Tacoma stinks (literally) and is probably the worst city in WA state as far as crime goes. You are only about 40 minutes from Seattle though depending on traffic and it's a lot cheaper to live there then here in Seattle.
It used to be WAYYY worse then it is now. I hardly ever notice it on I-5 but it's usually pretty foul when you're driving over the 509 bridge (which I do every day to and from work.)
I guess I'll just kind of mirror what Theezy said.
If you're looking to go out and have a good time then your best choices are The Swiss, or just do a crawl on 6th ave. (Jazzbones, Engine House 9, Masa, Asado, Chopstix....). Or if you're into the rock crowd at all Hell's Kitchen is cool and ridiculously cheap. You can drink your face off with some PBR and walk out of there with a $25 tab.
My favorite bar in Tacoma is probably the Parkway. It's a beer and wine only bar but they always have great locals beers, people are cool and they got great burgers and fine bitches on weekends. Next to there you can walk down to Doyles which is a pretty sweet Irish pub.
Tacoma's pretty cool, if you know where you're going but it can be a little hit or miss. Like a lot of other people have said, if you want a sure thing then head up to Seattle, it's only about 45 minutes (depending on traffic).
If you're looking for places to live in the area make sure you do your research. I had to learn the hard way a couple times.
EDIT: Another place that I think is fuckin awesome is the Varsity Grill. It's kind of unheard of or something because it's usually dead but it's got one of the sickest bar vibest i've ever been in. Piano, Pool, Clean, Big definitely a lot of potential.