Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I've read through some of the older, longer threads on what to expect in Portland, and a lot of the descriptions sound like we would fit in. Here is how I would describe my partner and I:
We are a straight unmarried couple in a committed LTR. We don't (and won't) have children. Though we're not opposed to them being around either. Sometimes, they're pretty adorable, just not for us.
He is well educated with multiple BAs in the sciences. I have an AA in the social sciences.
He is telecommuting as a senior software engineer. I do not work and would probably not be looking for work. He would be hoping to telecommute.
We are very health-oriented, physically fit vegans. We may occasionally make comments to ourselves about meat eaters, but we generally don't bring up the subject with others unless we're invited to a bbq.
We currently enjoy walking, running, and biking on the 100+ miles of paved trails our community offers. I also enjoy fitness classes like yoga and Jazzercise.
Other than outdoor physical activities we enjoy doing together, we are homebodies. We know our current neighbors names but we've never been in their homes or have any desire to socialize with others. We're perfectly friendly, just not social butterflies.
We're atheists but again, not overly sociable, and as long as you don't knock on our door trying to sell us religion, we won't try to convert you to atheism.
We're uber liberals (Sanders supporters) but we don't walk up to strangers and ask them about their political beliefs. We are desperate to escape Washington, DC area politics, to be totally honest. When we do talk politics, we get along better with those on the fringes (Greens and Libertarians) than the Ds and Rs.
We have lived in a few places and know what we don't want - We hate snow. We also hate heat. Maryland solidly has four seasons and both winter and summer suck here (except for the sunshine, of course).
We want to legally use marijuana recreationally (by ourselves, never in public.)
We really like our own company. We wouldn't even know where to start looking for night life.
We have money because we don't spend money. We don't do shopping malls. Most of our shopping happens at Target, REI, Amazon.com, and farmer's markets/CSA.
We are looking for a slower pace of life than what we have now, but would definitely not be happy out in the sticks. A walkable neighborhood would be a bonus.
We're not hipsters, by any means, but I am lightly tattooed, lightly pierced, and sport the occasional pink hair streak. He has longer hair than most women. That's generally accepted where we are now and we would hope for the same wherever we moved.
We would be looking to buy, not rent. A single-story home between 1200 and 1500 sf and at or under $275K. We see acceptable houses in the Centennial neighborhood but don't know if that would be an undesirable place for us in other respects.
We don't particularly like guns and are hoping that open carry is less prominent in the city than in eastern OR for example. The Malheur incident nearly turned us off OR. He has never lived anywhere without fairly strict gun control. I'm used to places where every pickup truck has a gun rack. I'm more concerned about hand guns than hunters.
There are probably many things I'm not thinking of (please suggest them!)
From this description, does it sound like we may be a good fit for Portland?
All aspects of your description make you sound like you are already Portlanders. My only concern would be your housing budget--it's a little low. But if you don't mind living in a less desirable area or in a fixer upper you could probably make it work. Many people want to live in neighborhoods with high performing schools, and that wouldn't be a concern for you so you have more options.
Buying in the kind of neighborhood you seem to want IN Portland will probably not be doable at your price. Everything else sounds like close- in or North Portland.
Yes, you'll fit in fine here, and my employer usually has openings for software engineers. Let us know if you decide to make the move and I'll give you some specifics via Direct Message.
Yes, Portland would be a good fit for your lifestyle and personalities. Be aware that most of the software jobs are in the Westside suburbs with the remaining being in a handful of the Southern suburbs and in/near downtown Portland West of the river so that would make living East of the river anywhere you could actually afford less than desirable.
He should be aware that most of the senior software jobs here that actually pay well may allow him to telecommute occasionally, but the majority of them seem to want people in the office most of the time. Once someone is with a company for a number of years the telecommuting thing seems to get a little bit more flexible but it would be surprising for him to find a mostly telecommuting job that pays anywhere near his current salary starting out. The $120k a year salary may also be a bit tough to find if he does not have at least 15 years experience, or does not have supervisory experience or is not an experienced architect as $120k is close to the top of the pay range here for an experienced senior software engineer in a non-supervisory role.
As others have mentioned, your housing budget is too low for anywhere halfway decent in Portland and also too low for most of the Westside unless you like old not-updated fixers or you're fine with multiple attached walls.
Last edited by patches403; 07-07-2016 at 11:20 AM..
Buying in the kind of neighborhood you seem to want IN Portland will probably not be doable at your price. Everything else sounds like close- in or North Portland.
The only pickiness we have with respect to neighborhood is not someplace rich. We moved two years ago across town to upsize, going from a working class neighborhood to an upper-middle neighborhood and we definitely do not fit in here. There is nothing wrong with the people here, we're just different and the doctor/lawyer/government officials that we live around are not really our scene. Every house and yard around us is immaculate with beautiful flower beds and we're more the kind to let it look a bit wild to create habitat for other creatures.. Almost all of our neighbors use a lawn service and we're too cheap for that and won't use the chemicals on our lawn to keep it pristine. Suffice, our neighbors don't like our less than immaculate yard. We tried to share organic veggies from our garden and were actually turned down. Our homemade raised bed made from reclaimed wood in the backyard is an eyesore to them. So yeah, we really want out of the rich burbs. We're pretty humble folks and the welcome wagon that arrived when we moved in were taken aback at me answering the door in an old holy tshirt without a bra, in ill-fitting sweatpants and barefoot. I am not June Cleaver and I don't look the part for my current neighborhood. This was entirely our mistake and not one we want to repeat.
