Sandy or Oregon City?? (Portland, Gresham: travel, work, housing)

[jhow]

If you were to choose between living in Sandy or Oregon City, which would you choose? Why?

(If you already live in one of the two, why did you choose to buy a home there? What drew you there? What keeps you there?)

Thanks. All opinions welcome. Just trying to decide where to raise my family.

Jason

[sweettart08]

We live just outside of Or City and love most everything about it! Sandy is nice too, just not as centrally located.

[bobmulk]

Oregon City is closer to the urban area so there will be more amenities, but traffic will be worse, too.

Sandy is on the way to Mt. Hood and it's more rural. Gresham isn't too far away for all the shopping and restaurants. Although, you're not going to find cuisine in Gresham. You won't in OC either, but you're closer to it.

I would say the schools are better in Sandy.

[tj7run]

Actually the OC schools are very good schools, the city has grown in the past two years, but is still small enough to get the rural feel. There are some very nice restaurants in OC that have moved in in the past year. You are close to Portland but not too close. There is no gang activity, and shopping at Clackamas is only about 12 minutes away. For traffic, it is not bad at all, at least not in OC itself. 205 can be bad, but coming from someone who lives in OC and has to travel to North Portland to work, it takes no time at all, not even in the afternoon. If you learn all the back roads, you can get just about any where in a hurry. The housing market in OC is actually holding pretty strong, there are very nice homes, especially the closer to Clackamas Community College. You are not going to pay outrageous amounts for a home, and the lots are decent.

Sandy is a much smaller rural area, no shopping, and smaller schools. If you have children in high school and they are involved in sports, then OC would be the smarter choice. You are closer to Mt. Hood, and you will get more snow. It all depends on what you want. I am not sure about the housing in Sandy.

As far as Gresham, it is not the safest area, and the schools have problems. That coming from friends who taught in the area for years and finally moved to OC to teach. There are more places to eat, but it just doesn't seem to make up for the gang problems.

Each area is different, it just depends on what you are really looking for.