Area for apartment searching help (Portland, Beaverton: apartment complexes, lease, buying a house)

[fayewolf]

We plan on renting an apartment and start doing a house search, so we can experience which neighborhood we would like (Probably from reading, SW hills, West hills or LO), and now would like some recommendations for apartment searching!

I found some in the waterfront portland area that looks nice and not dated, but i am a bit worried about the homeless situation. We don't mind being on the east side of Portland while renting, but ideally we should be on the west side since DH will be working in Hillsboro eventually and we would like to stay west. We are childless couple (older) and enjoy outdoor activities (that said, we dont' need to live right by the woods, perfectly fine for us to drive there).

We want to find apartment in nice upscale area, hopefully not a lot of noise (we both work from home and in meetings all day). I tried searching for airbnb but i didn't find anything i am comfortable with that meets my price range. Keeping in mind that i dont know how long my house search would be that we may need to find short term lease or considering breaking lease fee (1.5 month rent), so around $2000/month for 2 bedroom. I looked at a few at LO, and with $1800 being SUPER dated, not sure it's worth the price.

Thinking about Beaverton, Tigard, LO?

Any suggestions on neighborhood to look into? Specific complexes would be greatly appreciated!

[pantstofry]

I'm not super well versed in area-by-area prices and such, but I work and live in Hillsboro and am renting a 3bd/2.5ba house for $1850 in southeast Hillsboro. It's a ton of new development here so if you're seeking to avoid "super dated" then it may be an option. We got pretty lucky to get a place with a yard at this price, but I'd imagine ~$2000 for a 2bd place is still doable. Only concern would be that it's still very new, so I doubt there's a ton of availability. I'm referring to the area south of TV highway, east of river road and west of SW 209th.

[fayewolf]

Thank you ! We are trying to find an apartment more south, Beaverton, or Lake O, or SW hills. He won’t be going into the office and we won’t consider buying a house on that area so probably won’t need to stay there. But thanks for the info!!

[blazenjames]

Personally, I'd stay out of downtown Portland at all costs. It's a filthy mess with Antifa on the rampage. Inner Eastside is kind of cool but Covid has ruined the experience. LO is kind of far from Hillsboro. I don't see the reason for it unless prestige is important to you. I'd look at Oak Hills, Bethany, Cedar Mill, Beaverton. Hillsboro has a lot of big apartment complexes but I'd stay out of those if possible.

[5thgenSF]

i have family that has been for decades in forest grove. 25 min. west of hillsboro. don't think anything "downscale" there. nyet on cornelius though!

[fayewolf]

Originally Posted by blazenjames

Personally, I'd stay out of downtown Portland at all costs. It's a filthy mess with Antifa on the rampage. Inner Eastside is kind of cool but Covid has ruined the experience. LO is kind of far from Hillsboro. I don't see the reason for it unless prestige is important to you. I'd look at Oak Hills, Bethany, Cedar Mill, Beaverton. Hillsboro has a lot of big apartment complexes but I'd stay out of those if possible.

Yeah, was just considering this and will be nixing downtown Portland, anything east of the river will be a no. I’m thinking about Beaverton. Central enough for us to explore the neighborhoods

Are there areas of Beaverton I should avoid ?

LAKE O is more for the house hunting, not so much for prestige but we want to be in an affluent neighborhood that holds its value, and while dh needs to go to Hillsboro, I have activities that might need me to go to Wilsonville or Sherwood area few times a week.

[pantstofry]

Originally Posted by fayewolf

Thank you ! We are trying to find an apartment more south, Beaverton, or Lake O, or SW hills. He won’t be going into the office and we won’t consider buying a house on that area so probably won’t need to stay there. But thanks for the info!!

Yeah no problem. Just an FYI that where I live in SE Hillsboro I'm only like a 2 minute drive from Beaverton proper, and it's fairly south in line with the midpoint of Beaverton. I'd say E Hillsboro kind of bleeds into Beaverton more - I probably wouldn't live closer to downtown/W Hillsboro regardless.

If you're looking for South, Tigard might be a good option. Lake O is probably going to be mostly out of the price range you listed.

[fayewolf]

Originally Posted by pantstofry

Yeah no problem. Just an FYI that where I live in SE Hillsboro I'm only like a 2 minute drive from Beaverton proper, and it's fairly south in line with the midpoint of Beaverton. I'd say E Hillsboro kind of bleeds into Beaverton more - I probably wouldn't live closer to downtown/W Hillsboro regardless.

If you're looking for South, Tigard might be a good option. Lake O is probably going to be mostly out of the price range you listed.

Thank you!! Apartment wise, lake o is not that much different, but for the same price, the apartment looks really old. I am looking at something either in south beaverton or central beaverton, it will be convenience for us to do house shopping

[Jane M]

In the SW area of Portland (the city proper) has a few modern apartments, but you won't get any 2 bedrooms for less than $2400/mo.

If you are wanting to be out of the city, you could try West Slope or Beaverton. The last time I looked, the newer apartments in Beaverton were pretty reasonable. I don't know how you feel about the walkability of neighborhoods, but you will be car dependant in Beaverton. There is a train stop for Beaverton, but not exactly convenient to do shopping and such by transit

Lake Oswego is going to be expensive. You might consider the Bethany area. It's expensive there too (but less than LO), but you might find something in your price range.

I would say, if you have no interest in being in the city, you might as well rent a house because you will probably find a nice house for around 2000-2400/mo. However, if you think you are going to pick up and go quickly, that is probably not a good option.

[fayewolf]

Thank you Jane ! I won’t need to be in a house, I will probably be out in a few months, I live in the suburbs right now so we are use to driving, nothing is walkable here

Car dependent is totally fine! I have to take into consideration the break lease fee so any new complexes around $2000 is what I am willing to pay

Thank you for the feedback!