Scoping out neighborhoods for possible move (Portland, Sandy: fit in, sales, real estate)

[jenedreamer]

Hey everyone – love these forums. So much awesome info! So the boyfriend and I are considering a move to Portland. No we’ve never been there. Yes we’re from California. Yes, I am aware it rains a ton – I love the rain – lived in Michigan for 18 years and Boston for 2.5. Not that I won’t miss the sun a bit, but all that gloominess inspires me to write, play music, and bake stuff.
Now that that’s out of the way…just looking to get an idea of a few neighborhoods to check out while we’re visiting Portland in two weeks. We basically have five full days and have some of the most popular haunts and things to do on our list, but we’re going to try to hit a few different neighborhoods and would love some recommendations. Sorry for the lengthiness of this post, but trying to cover all the bases.

We currently live in Los Angeles and we’re tired of the cost of living, the traffic, and just want an overall change in lifestyle in general. I know Portland’s cost of living isn’t cheap either, but comparatively to where we are now, it would be a giant sigh of relief. Our list of cities in which we’d maybe like to put down roots is extremely small, but Portland is number one on the list, on paper anyway, so we’re going to visit in mid-September to feel out the area and see if we’re interested. Right now we’re paying $1050 on a large 1-bedroom (which is actually less than most people are paying for what we have, but we got lucky). We would love to find a nice-sized 1-bedroom for around $800 and then after we’ve been there for a while and get to know the neighborhoods, figure out where we can get an affordable 2-bedroom. I’m vegan, he’s vegetarian, liberal, I’m not full on crunchy granola but love the idea of being in a more eco-friendly place, love coffee, books, nature, and the idea of good public transportation. He’s 40, I’m 28, no kids, so we’re not worried about school districts. Both musicians – I’m a singer/songwriter and he’s a guitar teacher.

Before anyone asks – the job situation: I have a work-from-home Internet job, so I’m completely mobile. I’m also a musician (singer/songwriter) and want to try my luck in Portland. Not looking to be super famous (I’ve been working in the industry for years but have now decided to make a full go of it), just be able to record my albums and play and sing around the PNW area (and beyond). I’m sure the industry is much smaller than L.A., but being here isn’t doing much good when I can barely afford to take time off from the day job to really work on my music. Boyfriend is a guitar teacher (kids and adults), and he’d be looking into teaching at a music store or music school somewhere in the city, and/or teaching out of our apartment as well. So to that point, it would probably be cool if we could find an apartment that’s somewhat near a school, for advertising purposes & easy access for parents and kids. But that doesn’t matter a great deal.

Lifestyle-wise we’re both generally homebodies (I’m less so – I like to go to movies, meet with friends, explore the outdoors, etc.) but don’t want to live in the ‘burbs with nothing around us either. It would be nice to live walking distance to a street with some cool restaurants and shopping, grocery stores, and then be within about a 10-15 minute ride to downtown via Max or a bus line. My boyfriend has a car but I don’t (and he has the car most of the time for work), and public transportation in L.A. is hell, so being able to get around via busses and rail is my kind of paradise. Here in L.A. I have a grocery store across the street, drugstore a half-mile, a big mall about 5 blocks down, but otherwise getting anywhere else to meet friends for lunch or shopping takes around 45 minutes to over an hour with busses, and they’re often late, so anything else would be a huge improvement.

So, all that said…what neighborhoods should we check out? I’ve heard people mention NE Portland, North Portland, Irvington. Are these areas that we could find a place for around $800? I’m just really lost when it comes to public transportation times, like how far out one would have to go before it takes longer than 15 or 20 minutes to reach the downtown area. When I lived in Boston my ride on the subway was about 20-25 minutes every day for school and that was totally fine – read and listen to music and you're there before you know it. So if we could go a little bit farther out while still being able to reach city center under 30 minutes, maybe it would be cheaper? But then would we be in the middle of nowhere? Sorry for the ignorance. I’m used to L.A. where there is no “center”, it’s just a bunch of huge sprawling little mini-cities and it takes 45 minutes to get anywhere it seems.


Also, as a side note: to anyone familiar with Portland's music industry, is it crazy for me to be leaving L.A. behind in that regard? There are an absolute ton of recording studios and places to play here, lots of venues and an open mic every night of the week - not sure if the opportunities exist as much in Portland, and that's the only reason I would hesitate on this move. I mean no one moves out of a bigger city into a smaller city for a music career, right? Or maybe it's not as saturated and one would have a better chance? I don't know. I play piano-driven singer/songwriter pop (think Sara Bareilles), not really the edgy indie pop stuff....is there a market for me?


Thanks in advance for any input!!

