Sherwood, Tualatin, Ridgefield, Scappoose, St. Helens? (Portland, Eugene: houses, neighborhoods, college)

[sushi66]

I would like to move to the general Portland area. I'll be working from home and my kids are in college out of state, so I have a good amount of flexibility as to where I can live. I think I'm looking for a small town or small town feel not too far from a decent hospital and other city conveniences. How do the populations and surroundings differ between Sherwood, Tualatin, Ridgefield, Scappoose, St. Helens, Yacolt? Scappoose sounds really nice, but in "driving around" it via google streetview maps, it looks kind of tired and the houses run-down. Anyone know where the better neighborhoods are? The Sherwood neighborhoods are better looking, but I know that can only tell me so much. Ridgefield rents and home prices are higher, why is that? Closer proximity to Portland? Is it significantly warmer in summer in the Sherwood area? I see more houses there with air conditioning. How does the amount of snow differ between southwest of PDX and north of it? I would love to exchange email with those of you who live in any of these areas, if you're willing. Thanks.

[LindaWH]

I think that what you're seeing is the difference between "small town Oregon" (Scapoose and St. Helens) and Portland suburbs (Tualitin, Sherwood). If you like the convenience and amenities of the suburb, as well as the social atmosphere, you probably won't be happy in Scapoose or St. Helens. On the other hand, some people (myself included) prefer a genuine small town atmosphere, where people know where you live before you tell them and there's a small hardware store instead of a big box Home Depot. The smaller towns in Oregon do not have the same consistency in the houses as the suburbs. In Scapoose or St. Helens, a beautifully landscaped cottage with rose gardens and well-trimmed lawn will often be located right beside a house with old washers and dead trucks in the front yard. Personally, I find that part of the charm and appeal of the small town, but some may find it irritating or "messy."

[caserichard]

This thread is almost exactly the question I've been trying to have answered :0 I'm from Eugene, living in LA, planning to move the family up to Portland. My wife wants city convenience and other toddler-toting parents to meet. I want nature to be close by and to have room to breathe.

I also work from home, so I feel I should take advantage of the ability to live where commuting is not convenient but nice living is cheaper. Sherwood seems like a pretty enough area; this is how I found this posting. I've heard that SW Portland is the way to go, as have I heard that N Portland is good. Beaverton and Hillsboro seem to have cheaper but nice places.

The idea of a cookie cutter suburb feels very Sell-out to me, but I'm almost not caring at this point --just as long as I have a big, pretty yard for the kid and don't have to pay more than 12 or 13 hundred a month. 10 would be nicer. I hope that people can tell me that Portland's events and shopping and toddler piano class-type stuff is readily available to anyone in the metro area. But oh, sorry, that'd be hijacking this thread I really just want to hear some more about the neighborhoods, too!

Any of these places too expensive to consider? Are they all relatively nice to live in? Slummy? Boring? (Linda's comments were very helpful to me; thanks). Looking forward to more replies.