Moving from Norway to Portland (neighborhoods, commute, skyline)

[oldtintype]

Originally Posted by trozeboom

I think that it's in Scandinavians' nature to be entrepreneurial, and if you look at Sweden, they have some of the best known brands in the world, like Volvo, Ikea, HM.

And don't forget Nordic Naturals cod liver and fish oil! Some of the best around health wise. I love it!

[nancy thereader]

I always love your posts ,oldtintype. It is so funny that I envisioned you as a (get this) aging hippie guy with a old levis and a long pony tail . Someone who probably still says, "faaarrr out , man ......"

I guess everyone has an idea of what the major posters are like. Once we should all just post our photos and wouldn't we all be shocked . Pencapchew is probably a Wall Street type or something.

[Supernova7]

I had a very different experience with Norwegians and have a few friends that live over there. They like it very much and found Americans to be more rude and difficult to get to know.

[Nuring]

Hei, hvor endte dere opp? Have you moved here yet? I'm also Norwegian and have just moved to Portland. We (my fiancee who is American and I) are staying at a cheap place in Beaverton (suburb paradise=nightmare) while looking at rentals in Pearl and North West. We are looking forward to living here for some years. However, looks like we will be in a similar situation as you where we might move back and forth in the future... Siden vi er litt i samme situasjon hadde det vært interesant å høre hvordan dere gjør det med flytting osv. Vi har ingen barn å ta med oss på flyttelasset.. enda..
I hope you like it here in Portland. I love it already. Ingvill

[Northern Drifter]

I would of stayed in Norway personally

[kpaq]

Look at Hillsboro and Beaverton. They are near the Max line, and both have nice communities in your price range. Some areas of Hillsboro aren't great, you will just have to look.

[seven of nine]

I see noone is mentioning the areas sw of portland, look at Sherwood, Wilsonville, and Tualatin, good schools, real estate prices seem to have slowed, i graduated two kids out of Wilsonville, maga tusen tock, I am sure I misspelled that~ All Norwegian/Scandahoovians are independant, you will only get a smile out of them when you compliment the ludafisk and lefsa!Ironic that I am living in a larger population of norwegians, swedes and ukrainians at my current location than I did in Portland metro. good luck

[tablemtn]

If you are coming in from Europe, I would certainly recommend living near or inside of the downtown area. American suburbs are deadly boring places compared to what you are probably familiar with.

[tj7run]

I am like you, my fiancé moves every 4 or 5 years do his job. I actually find it exciting. We get to see new places, and experience different places.

Along with Wilsonville, Tualatin, and Sherwood, which is a little ways out, there is Oregon City. Up and coming as far as the arts, extremely safe, good schools and nice neighborhoods. The closer you are the Clackamas Community College the better the homes. You could certainly find a nice newer home for the price you are looking at, and we have been very impressed with our neighbors. The public transit system makes going into Portland a breeze, without the hassle of finding an affordable place to live. We chose Oregon City because it was somewhat close to everything. We have friends who taught in the Portland and David Douglas school districts for years, but are now teaching in Oregon City. They said that they love Oregon City Schools, and do not have to worry about gangs, or disruptive students. My daughter and her husband are looking into moving to the area to teach also, they will be looking to move close to if not in Oregon City. I would also really consider Wilsonville, although I believe it is a little more expensive, it is a very nice area.

Good luck to you, and welcome!!!. You will find that although the weather can be dreary in the winter, it is really not severe. We spend most of our time on the coast at the dunes riding our quads. Just another fun thing you can do in Oregon. If I am not hiking or camping, I'm riding. We you get here make sure you spend some time on the Oregon Coast. Start in Astoria and work your way all the way down to the California border.

[Ohs]

I lived in the SE off of 28th place for like 2 months and heard is was one of the less safer areas in Portland but I have never felt as safe as I did there. I walked at night and at all hours all around and it was wonderful. There are some places that feel like it's in the lowe income area but compared to low income areas I am used to they don't even compare, this was way safer. Nothing ever happened to me and no-one looked extra sketchy, although some people did yell out their windows at me while I was walking sometimes but mostly just kids. I liked the area a lot cause there were tons of walkable or bike ride able areas all in SE. I would love to go back if I could find a job that would pay me enough to make a real living. Thats why I had to leave so quickly, I got a job in CA and had to take it for the money. But don't buy right away anyway, who knows if you will like it, give it at least a year. I didn't get to really see if I could handle the weather or any of that stuff, I'm from CA and any rain is difficult to get used to. Good luck and don't make any rash decisions, take your time and rent.