Hows the West Lake / Lake Forest area of Oswego? (Portland: apartment complex, rental)

[mullenium]

Lake Forest / West Lake side of Oswego.

Applying for a rental on this side. Right off Carman Dr and the I-5

We already applied for a house in the Highland area of Beaverton and are waiting on that.

I know commute times from the Oswego house would be worse since Id be having to take the 5 to 217 to Beaverton or the 5 all the way up into Portland

for now since im working from home it wont be bad, but when i eventually do find something local it might be a pain in the ***


the place in Oswego has a huge front and back yard and the Highland only has front yard and a covered deck as a back yard

[Copsgirl73]

I live here and LOVE Lake Oswego. Wonderful school district, safe, wonderful and walkable downtown area. Commuting downtown on I-5 isnt horrible and there are several backroads to get you into downtown anyway.

[mullenium]

I think we are going to withdraw our app on the highland park beaverton house and cross our fingers on this oswego place

[mullenium]

The house we applied for butts up on the I-5 right off Carman Dr so its on the opposite side of First Addition

Does this detract much from living in Oswego? I guess a plus is that its a quick little hop to get on the I-5

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by mullenium

The house we applied for butts up on the I-5 right off Carman Dr so its on the opposite side of First Addition

Does this detract much from living in Oswego? I guess a plus is that its a quick little hop to get on the I-5

Even though that's technically Lake Oswego area, not a lot of people consider it to be part of Lake Oswego. Being right off of I-5 right there, you have a lot more in common with Tualatin then Lake Oswego.

[Copsgirl73]

Originally Posted by mullenium

The house we applied for butts up on the I-5 right off Carman Dr so its on the opposite side of First Addition

Does this detract much from living in Oswego? I guess a plus is that its a quick little hop to get on the I-5

No not at all. My in laws live right there and its as much LO as downtown. You and your children would love it here.

[The Cactus Leaguer]

Even though West Lake is farther away from Beaverton, your commute time may actually be shorter compared to Highland Park depending on where in Beaverton. Lake O has its own dedicated lane to get onto 217 northbound from Kruse Way which is nice. Highland Park is all congested side streets nearby (Murray, Allen, etc.).

One other thing to be aware of with the apartment is that you may find a ton of people living there solely because that's the only way they can afford to get their kids into Lake Oswego schools (housing is expensive and it's the highest rated district in the area). Which could be a good thing or a bad thing, just something to be aware of.

[mullenium]

Originally Posted by The Cactus Leaguer

Even though West Lake is farther away from Beaverton, your commute time may actually be shorter compared to Highland Park depending on where in Beaverton. Lake O has its own dedicated lane to get onto 217 northbound from Kruse Way which is nice. Highland Park is all congested side streets nearby (Murray, Allen, etc.).

One other thing to be aware of with the apartment is that you may find a ton of people living there solely because that's the only way they can afford to get their kids into Lake Oswego schools (housing is expensive and it's the highest rated district in the area). Which could be a good thing or a bad thing, just something to be aware of.

Thats good to know about the commute!

It's actually a house we applied for though.. so we don't have to deal with congested apartment complex

[Twilighter]

We rented an apartment in that area for a few months when we first moved here. Aside from the traffic noise from Kruse Way, it's a fairly quiet area with quite a few kids. Great Little coffeeshop in the tiny shopping center on Westlake. Farm stand with fresh fruits and veggies by the roundabout on Carman Dr. Trader Joes nearby and easy access to shopping on Boone's Ferry Rd. Kids will have to bus or drive to school.

[Twilighter]

I just noticed you're moving from Phoenix, like we did; this area would give you some of the shopping convenience you are used to but is still going to seem very different. I think you're moving with kids? The primary schools here do not lock themselves up; you can take the kids to play at the playgrounds if you get tired of the many parks. Between LO and West Linn there are a couple dozen (at least!) little parks to explore. Some of them have water play areas. Check out the Parks & Rec areas of both cities' websites. If I recall LO Parks & Rec held classes at the West End Building in Westlake. It will be fun for the kids to trick-or-treat and drive around to see Christmas Lights in the area. Heck, just taking a walk and collecting leaves can be fun; wait until they see the giant maples! Both cities have summertime events in the parks like concerts and movies (and it's not too hot to enjoy them!)