need some info on portland re prices and transportation (Beaverton: rental, how much)

[lostintheus]

Hi all

I am looking to relocate to a city that has good transportation and an outdoor climate. When I did a match on a big website portland came up first as having best transportation system and walkability.

I wanted to know the rental prices in portland and if its an expensive city. Im upfront in that I live on disability and dont drive and need a place with reasonable rents and good transportation systems...most of the places with good transportation systems are freezing cold and very expensive.

what areas are walkable? affordable? what does say a studio or 1 bedroom go for a month?

thanks!!!

[urbanlife78]

Sites like padmapper.com are always a good source for getting a good idea of what is available and how much it will cost. Then from there you can compare those places to their walkability score which is pretty accurate for Portland.

[Minervah]

This might be of help. Rule of thumb is the better the neighborhood, the better the public transportation, walkablility and other amenities.

Average Rent In Portland, Portland Rent Trends and Rental Comps

[bler144]

What's your definition of a 'reasonable rent'? Personally I don't think it's all that reasonable, but that's largely in comparison to local wage/salaries. If you're on a fixed income, it will depend on what your income base is.

The transportation is pretty good, though some areas are better served than others. A studio or 1BR will vary depending on where in the metro you're looking. I'd recommend playing with PadMapper.com. Can you find a studio downtown for $600 +utils? 1 BRs can cost quite a bit more in most of the city, and easily run into 4 figs.

The most affordable option for living in Portland is renting a room in a house or sharing an apt. with roommates. In that scenario you could probably cover rent + utils for 600 or even 500 even in some nice areas. Portland also doesn't have as much apt. stock as some other cities - in some parts of town next to none. Thus part of why renting a room in a home can be much more economical.

Downtown Beaverton still has pretty good transit (bus + MAX) and a 1 BR will be a bit more reasonable. Still, rents have gone up 5-10% here every year the last few years (and some complexes more), so if you'd have to stretch your budget to make it work, I wouldn't count on that lasting.

[oldtintype]

There are a lot of median income buildings in Portland. You can look them up on places like housing connections.