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Hi,
My family and I are looking at moving to the Portland area this coming fall, and heard great things about West Linn. Is it really only a 10 min drive into downtown Portland? Our budget is between 400k-475k. Can we get something with 4 beds and a good size yard in this price range?
Any information would be helpful on this area (or other near by cities).
Thank you!
Yes, it's a 10 minute drive into downtown Portland, IF you are going 80 miles an hour and there are no other cars on the road! I live IN close-in Portland and my drive to downtown is about than 10 minutes. Seriously though, whoever gave you that info was probably a real estate agent. West Linn would be about a 25-30 minute drive in the best conditions. But your housing price range would get you something nice much closer in if that's where you'll be working. Give us some more info on where your job will be, what kind of neighborhood you want, amenities etc. Then we can give you better advice on where to look.
Yes, it's a 10 minute drive into downtown Portland, IF you are going 80 miles an hour and there are no other cars on the road! I live IN close-in Portland and my drive to downtown is about than 10 minutes. Seriously though, whoever gave you that info was probably a real estate agent. West Linn would be about a 25-30 minute drive in the best conditions. But your housing price range would get you something nice much closer in if that's where you'll be working. Give us some more info on where your job will be, what kind of neighborhood you want, amenities etc. Then we can give you better advice on where to look.
We would work from home, so are only looking at the commute to downtown for entertainment! So more weekend driving. 30 min drive? I was way misinformed then! I guess that is still doable though. We want close proximity to downtown, but quite, low key, beautiful scenery, and low crime living!!!
There are very established neighborhoods in Portland that aren't low key. Pearl District, I guess. West Linn is certainly quiet, but it's a small suburb.
For that close-in, you might look at Mt. Tabor, Laurelhurst, Nob Hill, Irvington, Goose Hollow, Multnomah Village, Hillsdale, Ladd's Addition - depending on if you want "city" neighborhoods or "suburban" neighborhoods.
There are very established neighborhoods in Portland that aren't low key. Pearl District, I guess. West Linn is certainly quiet, but it's a small suburb.
For that close-in, you might look at Mt. Tabor, Laurelhurst, Nob Hill, Irvington, Goose Hollow, Multnomah Village, Hillsdale, Ladd's Addition - depending on if you want "city" neighborhoods or "suburban" neighborhoods.
Thanks for the info. We are looking for the suburbs; prefer to be away form the city life for "living", but close enough to drive in (within 20 min or so) for fun. Want views, parks, river access, and low crime. I was told West Linn fits this description perfectly?
Thanks!
Our family moved to West Linn six months ago, and it is a good fit for us. We focused our search in Lake Oswego and West Linn primarily due to the reputation of the schools, but also for the beauty and feel of these areas. We ultimately discovered that in our price range (about the same as yours) the houses in West Linn were more updated and fit our needs better. We did most of our online house searching on the website of the John L. Scott realtors.
We have one child attending a primary school and one child attending a middle school, and both schools are excellent fits for the temperaments of our kids. The schools are much smaller than the school we came from, which is a benefit in our opinion.
There are two parks and a playground within walking distance of our house, and several more within a five-minute drive. We occasionally drive downtown or to the airport and it does take about 30 minutes. There are several grocery stores nearby, but a trip to other stores like Target, etc require a 15-20 minute drive.
My husband and I joke about the police log here, as it mentions things like loose dogs and stolen iPods, rather than the armed robberies and home invasions we would expect where we moved from. I feel safe letting the children play outside alone and walk home from school. I feel safe walking around the neighborhood by myself.
I haven't lived here long enough to give you an overall view of the entire city, so there may be more areas that better fit your needs. I'd be happy to answer any questions about our experience here in West Linn, though.
From what you've said, I think you will be very disappointed with West Linn. It's farther than you think and making a trip into Portland will take more planning and time than you might think. The neighborhoods mentioned above are all lovely and far enough from downtown to be quiet and low key. I live in Hillsdale and love it. It takes about 12-15 minutes to get downtown, yet all other amenities, grocery stores, movie theaters, malls etc are nearby - about 15 minutes in the opposite direction of downtown. I strongly suggest that you visit before you decide on West Linn. Even on weekends, traffic can be a bear on the freeways from there. It's not close at all and will probably add 90 minutes to any outing to the city just for travel. Have your real estate agent take you to some of the mentioned neighborhoods. I think you will be very pleasantly surprised.
You may want to check out Lake Oswego. Here is a little compare and contrast between West Linn and Lake Oswego.
The personal differences I see between both cities:
1. Environment. Lake Oswego has had resources for decades. This has made the environment in Lake Oswego full of flower baskets, trees, statues and art. In my opinion, this makes Lake Oswego a more aesthetically pleasing city in comparison to West Linn. Additionally, Lake Oswego has a developed downtown area full of restaurants and shops right along Oswego Lake. West Linn has nothing like that.
I also love the more established look of Lake Oswego and the certain flow you have from one area to another. West Linn feels divided into three separate chunks and doesn't have the flow, continuity or beauty Lake Oswego has surrounding Oswego Lake.
2. Convenience. Lake Oswego is located closer to Portland, Bridgeport Village and Washington Square Mall. This makes the commute to work in Portland shorter, and gives you all the fun at Bridgeport Village and Washington Square Mall virtually in your backyard.
3. Reputation. If you care at all about reputation, anyone will tell you Lake Oswego has it. West Linn just doesn’t have the name recognition Lake Oswego has. West Linn is sort of the poor man's Lake Oswego.
