Another moving to portland thread... (upper-class, to rent, school)

[bler144]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

The Pearl isn't really convenient to the MAX Red line.

If you have your heart set on living in the Pearl go for it. I strongly recommend you stay west of NW 3rd.

You might also look in the NW District off 23rd. Similar vibe.

Agree, Pearl or NW have the most condensed action. For parking on that salary I assume there'd be a way to bankroll the occasional overnight in a locked garage. I'd probably leave the muscle car at home. Other than the 4:30-6:30 rush, getting out to Pdx really isn't a big deal from downtown even if you prefer to drive rather than MAX it. The worst congestion is I-5 and 26/217 to the west, and you wouldn't be going through either of those en route to PDX..

I'd also look at Hawthorne. While a bit more spread out than Pearl/NW, there's still quite a bit happening there in terms of restaurants/bars/cafes. You could live very proximate in an area that at least is more likely to have available free parking when you want it, and it's a short hop into downtown/Pearl/NW anytime you wanted even more dining/bar/hipster power than what Hawthorne has.

Some of the other east-side hubs like Hollywood or Alberta probably aren't going to be action-y enough for you.

[EnricoV]

The Pearl isn't necessarily convenient to a direct line to the Airport, but a simple change of train/streetcar would still make it easily accessible. If it were a matter of working at the airport, living nearby might be a consideration. But as it's just occasional trips, go for downtown. My runner-up choice would be the South Waterfront. But, it's quieter, though it's an up and coming area.

From the sounds of it, I'd say the OP would be happiest in a newer condo in the Pearl or downtown. Check PadMapper and enter your requirements and you'll find lots of listings.

I'd guess the parking is going to be the biggest problem. Definitely leave (at least) one behind if you can. However, you may be able to find a nearby garage where you can find monthly parking that would suffice.

[skiffrace]

Let's see if we can apply some critical thinking when replying to this post.

Originally Posted by Preston1511

My budget is $3500 and under.

Wow! $3.5K! This is probably the first $3.5 grand budget here. For three and a half grand one can rent a large, luxury house anywhere in Portland, but apparently not the case here.

Originally Posted by Preston1511

I am moving to do some tech stuff in portland

'tech stuff'? Any more details what is it? Designing hardware for Intel? Writing software for Nike? Changing light bulbs at Wells Fargo Tower? ...?

Originally Posted by Preston1511

My problem is I've come up empty looking for apartments in portland. After searching it seems like the downtown/pearl district is where I want to be but I can't seem to find any suitable apartments.

$3.5K and no luck! Have you tried one of them internets? How'bout craigslist. Let me do it for you: ~190 results:
portland apts/housing for rent classifieds "pearl" - craigslist

Originally Posted by Preston1511

I'm making about $150k minus bonus

You mean they deduct the bonus from your salary? Usually it's the other way around.
Or perhaps you meant $15k + bonus? Or maybe $1.5 mil with no bonus? Inquiring minds would like to know.

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

Ah, Portland is capitalized ALWAYS.

When not sure whether it's $1.5K or $1.5mil, why worry about your p's and q's

Originally Posted by Preston1511

Yeah some thing like playing candy crush. Lol

Now we are getting somewhere. Like Portland sun, the truth is out there, wait long enough and it will come out eventually.

[Preston1511]

Originally Posted by skiffrace

Let's see if we can apply some critical thinking when replying to this post.


Wow! $3.5K! This is probably the first $3.5 grand budget here. For three and a half grand one can rent a large, luxury house anywhere in Portland, but apparently not the case here.


$3.5K and no luck! Have you tried one of them internets? How'bout craigslist. Let me do it for you: ~190 results:
portland apts/housing for rent classifieds "pearl" - craigslist


You mean they deduct the bonus from your salary? Usually it's the other way around.
Or perhaps you meant $15k + bonus? Or maybe $1.5 mil with no bonus? Inquiring minds would like to know.


When not sure whether it's $1.5K or $1.5mil, why worry about your p's and q's


Now we are getting somewhere. Like Portland sun, the truth is out there somewhere, wait long enough and it will come out.

I figured I'd get some sort of response like this...way to sit at home and come up with such a cheeky response. Obviously I meant I make around that amount not including a bonus. My budget is a little higher but I am also used to paying a lot more for rent than the rent in portland. Thanks for including the craigslist link because I neeeeever looked there. As stated before I wasn't able to find some thing that checked all my boxes so I figured I would post a thread, as others have done, seeking help from locals.

Thank you for you're witty post, I'm sure you sat in front of your computer with joy as you typed your gem of a response.

[oldtintype]

I would go to the Pearl buildings directly rather than looking on Craigslist. The ASA seems to be pretty happening and when I walk by I see them doing beer and food nights in the lobby. It attracts the 20/30 something crowd more than the rest of the buildings from what I've seen.

[Preston1511]

Originally Posted by oldtintype

I would go to the Pearl buildings directly rather than looking on Craigslist. The ASA seems to be pretty happening and when I walk by I see them doing beer and food nights in the lobby. It attracts the 20/30 something crowd more than the rest of the buildings from what I've seen.

Appreciate that, I actually saw the Asa on pad mapper and I'm headed to portland this week to view a few places. Looks like my search might be over.

[urbanlife78]

The Eliot in downtown might be a good choice, but I agree, you will be better off looking on the websites of buildings directly to find what you are looking for.

Also, 2-3 car garage or parking is probably a dream that will never happen unless you want to live in the suburbs.

[Preston1511]

Are under ground parking garages rare In portland? Tons of "covered parking" but surprised newer portland residences don't have underground parking. Yeah I realized parking is my big challenge.

[bler144]

I haven't looked extensively, but there's not a lot underground I can think of. Couple of above ground structures.

If you're looking at the Pearl there's this one at least: Pearl Garage - Pearl District - Portland, OR | Yelp

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by Preston1511

Are under ground parking garages rare In portland? Tons of "covered parking" but surprised newer portland residences don't have underground parking. Yeah I realized parking is my big challenge.

A number of the newer buildings have underground parking garages, but they are often times very limited on parking spaces because zoning laws in Portland doesn't require buildings to have a parking spot for every unit.