woodburn oregon (Portland, Salem, Tigard: apartment, homes, private schools)

[cantspareink]

Hi all...
i've been reading posts on here and have actually found them to be quite helpful. I'm hoping that my thread will help generate even more information and lead to my decision:

Okay, I work retail and recently got an offer (promotion) to relocate to woodburn, oregon. I've looked up woodburn and it seems that there isn't much to do. my girlfriend is not in the line of retail and we are both college students, so it doesn't seem that woodburn would be a great fit. I do love the cheaper cost of living and how homes have lots of land. =) I'm thinking that Portland would have more opportunities for my gf (as far as getting a job goes). Basically my question is... is woodburn too far to commute on a daily basis from portland? is woodburn a bad area where one would not feel safe? Are there any good colleges in woodburn? what other things can one do in woodburn besides shop? i work retail, but i'm not much of a shopper... i'm more of an outdoorsy type of fellow. hope someone can help. all opinions will be highly appreciated.

[davefr]

I wouldn't recommend Woodburn to my worst enemy for a place to live. However you could work in Woodburn and your GF could work in Portland and you could live in between. (ex: Wilsonville is one example)

[BLAZER PROPHET]

There are no colleges in Woodburn. If you're an 'outdoorsy' type and a college student, I might suggest LaGrande. Look it up- I think you'll be impressed.

[Rob Allen]

LaGrande is very nice, but the job he's considering is in Woodburn.

Woodburn would be a long commute to Portland but certainly feasible. People commute from Salem to Portland (and vice versa), which is an even longer distance.

Colleges in the general vicinity of Woodburn, up to the southern half of Portland, would be:

George Fox U. in Newberg (private, religious)
Willamette U. in Salem (private, secular)
Corban College in Salem (private, religious)
Chemeketa Community College in Salem (public)
Western Oregon U. in Monmouth (public)
Linfield College in McMinnville (private, secular)
Clackamas Community College in Oregon City (public)
Marylhurst U. in Lake Oswego (private, religious)
Lewis & Clark College in Portland (private, secular)
Reed College in Portland (private, secular)
Portland State U. (public)
Portland Community College (public)

Note - all private colleges in Oregon have some religious background or affiliation, even the ones I've labeled "secular". The ones I've lableled "religious" have a strong ongoing identification with a specific sect, although they don't require students to join, and students of any religious background could be comfortable there.

[Silverfall]

Hmmm...

I would consider looking at some of the burbs of Portland to the south such as Tualatin or Sherwood, or consider Keizer which is north of Salem. It takes about 15-20 minutes to get from Brooklake Rd to the Woodburn exit.

There are outdoorsy things everywhere in Oregon so I wouldn't worry about that aspect.

I think you should look at all of the universities listed above and see which ones offer classes in your area of study. That may determine the best place to live for you.

[haggardhouseelf]

Originally Posted by Rob Allen

Note - all private colleges in Oregon have some religious background or affiliation, even the ones I've labeled "secular". The ones I've lableled "religious" have a strong ongoing identification with a specific sect, although they don't require students to join, and students of any religious background could be comfortable there.

This is not true. An example is Heald College: Heald College Portland, Oregon

Sorry... I know this is off-topic, but I wanted to clarify. Many of the private schools are, but not all of them. I attended Heald and had a wonderful experience. It's not "religious" at all.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by haggardhouseelf

This is not true. An example is Heald College: Heald College Portland, Oregon

Sorry... I know this is off-topic, but I wanted to clarify. Many of the private schools are, but not all of them. I attended Heald and had a wonderful experience. It's not "religious" at all.

I think what they were referring to was that many of the non-religious private universities were founded as religious universities. That has shifted for many of them and they are non-religious at this point, but I think that was intent of that comment. Their roots being in religion, per se.

[malachai23]

Hi Cantspareink - I would have to give Woodburn a big thumbs down. No offense to people who live there - but I consider it to be really quite an awful place. A lot of people live there, but I really couldn't tell you why. If you relocate, I would HIGHLY suggest you move as close to Portland as possible. From what you've said, I think the Portland area is more your style with outdoor activities at your backdoorstep and the "university scene" abounding. Keizer/Salem area is just about as boring and awful as Woodburn. If the job payed decently, I wouldn't hesitate to commute from Portland to Woodburn. I used to commute from Portland to Newberg and it was no big deal to me. Good luck with your decision!

[cantspareink]

Hi all... thanks for the quick and in-depth responses that i received. All was highly informative and has given me a good starting point to re-research Oregon. Everything sounds great and i'm highly anticipating my move. Wilsonville and LaGrande were cities that were both mentioned. I think my best bet is to find a lively city that's in between Portland and Woodburn so I can get the best of both worlds... My girlfriend will find more opportunities (career wise in Portland), Plus it just seems as if its a more culturally-diverse environment. So what's a good city? My main concern is the feeling of safety and secure in my own home/ apartment. Are there any cities smack - dab in the middle of Portland/ Woodburn. How long of a commute is that anyhow (from Portland to Woodburn)? I'm sure someone knows since I hear that it's a pretty common commute. Is traffic bad to and from these two cities?

[davefr]

Originally Posted by cantspareink

Are there any cities smack - dab in the middle of Portland/ Woodburn. How long of a commute is that anyhow (from Portland to Woodburn)? I'm sure someone knows since I hear that it's a pretty common commute. Is traffic bad to and from these two cities?

It all depends where in the Portland area she'll be commuting to. Woodburn is approx. 20-30 miles South of Portland. The commute from Woodburn to approx. the Tualatin area will be a piece of cake. (I5 - 3 lanes). However from there is can be slow going due to Portland area traffic congestion.

Here are some suggestions:
Tualatin, West Linn, Aurora, Wilsonville

Other possibilities could be Tigard, Lake Oswego, Oregon City but these depend on where the actual Portland destination is.