Foster-Powell neighborhood safe? Family discourages us from renting there! (Portland: fit in, apartment)

[OmShanti]

We think that we found a rental in our price range.

It is on SE 62 Ave by SE Clatsop St.

My family and my moms childhood friends that have lived in Portland forever HIGHLY discouraged us from renting this place because of the "dangerous" neighborhood. When I looked it up on Portlandmaps, it had a high burglary rate and a lot of sex offenders, but so did a lot of other areas that we;ve been looking in (Milwaukie/Happy Valley).

Opinions? This has been the best house that we've found so far.

[backdrifter]

I mean, it's not a "nice" neighborhood, but I personally would not hesitate too much to live there. There are much worse areas you could live in, even in Portland.

[EnricoV]

I lived very near there years ago (and still have family who does), but down nearer to the Jantzen factory. Up on the flats, where you're looking, isn't the most high class area. But it's always seemed nice enough to me. I liked living in the neighborhood, and I don't think it's changed all that much.

[OmShanti]

Thanks, guys! We really want to make a decision and get into a house, and this one is the nicest one that we have found in our price range (around $1300 for a 3 bedroom).

The question is: Do we want to live in an up and coming neighborhood and have a lower rent or do we want to live in a good part of town and pay higher rent? I'm not sure.

They were just concerned that we wouldn't be able to walk home at night and park our cars on the street without being safe. Our cars (subarus) are notoriously easy to break into (especially mine, a 98 impreza outback). It's been broken into when I lived in San Diego in the really nice parts of town about 3 times. :/

(BTW: We're from Oakland, CA...we're hardy people )

[Nell Plotts]

Cars are broken into/stolen in very upscale neighborhoods too. Make sure that there is nothing in it to steal. My father used to keep a pair of old dirty boots visible in a car to send a message that there is nothing of value here. You could always put one of those bars on your steering wheel if you think the vehicle itself could be stolen. If someone really wants your car they could steal it anyway but most thieves will keep looking for easy pickings.

[Leisesturm]

Originally Posted by OmShanti

They were just concerned that we wouldn't be able to walk home at night and park our cars on the street without being safe. Our cars (subarus) are notoriously easy to break into (especially mine, a 98 impreza outback). It's been broken into when I lived in San Diego in the really nice parts of town about 3 times. :/

Some perspective...: in NYC where crime is presently about half of what it was in the really bad days of the 80's more people are being killed in a single year than have been killed in Portland. That is ever. When you further parse that to find the nugget of truth that the overwhelming majority of murder and rape victims know their attacker personally... well... what do you think your chances of being hurt walking from your car to the front door are in Portland?

Cars and property are especially vulnerable in the nice parts of town. Park Slope, Brooklyn where even after the recession a two bedroom apartment runs close to a million dollars your car is absolutely not safe to leave overnight except in the relative safety of an underground parking garage. Home invasions are rare because the kind of criminals that would break into a million dollar apartment only do so when the owners aren't home.

Opportunistic street muggings do happen with some frequency. Ipods, Iphones and other e-devices are removed from their upscale owners with some frequency in tony areas like Park Slope. In the hood, your life isn't worth a plugged nickel but your car is probably safe. Portland doesn't have these wide extremes. There are run-down areas and less run-down areas. To my eyes all of SE Portland looks less than spiffy. I'd live there, anywhere there, in a New York minute however. FWIW.

H

[OmShanti]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

Some perspective...: in NYC where crime is presently about half of what it was in the really bad days of the 80's more people are being killed in a single year than have been killed in Portland. That is ever. When you further parse that to find the nugget of truth that the overwhelming majority of murder and rape victims know their attacker personally... well... what do you think your chances of being hurt walking from your car to the front door are in Portland?

Cars and property are especially vulnerable in the nice parts of town. Park Slope, Brooklyn where even after the recession a two bedroom apartment runs close to a million dollars your car is absolutely not safe to leave overnight except in the relative safety of an underground parking garage. Home invasions are rare because the kind of criminals that would break into a million dollar apartment only do so when the owners aren't home.

Opportunistic street muggings do happen with some frequency. Ipods, Iphones and other e-devices are removed from their upscale owners with some frequency in tony areas like Park Slope. In the hood, your life isn't worth a plugged nickel but your car is probably safe. Portland doesn't have these wide extremes. There are run-down areas and less run-down areas. To my eyes all of SE Portland looks less than spiffy. I'd live there, anywhere there, in a New York minute however. FWIW.

H

Wow, thanks for that info (and perspective). I am a big believer in walking and taking public transit so I wouldn't be just walking from my car to my house, however I feel as if that was a safe part of town (when we went to look at the house yesterday). I don't ever carry a lot of cash and only have my iPod to listen to in the car so I do not feel as if they'd gain anything from mugging me (except for my Harvey's Seatbelt purse - I would cry if they took that!) In the neighborhood that I used to live in San Diego a 17 year old girl was viciously raped and murdered (Chelsea King) right down the street so I thought it wise to take a few self defense classes and feel confident I could fight someone off or scream loud enough.