Our impression of the west side is that it is similar to where we live now. The northeast looks like the more gentrified trendy areas of Baltimore with the coffee shops and bike lanes. This impression is obtained entirely from the houses listed on Zillow and using Google Earth to explore neighborhoods around any houses that pique our interest and could be completely off base and if so, please let me know that. The houses in the $240-$300 range in Centennial and parts further east are what we are looking at. Having lived in the inner city where someone was mugged at gunpoint on my doorstep, I can say that I can tolerate places that may be considered less than ideal to others. And it isn't that we cannot afford more. Our current home was $380K and our old home which we still own was $290K. We have the credit and savings to buy more home but we don't want to. We'd rather buy a smaller home in a less expensive neighborhood than spend more money. I expect there will be some compromise once we are looking seriously. We aren't looking at fixer-uppers, and also not looking at recent rehabs with attendant markup. A foreclosure in decent condition would be acceptable. I don't want to live in the worst run down areas with pawn shops and payday lenders on every corner, but that's about the only requirement as far as neighborhood.
"Yes, you'll fit in fine here, and my employer usually has openings for software engineers. Let us know if you decide to make the move and I'll give you some specifics via Direct Message."
Rob Allen, that's very appreciated. My partner has 18 years experience in software engineering and has earned several patents for his company. Part of his need to telecommute is due to physical disability and really isn't negotiable. Otherwise, his particular skills are in high demand. He is well liked within his company and frequently sought out for advice and assistance. He would certainly be an asset wherever he lands.
Other than that it could take a while to find the right house, I am reassured by these replies that we would like it there. Thanks for all the replies.
Here is an example of the type of homes we are looking at and not knowing much about the neighborhoods. Maybe that will be better than just describing what we don't want.
The only pickiness we have with respect to neighborhood is not someplace rich. We moved two years ago across town to upsize, going from a working class neighborhood to an upper-middle neighborhood and we definitely do not fit in here. There is nothing wrong with the people here, we're just different and the doctor/lawyer/government officials that we live around are not really our scene. Every house and yard around us is immaculate with beautiful flower beds and we're more the kind to let it look a bit wild to create habitat for other creatures.. Almost all of our neighbors use a lawn service and we're too cheap for that and won't use the chemicals on our lawn to keep it pristine. Suffice, our neighbors don't like our less than immaculate yard. We tried to share organic veggies from our garden and were actually turned down. Our homemade raised bed made from reclaimed wood in the backyard is an eyesore to them. So yeah, we really want out of the rich burbs. We're pretty humble folks and the welcome wagon that arrived when we moved in were taken aback at me answering the door in an old holy tshirt without a bra, in ill-fitting sweatpants and barefoot. I am not June Cleaver and I don't look the part for my current neighborhood. This was entirely our mistake and not one we want to repeat.
Our impression of the west side is that it is similar to where we live now. The northeast looks like the more gentrified trendy areas of Baltimore with the coffee shops and bike lanes. This impression is obtained entirely from the houses listed on Zillow and using Google Earth to explore neighborhoods around any houses that pique our interest and could be completely off base and if so, please let me know that. The houses in the $240-$300 range in Centennial and parts further east are what we are looking at. Having lived in the inner city where someone was mugged at gunpoint on my doorstep, I can say that I can tolerate places that may be considered less than ideal to others. And it isn't that we cannot afford more. Our current home was $380K and our old home which we still own was $290K. We have the credit and savings to buy more home but we don't want to. We'd rather buy a smaller home in a less expensive neighborhood than spend more money. I expect there will be some compromise once we are looking seriously. We aren't looking at fixer-uppers, and also not looking at recent rehabs with attendant markup. A foreclosure in decent condition would be acceptable. I don't want to live in the worst run down areas with pawn shops and payday lenders on every corner, but that's about the only requirement as far as neighborhood.
"Yes, you'll fit in fine here, and my employer usually has openings for software engineers. Let us know if you decide to make the move and I'll give you some specifics via Direct Message."
Rob Allen, that's very appreciated. My partner has 18 years experience in software engineering and has earned several patents for his company. Part of his need to telecommute is due to physical disability and really isn't negotiable. Otherwise, his particular skills are in high demand. He is well liked within his company and frequently sought out for advice and assistance. He would certainly be an asset wherever he lands.
Other than that it could take a while to find the right house, I am reassured by these replies that we would like it there. Thanks for all the replies.
I don't think Centennial is what you are looking for based on your descriptions of yourselves and what you are looking for. Portland is an interesting place and once out of the close- in hoods you could easily be in another city entirely. Three miles makes a huge difference. I lived in inner NE Portland for almost six years and I def think you would like Clinton/ Division but your budget is too low. Most of the quirky/ funky/ vegan/ tatooed hoods are spendy. West coast is like that. I spend LESS to live in the manicured West burbs than I did living in funky NE. My best advice is to come out in the rainy weather and stay in air bnb in different hoods to get a real feel for different areas. Good luck!
I looked up Clinton/Division and what little there is for sale there is way out of what we are willing to spend. I like the idea of doing the airbnb in different neighborhoods though. Thank you!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