4. Schools. Lake Oswego is the only school district in the state of Oregon to have all its public schools (K-12) ranked exceptional. That's a big plus! Although West Linn has an exceptionally ranked high school, not all of their elementary or middle schools are ranked exceptional like in Lake Oswego.
Furthermore, there are two exceptionally ranked high schools to choose from in Lake Oswego (LOHS and Lakeridge). West Linn only has one high school.
5. Other perks:
Oswego Lake is open to the public at the Lake Grove Swim Park during summer, and downtown Lake Oswego has another area for citizens to play in the lake.
Lake Oswego has many wonderful amenities such as Lusher Farm, the Lake Oswego Golf Course, Waluga Park, in-door Tennis courts and George Rogers Park.
Although most houses on the Lake and in many neighborhoods throughout Lake Oswego sell upward of 1.5 million dollars (some even going for more than 5 million dollars), there are some more inexpensive places to look.
Some neighborhoods in LO have older, ranch-style houses. Usually these houses are around the 300,000-600,000 price range. Generally these houses are in the Lake Grove, Waluga and River Grove areas of Lake Oswego. They are still fairly expensive by virtue-of-the-fact that they are in Lake Oswego. This is mostly because of the highly ranked school district and wonderful amenities that go along with living in Lake Oswego.
You may want to check out Lake Oswego. Here is a little compare and contrast between West Linn and Lake Oswego.
The personal differences I see between both cities:
1. Environment. Lake Oswego has had resources for decades. This has made the environment in Lake Oswego full of flower baskets, trees, statues and art. In my opinion, this makes Lake Oswego a more aesthetically pleasing city in comparison to West Linn. Additionally, Lake Oswego has a developed downtown area full of restaurants and shops right along Oswego Lake. West Linn has nothing like that.
I also love the more established look of Lake Oswego and the certain flow you have from one area to another. West Linn feels divided into three separate chunks and doesn't have the flow, continuity or beauty Lake Oswego has surrounding Oswego Lake.
2. Convenience. Lake Oswego is located closer to Portland, Bridgeport Village and Washington Square Mall. This makes the commute to work in Portland shorter, and gives you all the fun at Bridgeport Village and Washington Square Mall virtually in your backyard.
3. Reputation. If you care at all about reputation, anyone will tell you Lake Oswego has it. West Linn just doesn’t have the name recognition Lake Oswego has. West Linn is sort of the poor man's Lake Oswego.
4. Schools. Lake Oswego is the only school district in the state of Oregon to have all its public schools (K-12) ranked exceptional. That's a big plus! Although West Linn has an exceptionally ranked high school, not all of their elementary or middle schools are ranked exceptional like in Lake Oswego.
Furthermore, there are two exceptionally ranked high schools to choose from in Lake Oswego (LOHS and Lakeridge). West Linn only has one high school.
5. Other perks:
Oswego Lake is open to the public at the Lake Grove Swim Park during summer, and downtown Lake Oswego has another area for citizens to play in the lake.
Lake Oswego has many wonderful amenities such as Lusher Farm, the Lake Oswego Golf Course, Waluga Park, in-door Tennis courts and George Rogers Park.
Although most houses on the Lake and in many neighborhoods throughout Lake Oswego sell upward of 1.5 million dollars (some even going for more than 5 million dollars), there are some more inexpensive places to look.
Some neighborhoods in LO have older, ranch-style houses. Usually these houses are around the 300,000-600,000 price range. Generally these houses are in the Lake Grove, Waluga and River Grove areas of Lake Oswego. They are still fairly expensive by virtue-of-the-fact that they are in Lake Oswego. This is mostly because of the highly ranked school district and wonderful amenities that go along with living in Lake Oswego.
Hope all this help!
Thanks for all of that detailed info!! Although Lake Oswego sounds very nice and promising, it is a bit too expensive for what we would prefer in and out of our home. We really want a move in ready home, which also includes nice landscaping in the backyard. We want to make our dollar go further and we can do that in West Linn. Plus Lake Oswego it is not that far to go hang out once in a while on weekends. Bottom line, Lake Oswego is a little much for my taste.
Our family moved to West Linn six months ago, and it is a good fit for us. We focused our search in Lake Oswego and West Linn primarily due to the reputation of the schools, but also for the beauty and feel of these areas. We ultimately discovered that in our price range (about the same as yours) the houses in West Linn were more updated and fit our needs better. We did most of our online house searching on the website of the John L. Scott realtors.
We have one child attending a primary school and one child attending a middle school, and both schools are excellent fits for the temperaments of our kids. The schools are much smaller than the school we came from, which is a benefit in our opinion.
There are two parks and a playground within walking distance of our house, and several more within a five-minute drive. We occasionally drive downtown or to the airport and it does take about 30 minutes. There are several grocery stores nearby, but a trip to other stores like Target, etc require a 15-20 minute drive.
My husband and I joke about the police log here, as it mentions things like loose dogs and stolen iPods, rather than the armed robberies and home invasions we would expect where we moved from. I feel safe letting the children play outside alone and walk home from school. I feel safe walking around the neighborhood by myself.
I haven't lived here long enough to give you an overall view of the entire city, so there may be more areas that better fit your needs. I'd be happy to answer any questions about our experience here in West Linn, though.
Thank you! I agree, West Linn seems to still have the beauty and good reputation, but more affordable than Lake Oswego. I think we will focus on that city here on out. Now, we just need to find the best "neighborhoods" in our price range. Any suggestions? I keep hearing how it is sectioned off in three parts or something? Is there a better pocket for views, access to parks, and nicer homes? Thanks for all your help!
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Want views, parks, river access, and low crime. I was told West Linn fits this description perfectly? 
Bottom line, Lake Oswego is a little much for my taste.
