25 just married and moving from Phoenix to Oregon (Portland, Salem: rental, daycare)

[dandickinson]

I grew up in Sacramento and than moved into the CA foothills for about 10 years. I have lived in Phoenix AZ for 5 years and hate it here. My wife has been in Phoenix her entire life and when I brought her up to Nor Cal she did not want to go back. We both love the green and the trees; we want to stay out of the politics of CA but move to the North West coast.

My brother wants me to move to Seattle but I don’t like the Fog and don’t want to be in a fast paced city life.

I am a graphic designer and she is a childcare director. We don’t want to work for big companies; we want to own small ones.

I have been looking at Hillsboro, OR for about a year now and think that is where I want to be. I do have a few questions and looking for advice.

1. Houses are dropping to the $50’s out here, are they that cheep out there?
2. How much is the MAX or bus to go the Portland?
3. What is Hillsboro like?

Advice: We are looking for an out of the city area yet close enough if we want to go to a party or need a taste of the CITY life. We are moving with the intent of starting a daycare and raising a family. We want to have neighbors, barbeques, play dates, and poker night. We also want a yard for the dog and the picket fence. Eventually we would like to get some land not to far from where we live and have some cows or pigs ect.

I’ll stop for now and se what you all have to say.

[bobmulk]

Homes are not even close to 50K in Oregon--except possibly in extreme SE Oregon. Hillsboro is in Washington County, Oregon's Silicon Valley. The best way to check it out is to go onto realtor websites to check the prices. Historically, Washington County has been pricey because of all the high-paying jobs out there--Nike, Intel etc. I would say most homes that are livable will be well over $200K.

Hillsboro is a high tech haven, it also has maintained its rural roots. Theres' a substantial Mexican population. The downtown is being revitalized. You're just a skip away from the countryside--wineries, produce stands, woodlands, creeks, vales, wheat fields and orchards.

You're VERY close to shopping. Max is probably $1-2 into Portland each way at most. Beaverton has plenty to do, too with restaurants and shopping. I think you'll be fine. Welcome!!

[Silverfall]

You can't get a home that isn't a tear down for $50k in Hillsboro. You could buy a lot, or a mobile home for that, but not a stick built. Can't even get that in Salem and we are loads cheaper than Hillsboro.

Otherwise, you can get a max pass which is cheaper than paying each time if you plan to use it a lot. I lived in the west hills of Portland and loved the max.

[Leisesturm]

I live in West Hillsboro. To the north of me is kinda what you are looking for. You wouldn't be close to MAX though. MAX is $2.00 to Portland. I can't imagine the o.p. meant 50K even where they live now. You don't get much for that kind of money anywhere in America. If you build it, they will come but Oregonians by and large entertain themselves. There are civic events and people have barbecues and poker nights, etc. but Hillsboro is not Winston-Salem, NC.

H

[malachai23]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

I live in West Hillsboro. To the north of me is kinda what you are looking for. You wouldn't be close to MAX though. MAX is $2.00 to Portland. I can't imagine the o.p. meant 50K even where they live now. You don't get much for that kind of money anywhere in America. If you build it, they will come but Oregonians by and large entertain themselves. There are civic events and people have barbecues and poker nights, etc. but Hillsboro is not Winston-Salem, NC.

H

You can get a nice house here in Dayton for $50k. For even less than $50k. There are definitely still many places in the USA where you can purchase a house for this price. Unfortunately for the OP that place is nowhere in Oregon!

[dandickinson]

Thanks for your replys, Yea I really ment $50K, I knew they are not that low in Oregon. There are just houses out here (in AZ) that have went from 300K down to 50K in the last 4 years.

Does anyone know what the rental rate out there is for a 3-4 bedroom house?

[dandickinson]

BTW, I have been hearing about the Mexican population in Hillsboro. . . I have no problem with that since I am in Phoenix now but I did have a question. Does the mexican population speak Spanish or English?

[echocity]

You can't even get a decent home in Umatilla County for $50K.

[jrkliny]

I have lived in Phoenix, many other parts of the country and just finished a visit to the Portland area. Housing is quite expensive in Portland and many Oregon cities and towns. Land use and zoning restrictions do not help. Heed the advise about costs for Hillsboro being well over $200k. Prices have not dropped much due to the economic downturn.

Also heed the frequent advice on this forum. Do not attempt to move to Oregon without a job. Starting a business is even more foolish.

[Minervah]

The problem with your job skills is that there is so much competition in those fields. Opening a business will be a huge risk. If you have a great deal of money and can afford to have your business fail ( I am not saying it will but there is a strong possibility) and still keep going, you might want to take a chance. Likewise, if you are going to work for someone else, be sure to secure jobs before you move here. If that doesn't work out, it should be a confirmation that this is just not the time to move here.