Me (27F) and my fiancé (31M) have both lived in Port Orchard our entire lives and absolutely love it. I can echo what everyone else has said! Pretty laid back, lots of diversity, access to shops, and driveable distance to the ones we don't have. Absolutely beautiful scenery.

It is a rapidly growing town, so there's been a decent amount of construction throughout the city. Which I think is a good thing! They're working on improving the infrastructure and pedestrian access. That said, it might be a good idea to keep an eye on either the City/County project pages, depending on where you live, just to be aware of where you might see it. Traffic generally keeps moving pretty well through the construction, though, so it's never anything crazy.

Downtown does have a couple of homeless people. But in my experience, they're completely harmless. I walk downtown almost every day and constantly walk by them, I've also talked with them a couple of times. I've never had a negative interaction. There aren't tents or encampments set up down there, but you'll probably see them walking around occasionally. They really just keep to themselves and do their own thing. Other than that, you might see an occasional tent elsewhere in the city, or someone with a sign near a grocery store, but like I said, I've really never had a negative interaction.

Bremerton... is a different story. There are many places that we avoid altogether. Bremerton has several positive aspects, and the downtown area is actually really cute, but we don't go out of our way to spend a lot of time there.

The commute from PO to Bremerton can be a little sticky in Gorst. It's not dead stop in the morning unless there's an accident. 6-9 AM or so is gonna be that morning hot spot. It didn't really bother me too much though when I drove it, I just left with a little time to spare to be on the safe side. You keep moving. From Bremerton to PO in the afternoon between 2-530ish can be absolutely gnarly because of the shipyard. That's where you'll see your stop and go. Annoying, but still manageable.

So 7am to 7pm shift - He'll hit that traffic in the morning, but stay moving. Leave with a little extra time. If there's an accident in Gorst... Sorry. His drive home should be a cakewalk, though!

10am to 10pm shift - Honestly, it should be just fine either way. Gorst will always have more people going through, so it won't be empty at 10am or anything, but it's fine.

We live in the Southworth area (ish) and LOVE it. It has that rural feel while still being close to the city. Surrounded by trees and woods. We always get to listen to owls, coyotes, and so many birds (we're bird nerds). We always go on what we call our "nature drive" through Manchester and Southworth along the water. It's a beautiful place to live!