Best Suburb for Families in Portland area? (Beaverton, Hillsboro: home, neighborhoods)

[Selene10]

I am planning a move to Portland in 2011. We have two children (young) and are looking for the best suburb to live in outside of Portland. I have researched all the suburbs and just can't decide! I live in Scottsdale Arizona and am looking for something as nice as here but of course... would love to save some money and live in a more affordable area! Need great schools and will do what it takes to live near them! Any suggestions?

[jjpop]

Originally Posted by Selene10

I am planning a move to Portland in 2011. We have two children (young) and are looking for the best suburb to live in outside of Portland. I have researched all the suburbs and just can't decide! I live in Scottsdale Arizona and am looking for something as nice as here but of course... would love to save some money and live in a more affordable area! Need great schools and will do what it takes to live near them! Any suggestions?

You have to reveal your work situation--where will you be working? People could recommend E. Vancouver, but if your job is in Hillsboro, that's just not a realistic commute.

[us2add3]

jjpopis right, you need to provide more info. I would guess your job is in Washington County???, given your move. But just a guess....

[Selene10]

Sorry, we are self employed. We can work from home and location is really ... need best schools (public) to put our kids in. We were considering West Linn and Lake O so far. I haven't done any research on any areas North of Portland. We are not a fan of traffic, stay home a lot during the week and love to venture out on the weekends... BEACH! also hiking, festivals etc. Not a problem to drive 20 minutes to get somewhere.

[Brenda-by-the-sea]

The Portland metro area is nothing like the Valley of the Sun with regard to how it's organized. Portland is a city of neighborhoods. Here's an overview of them: http://www.portlandneighborhood.com/portland-neighborhoods.html.

Many of the other cities in the metro area see themselves as separate cities and not "suburbs of Portland." Suburbia isn't necessary for escaping the quality-of-live issues of urban areas in Oregon. If you can afford West Linn or Lake Oswego, they're fine, but you'll still have to deal with traffic as they are part of the metro area. Portland has traffic, too, but with the bicycle infrastructure there, you don't have to be a part of it.

Another big difference between Oregon and Arizona, is that in Arizona you are either in a big city or out in the sticks. Oregon has a lot of mid-sized cities with culture and educated people. If you want good schools and kid-friendly infrastructure, you might look into Corvallis also.

[jjpop]

Schools seem to be your top priority. You can have all of the other things you mention just about anywhere in the Metro area, except the 20-minute drive time if you are toward the edge of the Metro area. It's a simple reality that Portland's road infrastructure is not meant to move large volumes of vehicles very quickly across the city, and 30 minutes to go 10 miles is common.

I think you have a lot of choices. Brenda has already made the pitch for Portland proper, in which there are neighborhoods with great schools, lots of character, high walkability, and easy access to shops, services, festivals, and other city features.

Suburb-wise, Lake Oswego and Wilsonville/West Linn School Districts generally have the highest performing schools, but if you want to save money you may consider areas in the Beaverton, North Clackamas, Hillsboro, Sherwood and Vancouver School Districts. Take a look at the website greatschools.net to get info on particular schools. It's not a perfect reflection, but I've found it to be a pretty reliable resource. Good luck.

p.s. Certainly you know about the rain? Come March when it's been raining here regularly since October and you look at the weather in the Phoenix area and you see it's sunny and 77 degrees, you may start second guessing your decision...