Relocation advice/info (Portland, Beaverton, Tigard: 2014, condo, good credit)

[agalisgv]

Hello,

I recently received a 'soft' job offer in the Portland area, but I've never been there and know nothing about the area. The job wouldn't start till next year, so this would be for a 2014 move.

My family would be moving from Oklahoma. We currently own a home and have one son in high school. What I'm wondering is what neighborhoods should I look at, what price points should I expect, what do the property taxes look like, what commute times would there be, and most importantly, how good are the high schools there?

I would be working in the Portland/Tigard area, and prefer to own a home. I currently have a 4br/3ba home, around 2500sq ft, but am willing to downsize quite a bit if necessary. I strongly prefer to not live in a condo. Single story homes are a plus, 2 bedrooms would be fine, and my absolute favorite would be a craftsman bungalow with intact original millwork (though this may not be available--idk). I would like a quiet area within walking distance to some stores/cafes (walking distance to me means within 2 miles). I also would like a lot of greenery around--particularly in the backyard. My husband wants a very safe neighborhood.

The most important factor for us is schools--my son is very advanced, and we'd need a very good high school for him. He has three more years to finish, but will have completed AP calculus, AP physics, AP chemistry, AP biology, and two years of engineering by the time we move. So schools that have extensive STEM offerings are a must for us.

So anyhow, what areas should we be looking at, how far are they, and how much? Since my husband will likely not have a job before moving, we'd be going on just my income, and I think that would limit us to around $350,000 price point for a home. If we could spend significantly less, that would be great.

I don't know what housing prices are like in Portland--is this completely unrealistic? And what/where are the best high schools?

Thanks so much for any and all help!

ETA: I also have no pets, and good credit.

[Nell Plotts]

Safe won't be an issue.

Take a look at Westview HS. A lot of Intel employees children attend. STEM or not I think he will find academic peers.

Your house budget is modest for our market but there are a number of RE search sites you could use when the time comes to look.

[agalisgv]

Thanks for referral. I looked at Westview's website, and it appears (from what I could tell) that they only go up to the AP level in math and science, and then have no other offerings. We would need something beyond that.

I know every place is different (and we've moved around a bit, so I know policies vary from state to state), but here, they offer more advanced courses without having children skip a grade. So in primary school, they offer enrichment courses for advanced students, and then in middle school, will place students who test well into higher level math and science. They teach high school classes at the middle schools for that purpose so by the time students reach high school, they have a good amount of high school classes already completed. This keeps up with the students' academic abilities without skipping them into higher grades where they will be far younger and socially at a disadvantage. In high school, they partner with the university to offer additional math and science (and other) courses free of charge for half a day, so students can stay in high school but still take classes like multivariate calculus/linear algebra, etc.

In other states, they just offer those classes in high school. How does it work in Portland? Do they just partner with local colleges, or are there some schools that offer more advanced studies?

WRT housing, I've gathered our budget is modest. What areas would people suggest to look at, given that?

Thanks again for your response!

ETA: Another option would be to simply commute from OK each week since I would only need to be there a few days a week, but I don't know how well that would work either.

[Nell Plotts]

You really need to talk to the school district. It seems to me that you want to find the best math teacher in the metro area, all the rest builds on that. Your child can also use Kahn Academy resources, he needs to become an independent learner - and find a high tech mentor - as there is no perfect fit school for an advanced student. HS students can also attend Community College for HS & college credits.

[Priscilla Martin]

Another idea:Merlo Station High School 1841 SW Merlo Drive Beaverton, Oregon 97006 phone: 503.259.5575

https://sites.google.com/a/beaverton...us/sst/science
https://sites.google.com/a/beaverton.../sst/electives

http://www.saturdayacademy.org/ase/student-information

http://www.stemschool.com/schools/oregon/

[christiner81]

if you want a bungalow style you will find more in portland proper, there will be some in multnomah village, downtown beaverton and i've seen some cute ones in the Metzger area (north of 99, east of Oleson/Greenburg) - In this area they are Portland addresses but I believe that area is Washington County.

There are also a lot of STEM academic folks (OHSU, etc) living in the Lake Oswego area and that high school is rated well.

[lookinforhorseparadise]

It is NOT in Oregon, and I know you probably don't want to pay to live in the DC area, but this public high school consistently blows away any other in the US. Their record speaks for itself. If you are shooting for the best public high school for AP Science and Tech, this is the one. People move here from all over the country just so their kids can go there. Even though housing is expensive, salaries are much higher than in Portland across the board.
TJHSST - Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

[zitsky]

OP, the biggest shock to your system might be the weather. Some people adjust to it, some don't. Plenty of rain, lots of cloudy days. On the plus side, summer temps might be 75-80F most of the time.

[agalisgv]

Thanks all for the tremendous help! The links to schools and such were incredibly helpful--can't thank y'all enough for that.

WRT the Thomas Jefferson school--it looks amazing! If it were possible, I'd definitely pursue that. But right now there aren't any job prospects for us in the area, and we'd need a residence there in order to apply.

WRT the Portland weather--have to admit I like the warm weather here lol. I'm an odd bug that way. Not sure how the rainy overcast thing would wear over time, but as long as it's not blistering cold (ie -40), I think it should be alright. Certainly an adjustment, though.

WRT the schools listed, Lake Oswego HS seems to be the best fit. Would this be an easy commute to the Portland/Tigard border area? And what should I expect from the housing market there? I sense it's a pricey area, but maybe I'm wrong.

Finally, since we're Native American, does anyone have any advice for connecting up with community resources up there? I know here we have outstanding Indian Education departments in every school district, and extensive tribal programs/community events taking place all the time. I suspect that won't be the case in OR, though perhaps I'm wrong on that.

Thanks again!!!

[SETabor]

In my opinion, the best schools in the area are private and expensive - OES, Catlin Gabel, etc. You may want to take a look at their websites and see if they partner with any local colleges and then check the colleges to see what other schools they partner with.

As for weather, no it's not blistering cold. But, you are coming to an area that is almost diametrically opposite of OK weather.

The commute from Lake Oswego to Tigard/Portland is fairly short but highly trafficked which can make any commute interesting. I suspect the ease will depend on exactly where in each location you are and how many alternate routes there are. The Portland area has frustrating traffic due to its unpredictability.

There are quite a few tribal resources in Oregon. The reservations aren't particularly close to the Portland area though - the closest is Grand Ronde. I don't have specifics but I recall a news story on a new program in Portland to help the community work better together. I doubt each school would have its own Indian Education program but there might be something in Portland Public Schools or more county wide (Lake Oswego is in Clackamas county). I lived in NM for a while and the tribal integration with everyday life is very different in the southwest than it is out here.