower pace even than Fox Island. Popular with people who want real privacy and don’t mind a longer drive to town.

Tacoma’s West Slope— Across the Narrows Bridge on the Tacoma side, neighborhoods like University Place and Tacoma’s West Slope offer waterfront and water-view homes with closer proximity to downtown Tacoma. A common alternative for buyers who want some of the same feel but a shorter commute.

More resources for Moving to Fox Island, Washington:

• Peninsula School District
• Fox Island Yacht Club
• List of Gig Harbor Neighborhoods
• Pierce County Property Search

Thinking about moving to Fox Island?

Tacoma real estate agent Marguerite Martin spends most of her time connecting people moving to the South Sound with agents who know their neighborhoods inside and out. Check out “Thinking of Moving to Tacoma?” on the blog. Fox Island has local experts who’ve lived and sold here for years and know the island the way only a neighbor can. That’s who you want walking you through it. Click here to schedule a call with Marguerite.