Is Forest Grove the right place for someone tiring of PDX? (Portland: house, to buy)

[ianp82]

I am a thirty-year-old with a good, stable job in Tigard, OR. My partner and I live in Sellwood. We are both tiring a little of Portland and we are wondering if Forest Grove might be the place for us. Don't get me wrong, there is A LOT to love about Portland, we are just looking for something a little different at this point in our lives. Specifically:

(1) Professionalism. Please don't take this as a dig to Portland. Everybody has their preferences. We are originally from small towns on the east coast and I think we are just not used to the Portlandia thing. We're used to being around more suit-wearing, young professional, family types. Plenty of people think this is a bad thing. That's fine. We don't. I'm sure there's no way around getting blasted for this comment, but I'm also sure enough people out there understand what I'm getting at to provide helpful suggestions. Also, "professionalism" isn't the right word. But, again, I think people will understand what I am getting at.

(2) Land: in the next few years, we would like to buy a house on some land (at least an acre). How realistic is this if we are hoping to spend around $350,000

(3) Culture: we love the food and arts that are plentiful in Portland. We'd hate to lose all of that.

(4) Commute: what's the commute like to Tigard and to Portland?

(5) Aesthetic: Aesthetics are important to us. We like towns with character, small town charm, whatever you want to call it. We're hoping to avoid more run down areas.

Does this sound at all like Forest Grove? Is there another place nearby that it sounds like?

Thanks!

[pdxMIKEpdx]

1. I don't think this is just a Portland thing, IMHO it's regional. Might not be able to escape this. Try to find like people to hang out with.

2. Entirely do-able, but Forest Grove may not be the place where you find it.

3. As far as culture goes, how often are you guys actually in the middle of it? You can always drive to Portland to get some when needed.

4. Can't comment specifically, but I could deal with an hour each way personally.

5. Put a pin in a map, tie a string to it, and draw a circle that encompasses an hours drive from Portland and go explore.
You might be surprised what's out there.

Sorry I couldn't be more specific in answering your questions!

[Silverfall]

Oregon is a laid back culture. You won't find many "suit wearing cities" and the smaller town you go, the less suits. Dress casual is totally acceptable business attire in this state. Honestly, the only way I can see you getting that "culture" is to drastically increase your home price that you want. Then you'll start to get some business owners/execs that wear suits more often.

Just know that you aren't the only East Coaster that has struggled with this issue. The east coast tends to be more appearance focused than the west coast.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by ianp82

(1) Professionalism. .... I think people will understand what I am getting at.

(2) Land: in the next few years, we would like to buy a house on some land (at least an acre). How realistic is this if we are hoping to spend around $350,000

(3) Culture: we love the food and arts that are plentiful in Portland. We'd hate to lose all of that.

(4) Commute: what's the commute like to Tigard and to Portland?

(5) Aesthetic: Aesthetics are important to us. We like towns with character, small town charm, whatever you want to call it. We're hoping to avoid more run down areas.

Does this sound at all like Forest Grove? Is there another place nearby that it sounds like?

Thanks!

1) Might understand, might not. Forest Grove is a small college town. Even in the east you wouldn't describe Middlebury as professional. But is it less tattooed/pierced/weird than Hawthorne? Certainly.

2) No. It may be rural-ish, but it's a college town, and it has fairly small city boundaries. I don't think there are more than a handful of lots in the town limits that are even that size, much less that size at that price. Going north up 47 towards Banks you might find larger lots outside FG, but I don't think you'll get that price, unless market prices drop.

3) It's not much of a drive past Hillsboro, and you can drive there to catch the MAX. That said, you're starting to be far enough that you'll at least think twice about just popping into the city, even off-peak when there's a reduced chance of a 26 traffic jam (though I've been stuck in jams out there at 6 pm on a Saturday).

4) Tigard would be so-so - 35 min without traffic on 26/217, but could easily run over an hour. Portland would be rough. Afternoons on 26 are almost always bad, and while mornings are lighter, eastbound on 26 can be a snarl going down the hill. Hard to predict if it will be worse in a few years, but nothing on the horizon suggests it's going to get better.

5) Forest Grove is charming, but it is what it is. It's a small college town.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by ianp82

(1) Professionalism. Please don't take this as a dig to Portland. Everybody has their preferences. We are originally from small towns on the east coast and I think we are just not used to the Portlandia thing. We're used to being around more suit-wearing, young professional, family types. Plenty of people think this is a bad thing. That's fine. We don't. I'm sure there's no way around getting blasted for this comment, but I'm also sure enough people out there understand what I'm getting at to provide helpful suggestions. Also, "professionalism" isn't the right word. But, again, I think people will understand what I am getting at.

Considering that Portland is the business center of the state ... you're not going to find an "east coast, suit-wearing" type place anywhere in the northwest if you don't find it in Portland (or Seattle). If you want to live in an east-coast type town, look on the east coast. This is the Pacific Northwest. You're either going to have to embrace what's here, or try another region of the country.