I think we're going to make a move on it. We are attending a Brentwood Darlington/Foster Powell neighborhood meeting. They informed me that Foster-Pwell is a little bit north of where we are (it's the boarder, technically) and we are in Brentwood Darlington. The chair of the Revival Neighborhood meeting said that she has raised her family in the area and has always felt perfectly safe, and has never had any problems. We'll see when we talk to them on 7/7.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

OmShanti, I have lived most of my life several blocks northwest of 62nd and Clatsop and know that area well.
I have to tell you, years and years ago that neighborhood was really bad news.
The good news is that although some of the stigma remains, that particlar neighborhood has improved dramatically in the last 10 years.
They have a strong neighborhood association, and all things considered, it's a fair neighborhood if you realize you are living someplace blue collar, income at the 50k level at the highest, ex-cons, young families, russians, asians, hispanics, just about all the normal people you see in Portland that don't really buy in to or can afford the to be the stereotypical subaru driving REI wearing, yuppie-greenie, chickens in your backyard type or Portlander every one thinks populates this city 100%.
People that live there are just normal people from every walk of life.
If your in your 20-30's, a little streetwise, and don't flash your posessions around and make yourself a target, you will probably live a pretty quiet and undisturbed life there.
If quiet suburbia was rated 1 and downtown Burnside was rated 10, I give it about a 6.
By comparison, my neighborhood, Woodstock, would rate about a 4.


$1300 a month seems very high for this neighborhhod though.


If you wanted to stay in this part of town, I would wait until something in Woodstock comes available.
My daughter rented a nice townhouse right off of "downtown" Woodstock Blvd for about that much and was very, very happy with it.

I am in my late 60's somewhere, and I am guessing you are within my kids range (20 to 38), so I have to tell you, honestly, I would rather have them live in Woodstock rather than 62nd and Clatsop.
I would worry all the time.
But then again, I'm a little biased, like your family, because I know the history of that neighborhood

[OmShanti]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

OmShanti, I haved lived most of my life several blocks northwest of where the house is located and know it well.
I have to tell you, years ago that neighborhood was bad news.
The good news is that although some of the stigma remains, that particlar neighborhood has improved dramatically in the last 10 years.
They have a strong neighborhood association, and all things considered, it's a fair neighborhood if you realize you are living someplace blue collar, income at the 50k level at the highest, ex-cons, young families, russians, asians, hispanics, just about all the normal people you see in Portland that don't really buy in to or can afford the to be the stereotypical subaru driving REI wearing, yuppie-greenie, chickens in your backyard type or Portlander every one thinks populates this city 100%.
People that live here are just normal people from every walk of life.
If your in your 20-30's, a little streetwise, and don't flash your posessions around and make yourself a target, you will probably live a pretty quiet and undisturbed life there.
If quiet suburbia was rated 1 and downtown Burnside was rated 10, I give it about a 6.
By comparison, my neighborhood, Woodstock, would rate about a 4.

$1300 a month seems high in this neighborhhod though.

If you wanted to stay in this part of town, I would wait until something in Woodstock comes available.
My daughter rented a nice townhouse right off of "downtown" Woodstock Blvd for about that much and was very, very happy with it.

Thanks Mike!

It's $1300 for a really large, remodeled house and a huge yard...it seemed fair to me. We havn't had any luck finding places in Woodstock, if they are offered they are rented in minutes. We both don't have good credit (Mine is in the poor range, my mom's is in the fair) so we usually get put onto the bottom of the list for rentals even though we have excellent references. We've filled out 20-25 applications and have only heard back form ONE person in 2 weeks.

Cute House, HUGE yard (http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/apa/2456174872.html - broken link)

There's the CL listing for it

My mom ultimately does want to buy a house, so we arn't looking at renting forever. When we buy, we want it to be in DT Woodstock/Eastmoreland/Sellwood area. We just LOVE that area!

[davemess10]

MIke your response was a little confusing. First you say people would be fine in that area, then you say that you wouldn't want your kids living there?

We are buying a house in Brentwood-Darlington. And even closer to 82nd, and I'm really not that worried about it. Yes Woodstock would probably be a little safer, and the houses there are a lot more expensive.

I think the price you found for that house is fair. It is really difficult to find a stand alone house in Pdx for under $1200, even on the outskirts. And there is NO WAY you will find that near town center in Woodstock, which was actually are pick of neighborhoods. Alas we couldn't afford it though.


And we plan on having chickens in our backyard and are pretty green. Although we fit into Mikes income assessment. The further north in the neighborhood you go though, there are some pockets of bigger houses.

Are you in Clackamas county for that address? Isn't Clatsop the county line?