Tacoma earned the nickname “The City of Destiny” in the late-19th century as an up-and-coming port city and has long been home to artists, dreamers, trailblazers, and entrepreneurs.

Tacoma is a bustling urban center with a population of over 200,000 people. As part of a booming economic corridor that stretches from Vancouver, British Columbia to Portland, Ore., Tacoma remains connected to its blue-collar roots through its busy international port and manufacturing sector, but in recent years has also seen tremendous growth in the arts, technology, healthcare.

The city boasts numerous historic neighborhoods, each with its own distinct identity. In Tacoma, you can find handmade gems at locally-owned shops on 6th Avenue; explore museums, browse through antiques, or catch a concert downtown; pick up fresh produce at a farmer’s market in the Proctor District; hike through old growth forest in Point Defiance Park; or go for a jog by the water along Ruston Way.

From its rich history as the ancestral home of the Coast Salish people to its past life as a frontier boomtown to today’s gritty, underdog port city, you’ll like Tacoma.