What is Beaverton like, esp vs. Portland living? (Hillsboro, Tigard: condos, townhome)

[oldtintype]

Originally Posted by nancy thereader

There's always Flexcar too.

What is flexcar?

Car sharing program. www.flexcar.com

[GucciLittlePiggie]

Originally Posted by nancy thereader

It does make me wonder (just a little bit) what the motivation was to choose that memorable Radiohead phrase as one's username, though.

I guess I am too old to know what the memorable phrase is.

(to take this a little bit further offtopic...)
ironically, the band members are probably close to your age if you feel that way

the line is: ambition makes you look pretty ugly / kicking, squealin, Gucci little piggy. i always thought of it in a cute silly literal sense, not the way it was intended, i'm sure.

also, oldintype, i don't think it's snobbish to prefer the city over suburbs. it's just a matter of opinion. i like being in cities, but prefer actually living in just outside of them for the privacy and quiet.

[Sobefobik]

I used to live in Beaverton and I hated it. If you like urban sprawl, enourmous subdivisions, have no concern for trees or plant life, and like horrendous traffic, then Beaverton is the place for you! Yes, they do have nice shops, but doesn't every city? The max does run into Portland, but it takes around 40 minutes. Oh yeah, if you plan on driving into Portland, you have to take highway 26 which is a mess at all hours.

If you can afford to live in the Pearl District, do it! You are close to everything, including the Street Car and Max. It might be more expensive, but it's totally worth it.

Hope this helps!

[GucciLittlePiggie]

that does help. thanks for your input! ;-)

[Studiobill]

Originally Posted by oldtintype

Nothing personal against people who like the suburbs, but I always wonder what the point of moving to a specific area is for if you're just going to strive to live in the suburbs anyway, since they all tend to kind of be similar no matter where you are in the country! I mean, there are more trees here but the suburbs are pretty similar to anywhere else in the country! Same stores, you need a car, etc. I do understand the school/kid thing or a job transfer but....

It finally dawned on me. The suburbs are McDonalds. You could go anywhere in the world and you'll know exactly what you're going to get.

[GucciLittlePiggie]

Originally Posted by Studiobill

It finally dawned on me. The suburbs are McDonalds. You could go anywhere in the world and you'll know exactly what you're going to get.

except that mcdonalds serves something that barely qualifies as food, and im pretty sure gives you cancer, while the suburbs have a lot of good qualities, such as actual houses, yards, gardens, quiet, privacy, no homeless people, less property crime, etc. the city has good points too, but it's not like the suburbs are for mindless drones with no taste. and they're not all the same. the suburbs in long island, in vermont, in phoenix, in florida, in alabama, in texas, in quebec city, in LA, and in portland are i'm sure all quite different in people, appearance, weather, housing styles, etc.

[Studiobill]

Did not mean to offend.
But what it is is a known quantity, just like McDonalds.
There are people who might enjoy the diversity and uncertainty of life and others who would enjoy life to be as smooth and secure as possible.
Chocolate and Vanilla. Not good or bad.
There is something to be said about driving 2500 miles and stopping to get something to eat and you know what it will be. For some people, moving into a new environment and having some level of familiarity, might be THE thing.

[jm21]

Originally Posted by oldtintype

Look carefully though as there are large sections of Beaverton filled with cheap apartments where the whole trash and motorcycle thing is alive and well You might (when you come here next) check out areas in SW Portland like Multnomah Village, Hillsdale, Tewilliger and Capitol Hill. They're further out (towards Beaverton and Tigard) and have a really suburban feel while still being very close to downtown Portland. Each has a nice retail strip to walk to with some nice restaurants, etc. You feel like you're out in the country in some of the areas--it's really woodsy and rural feeling in parts.

The nicer apartments in that area (where I'm living now) can be pretty pricey though. I found a nice place with a big balcony looking out on lots of trees...was moving back to OR from OC and couldn't pass it up. You could almost rent a house a bit further out for my rent though. Seems like all the nice apartments in the SW are in the same area, sort of western lake oswego.

There's a guy with a horse and pasture in this area. Definitely more rural, haha. Couldn't believe it when I saw it the first time. Close to downtown. Definitely have to drive a lot though as the commercial areas are pretty spread out.

[jm21]

Originally Posted by Studiobill

Did not mean to offend.
But what it is is a known quantity, just like McDonalds.
There are people who might enjoy the diversity and uncertainty of life and others who would enjoy life to be as smooth and secure as possible.
Chocolate and Vanilla. Not good or bad.
There is something to be said about driving 2500 miles and stopping to get something to eat and you know what it will be. For some people, moving into a new environment and having some level of familiarity, might be THE thing.

And cities are so amazingly different. My gosh. The liberal urban archipelago...islands of same-ness in a sea of diversity...

Small towns away from the cities are the only way to go if you want to experience the culture of an area. But Portlandites might not enjoy mudding in the valley, trying to catch air in your truck at the dunes and breaking it, finding out what a great combination bourbon and shotguns are, or getting in knife fights with pissed off fishermen pool-sharks....

[GucciLittlePiggie]

Originally Posted by Studiobill

Did not mean to offend.
But what it is is a known quantity, just like McDonalds.
There are people who might enjoy the diversity and uncertainty of life and others who would enjoy life to be as smooth and secure as possible.
Chocolate and Vanilla. Not good or bad.
There is something to be said about driving 2500 miles and stopping to get something to eat and you know what it will be. For some people, moving into a new environment and having some level of familiarity, might be THE thing.

i didn't mean to act offended, i just think suburbs get a bad rap, sometimes unfairly. i wouldn't want to live in a mcmansion with 100 more right next to me, in a land devoid of any culture or diversity. but there's definitely a happy medium, and that's what i'm looking for. and for the record, i'd rather eat grass than mcdonalds. i like all of the things you mention, the diversity, uncertainty, etc. but i also like a yard, and a garden, and some privacy to return to at night. that's why i'm attempting to find a very close suburb to portland, or at least an area that has actual houses with yards.