Moving To Oregon - would love some help narrowing down the search (Portland: apartment, to rent)

[hwolf62307]

Hello,

My family and I are making the move from CA to OR. We have 3 kids (one 5, one 1, and one on the way), so we are looking for great family friendly areas, good schools, etc. Our price range is just around $1,000/ month to rent, and we are looking at 2 bedroom - 3 bedroom (with 3 bedrooms being more desirable). We'd prefer a house over apartment, but know that sometimes isn't possible with this budget. My husband and I both work at Trader Joe's, So will need to transfer to a store there and live within a 20 minute drive.

We've narrowed it down to 11 cities/areas and would love to narrow those down before we take a road trip up to visit possible locations ... Here they are:

Portland
Beaverton
Cottage Grove
Eugene
Bend
Redmond
Clackamas
Corvallis
Hillsboro
Tigard
Newberg

Any and all suggestions, tips, concerns, and opinions would be greatly appreciated!

[hwolf62307]

P.S. I know that my post is pretty redundant ... almost like every other "moving to oregon" post, but it really does help to have information specific to the situation. So thanks in advance for any replies : )

[Steve Pickering]

First see where they have a transfer, than we can give a better picture.

[Minervah]

I am kind of confused by your post. Are you asking if there are Trader Joe's in these towns and if so where they are or are you asking if there are TJ's and if there is housing near them? In any case, the closer you get to Portland and its suburbs, all $1000 a month will get you is a studio, perhaps a one bedroom apartment.

[jjpop]

Originally Posted by hwolf62307

Hello,

My family and I are making the move from CA to OR. We have 3 kids (one 5, one 1, and one on the way), so we are looking for great family friendly areas, good schools, etc. Our price range is just around $1,000/ month to rent, and we are looking at 2 bedroom - 3 bedroom (with 3 bedrooms being more desirable). We'd prefer a house over apartment, but know that sometimes isn't possible with this budget. My husband and I both work at Trader Joe's, So will need to transfer to a store there and live within a 20 minute drive.

We've narrowed it down to 11 cities/areas and would love to narrow those down before we take a road trip up to visit possible locations ... Here they are:

Portland
Beaverton
Cottage Grove
Eugene
Bend
Redmond
Clackamas
Corvallis
Hillsboro
Tigard
Newberg

Any and all suggestions, tips, concerns, and opinions would be greatly appreciated!

Start by grouping these by geography:

Portland Metro Area:
Portland - Beaverton - Clackamas - Hillsboro - Tigard - Newberg (technically outside Portland Metro but on the fringe)

Eugene Area:
Eugene - Cottage Grove

Bend - Redmond

Corvallis

So really you're looking at 4 areas (5 if you think of Newberg as being it's own area, which most do). So if you're planning on what to check out when you visit and you're limited on time, you can get a good feel for all of the Portland Metro areas in a long day. Take another day to travel from Portland through Newberg to Corvallis (about 80-85 miles). Then on to Eugene and Cottage Grove (about another 45 miles from Corvallis to Eugene, and another 15-20 to Cottage Grove).

Bend-Redmond is really the only more remote-ish destination on your list. It's also the most different from the other areas as central Oregon (Bend-Redmond) is more desert-like because of the Cascade Mountains rainshadow effect. Western Oregon (everything else) is green and lush and wet.

That's it for generalities. Do a search for each of the city names and you will get a LOT of additional information.

[PNW-type-gal]

There is also a Trader Joe's in Medford, your other option for being out of the lush but rainy and often cloudy (in winter) Willamette Valley.

You need to decide what kind of area you want to be in, as far as metro area, suburbs, city, town, rural.

[hamellr]

I think you need to find which store has two transfers available first. That's going to narrow down your choices significantly.

Either way, $1000/month is going to be a tight in the Portland area. It's doable out in Beaverton, (TJ is by 217) but still going to be an apartment not a house.

[Sherwoody]

Living in Tigard would put you about 20 minutes too stores #141 and #142. We almost moved here Your Own "little house" in a Peaceful, Friendly Community! but my much smarter wife nixed the 1 bath idea. All the 3 bedroom units have only one wall connected to the other units with no one above. (As pictured) They are small and dated but certainly livable for such a low price.

[hwolf62307]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

First see where they have a transfer, than we can give a better picture.

We are moving in December, so it's hard to tell where there will be a transfer at that time. We want to narrow it down to a few stores and maybe a back up or 2 before we find out the transfer availability. of course, we won't move until we've got jobs locked in.

[hwolf62307]

Originally Posted by Minervah

I am kind of confused by your post. Are you asking if there are Trader Joe's in these towns and if so where they are or are you asking if there are TJ's and if there is housing near them? In any case, the closer you get to Portland and its suburbs, all $1000 a month will get you is a studio, perhaps a one bedroom apartment.

We know which cities have TJs in them ... I guess the main reason for the post is to see if we should eliminate any cities/areas from our list ... I'm just looking for information on the areas.