Seeking Portland Information (Burns: rental car, for sale, 2013)

[xz2y]

I’m considering a retirement to Portland (yes, I’m aware of the state tax rate, the homeless, and the weather ), and I’m interested in learning which city neighborhoods might be a good fit. I’m looking for info from current residents of Portland and/or people familiar with the newer apartment buildings in the city which have been built or rehabbed over the last few years. (Not interested at all in condos, houses, mortgages, 55+ complexes, suburbs or "endless summer" such as Florida, Arizona LOL.) I'm from the midwest, not CA .

My ideal Portland city location would have:
—Good access to public transit.
—Apartment buildings with elevators and good heating/cooling (some “vintage” buildings have charm, but do not have newer heating/cooling systems and rely on space heaters). Small studio apartments would work fine for me, up to ~$1500/mo.
—Access to restaurants (all price ranges) and access to food trucks.
—Either transit or walking access to a grocery store.
--Access to Portland's public library system.
_____________

One other question:
—Do I have to own a car in order to get an Oregon driver’s license?

I will probably get rid of my car if I can find a suitable apartment in Portland, and rely on public transit and short-term rentals (Zip Car, for example).

I’m asking since some states (North Carolina, for example) require car ownership in order to obtain a regular DL. NC issues a “special” and limited DL if no car is owned, so cars can be rented, etc. I'm not interested in that kind of DL.

I currently have a DL in good standing in my home state. I would like to exchange it for an OR license, and pay the necessary fees and take whatever tests are required. Most states allow this for new residents in good standing in their home states.

So, the question is whether or not Oregon restricts driver’s licenses issued to new residents if they do not own a car.

Thanks in advance for the information.

[texasdiver]

No you don't need a car to get an Oregon license, you just swap out your current state license and pay the fee. Never heard of such a thing as requiring car ownership to get a license.

Otherwise dozens of neighborhoods will meet your criteria. Finding something in your budget may be a bit more difficult. Best thing would be to visit and poke around. A lot of the areas that meet your descrition have a fairly young hipster vibe with a lot of night life. So it depends on what kind of area you want to live in.

[xz2y]

Thanks! NC issues a "limited" DL if you don't own a car for use with rental cars only. I've not heard of other states doing that, but NC does do it, which is ridiculous, in my view. Anyway, glad to hear that in Oregon it doesn't make any difference whether you own a car or not.

I did look at some websites today and saw downtown and central city studio apartments in the $1100 to $1500, $1600 range, though it's hard to tell from websites what they are really like. I'd have to see them first hand.

I'll be planning a visit to Portland in the next few months to focus on city neighborhoods and apartments. I've visited Oregon and Portland a few times in the past, but those were vacations, not reconnaissance.

My main priority regarding location will be access to transit, since I'd like to get rid of the car eventually. And as a retiree, I'll need good transit access to OHSU for their health services.

As far as the younger hipster vibe and nightlife, I'm not particularly focused on living around a lot of nightlife, but it would be nice to find an apartment in a location where I could go for a walk in the evening safely.

[texasdiver]

I would look for something along a MAX line that is also within walking distance of a good grocery. Schlepping groceries by transit is not really much fun.

[USDefault]

Have some good restaurants and grocers around NW Lovejoy and NW 23rd, plus I think one branch of the the Multnomah library is due north of the area. Here is one apartment building built in 2013, a little higher than your budget for a studio, but looks like a clean modern place.

But this is just one of very many locales in the greater Portland-metro area. For example, you could reside at the South Waterfront, and that puts you within a five-minute walk to OHSU. This is because you can take the Sky Tram from the Waterfront and it will drop you right in the center of the medical complexes, and it's free to patients if your healthcare provider gets you passes. Watch the video.

Or you could go into the heart of downtown, you'll find more food carts there. Bottom line, there are a ton of places to look into, and a fair number of retirees reside in these kinds of Portland neighborhoods. I see them out at breakfast and lunch all the time. Minimal time wasted in cars/traffic, usually walk to where they need to go. Comfortable living.

