Hood River County (Portland, Salem, Gresham: vacation, rental car, rental)

[cvanripe10]

Is Hood River considered the boonocks of Portland???

If i were to say "I want to move to hood river" would people look at me funny??

Basically i want to know if there is work in hood river( i'm a carpenter and house painter), some sort of population and town, and places to live OR if it is just a resort town.

[nanannie]

I want to move to Hood river.!!! I suggest you visit.Its a wonderful town on the Columbia river,a haven for wind surfers,but a "real" town just the same,with a grwoing population.Its a good hour out of Portland,so is not considered a 'burb or 'boonies.

[cvanripe10]

its not a burb or boonies??? so what is it then?

How far is Bend from Hood River?? They are both on the east side of the cascades so i'm assuming it's an easy drive.

When i see pictures of Bend, it's always brand new homes. Very nice construction. Is hood river like that too or is it dated and not taken care of as well.

[dachmom]

its not a burb or boonies??? so what is it then?

It's a TOWN! It has been for over 100yrs!

It started out as a small farming community (there are still orchards in the valley). The windsurfers have brought some upscale trendy shops. It's still a small town though. If you like living in a bigger metropolitan city like Portland then Hood River will be too small and boring for you, Bend would be a better choice.

[cvanripe10]

whats the drive from hood river to portland like??

I live 20 minutes outside of NYC. That is 20 minutes if it was just driving. There traffic, george washington bridge, tolls, hectic highways, and then once your in driving is hectic.
So basically i don't ever consider driving into manhatten. It always takes an hour to get in and park even though i'm like 15 miles.

SO being portland is Much smaller than manhatten, is the drive from hood river to portland driving on a country road for 30 minutes then entering city streets? someone explain please.

[Squidlo]

Its a pretty steady hour drive to get to the center of Portland. No traffic mind you. In traffic you might be near the two hour mark. If you found work in east county (Troutdale/Gresham) you might not have to go so far. I worked in the gorge a few days a month years ago. It was one hour from my front door to my first stop in Hood River. I drove in the middle of the night and made my first stop at around 1 am. Coming back in the evening wasn't always so fun.


Squidlo

[ChadPettingill]

I wouldn't say Hood River is east of the Cascades; it practically is in the Cascades, just in the gorge though.

[dachmom]

Hood River is 60 miles east of Portland on I-84 so it's freeway driving the entire way to Portland. You will know when you get close to Portland, the traffic starts to slow down and get more congested. I'm sure the traffic back ups are nothing like those in Manhattan, but they can be long if there is an accident. When you get close to Portland you can chose to go North(Vancouver in Washington state) or South (Salem) on I-5 or stay on I-84 and go into downtown Portland. You might want to take a vacation out here first if possible. I would suggest flying into Portland, getting a rental car and traveling to Hood River and Bend to check out the towns for yourself. You really never know until you see the place in person. If you can drive in Manhattan, you should have no problem in Portland(which is the most populated city in Oregon) and other towns in Oregon.

[cvanripe10]

yeah manhatten driving is cake for me. I hi-jacked mom's minivan and drove it in when i was 17 to see a concert. unfortunatly i am only 23 years old so i can't rent a car(I think you need to be 25 but i could be wrong).

What about the climate of Hood River? I heard people go there in the winter because it's not as cloudy/gloomy as portland because of its location with the cascades. Same with Bend.

Although Bend seems more of a desert. Hood River seems very green so i could be wrong about the rain/gloom. Would be grateful if someone could explain this. I hear the weather in portland during the winter is very grim. Wouldnt be so bad if i could do a day trip into sunny areas.

[nanannie]

The weather bothers alot of people.Bend has more sun,and your right,it is more of a 'dessert' terrain.The gorge area to Hood River is lush,green,gorgeous all year,but yes LOTS of rain in Portland and beyond.It is more of a constant grey,heavy mist then the heavy downpours you get in the east,but it is grey alot of the time from Oct to May.If you are bothered by grey skies,Bend would be better.One mans gloomy is another ones glass of wine,book and fireplace