[jenedreamer]

Oh, so here's an example I found on Craiglist: Binford Garden Townhomes at 6905 NE Hancock St., right by the Rose City Golf Course, a spacious 1-bedroom townhome for $795/month. Sounds perfect! But what would the transportation time be from that area, and is that a decent area to live? It's hard looking at rent prices when you're not sure of the market, what things are supposed to cost, etc. When we were first looking for apartments in L.A. I did all the research and my boyfriend would pull up something random on Craigslist and go, "Hey, a place for $700, this looks nice" - but I knew if it was below a certain price, there was a reason - tiny apartment, or crappy area. Anyway, just wanted to throw out an example...

[philwithbeard]

Mass Transit web site with interactive map:
TriMet: Public Transportation for the Portland, Oregon, Metro Area

Info on Neighborhoods:
Google: Moving to Portland
Some really good reading hosted by Real Estate ladies; so ignore the Rah-Rah cheerleader tone. (Hey, what do you expect? Real Estate ladies!)

Aside: Late August as I compose this message is during the back-to-school crunch for apartments in Portland. Prices are jacked up till mid-September (compared to June and July prices.) Then apartment prices will drop a bit, but what remains is basically leftovers.

Just based on your post, I am very lukewarm about the neighborhood in your post on NE Hancock. More of a 'burb feel neighborhood; also more of a neighborhood for an experienced Portland renter than a newbie (walking-to places are thin in that small corner between I-84 and the golf course. (Max stations only at NE 82nd and NE 60th, not exactly walking distance in drizzle rain in January.)

Be aware, that in Portland the rent prices are supply / demand driven. Some places don't advertise on the web or in newspapers since to rent, they only have to post a sign on the building. Neighborhoods are that desirable in terms of places to walk to, bus service, and social life for people your age.

I think you would be happier closer in toward the Hollywood district, NE Sandy, NE Broadway, and NE 42nd (Inside joke: Hollywood starts at NE 42nd and NE Broadway) I could list about 10 neighborhoods you would fit into, and be in your price range.

Aside: North South Portland is divided by the road Burnside, East West is the Willamette river (wil-LAM-it)

Best of luck.

Phil

[Minervah]

I know Portland’s cost of living isn’t cheap either, but comparatively to where we are now, it would be a giant sigh of relief.

You can't make this comparison with any accuracy. Portland compared to LA is cheap. Portland compared to Portland; not so much. Cost of living here in comparison to wages is very high.

You can find a nice one bedroom apartment in a neighborhood that would suit you like Hawthorne, Sullivan's Gulch, Hollywood etc. for $800 but you would first have to find a salary that would enable you to pay that.

Are you planning to visit before you move? That would be the best way to scope out everything. There's nothing like first person observation as opposed to long distance research although doing your homework before you come is a good idea. It would make for a nice little vacation too.

[jenedreamer]

Originally Posted by Minervah

You can find a nice one bedroom apartment in a neighborhood that would suit you like Hawthorne, Sullivan's Gulch, Hollywood etc. for $800 but you would first have to find a salary that would enable you to pay that.

Are you planning to visit before you move? That would be the best way to scope out everything. There's nothing like first person observation as opposed to long distance research although doing your homework before you come is a good idea. It would make for a nice little vacation too.

That's exactly what I'm doing - we're visiting in two weeks for five days, and if we like it, we'll visit again before deciding to move. A move wouldn't happen for about a year or so anyway, since I would have a bunch of things to tie up in L.A. beforehand.

The job situation for me is not a problem - since I work from home, I would be earning the same in Portland as I do in L.A., and therefore my dollar would stretch much further! It's not just rent, but food, and we have almost a 10% sales tax here. My boyfriend's job situation is different - it would be a matter of either finding a music store that is hiring teachers or finding students to teach out of our apartment.

[jenedreamer]

Originally Posted by philwithbeard

Aside: Late August as I compose this message is during the back-to-school crunch for apartments in Portland. Prices are jacked up till mid-September (compared to June and July prices.) Then apartment prices will drop a bit, but what remains is basically leftovers.

Thanks for all the feedback, Phil! So in your opinion, what would be the best time to move as far as apartment supply/prices? Living in Boston September 1st was basically moving day for the thousands of college students in the city, but in L.A. I don't think there's such a thing as a good time to move - availability and prices are the same year-round. If we decide to move I think we would do it either mid-summer (July) or mid-fall (October) just because of things we have scheduled in L.A. for next year that we'd have to be here fore.

[philwithbeard]

My vote would be July. YMMV

Summer in Portland doesn't really start until after June. (check map on just how far north Portland is compared to Chicago, Boston, etc.) October, and you might have more of a chance of rain on moving day. July and August almost no rain.

Phil

[cassieeggert]

Check out Ellington apts on Hancock...right across the street is Binford apts. My sister lives there and so low key and peaceful. A 5 minute walk to the bus. The max takes a little longer. If you want to be cliser to the city, there are apartments up around 29th and Burnside. Close to everything. Lots of hippies!

[dperry9]

Good suggestion but this is a four year old thread.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Be interesting to find out what the rent is at 6905 NE Hancock St today, four years later.
I'll betcha it's close to 1k or above now.

http://www.binfordgardens.com/index.html