[Nell Plotts]

Central Library is located on 10th and Morrison surrounded by the MAX light rail and streetcar. The NW branch is at 23rd and Thurman, well served by Bus 15. I patronize both, it can be hard to find a seat at the NW branch.

If you are over 65 and live downtown TriMet offers a basically free pass: https://trimet.org/downtownpass/index.htm A fellow rider shared that the Honored Citizen monthly pass can be a bit of a pain because it is only offered for sale for a limited time monthly, cost $28/mo. Next best is an Honored Citizen Hop card, $1.25 for 2.5 hours, max $2.50 in a day. https://trimet.org/fares/honoredcitizen.htm I use the Honored Citizen Hop card.

NW streetcar line runs from the OHSU tram to NW 23rd and Lovejoy (the streets in NW are alphabetical north from Burnside).

[xz2y]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

I would look for something along a MAX line that is also within walking distance of a good grocery. Schlepping groceries by transit is not really much fun.

Absolutely right about that! Walking distance to a grocery store would be ideal.

[xz2y]

Originally Posted by USDefault

Have some good restaurants and grocers around NW Lovejoy and NW 23rd, plus I think one branch of the the Multnomah library is due north of the area. Here is one apartment building built in 2013, a little higher than your budget for a studio, but looks like a clean modern place.

But this is just one of very many locales in the greater Portland-metro area. For example, you could reside at the South Waterfront, and that puts you within a five-minute walk to OHSU. This is because you can take the Sky Tram from the Waterfront and it will drop you right in the center of the medical complexes, and it's free to patients if your healthcare provider gets you passes. Watch the video.

Or you could go into the heart of downtown, you'll find more food carts there. Bottom line, there are a ton of places to look into, and a fair number of retirees reside in these kinds of Portland neighborhoods. I see them out at breakfast and lunch all the time. Minimal time wasted in cars/traffic, usually walk to where they need to go. Comfortable living.

Great info and advice! And you hit the nail on the head: "Minimal time wasted in cars/traffic, usually walk to where they need to go." That's my goal, to walk to where I need to go, or take transit. Glad to hear other retirees are enjoying the same "comfortable living" lifestyle!

[xz2y]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

Central Library is located on 10th and Morrison surrounded by the MAX light rail and streetcar. The NW branch is at 23rd and Thurman, well served by Bus 15. I patronize both, it can be hard to find a seat at the NW branch.

If you are over 65 and live downtown TriMet offers a basically free pass: https://trimet.org/downtownpass/index.htm A fellow rider shared that the Honored Citizen monthly pass can be a bit of a pain because it is only offered for sale for a limited time monthly, cost $28/mo. Next best is an Honored Citizen Hop card, $1.25 for 2.5 hours, max $2.50 in a day. https://trimet.org/fares/honoredcitizen.htm I use the Honored Citizen Hop card.

NW streetcar line runs from the OHSU tram to NW 23rd and Lovejoy (the streets in NW are alphabetical north from Burnside).

This is great information, thank you for sharing it! Great that the TriMet has reduced fares for seniors! The tram looks very cool. I will definitely try it out when I do my reconnaissance visit.

[Nell Plotts]

I happened to bump into a gal who lives at Museum Place apartments (Portland Apartments | Museum Place) she said that last winter she was thrilled to discover that she could access Safeway from her building without going outside. That building is within the TriMet downtown pass area and the Portland Streetcar runs within a block. Whether or not that works for you I can't say.

You have heard about the Portland State University programs for seniors to audit classes for basically free, right? https://www.pdx.edu/registration/sen...t-registration Oh, once you are a registered PSU student and have a student card streetcars are free.

From Museum Place apartments: Safeway next door; PSU, Multnomah County Central Library, Oregon Health Sciences University... and Target all on the streetcar line.


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