New Zealand family moving to portland :> (Beaverton, Hillsboro: rental car, extended stay)

[kiwiguy]

Hello everyone! Kiaora koutou! My wife and two kids are US residents and as of next month will be relocating to Portland Oregon.
We come from a city in the South Island called Christchurch. The climate is mild like Oregon and we have great natural attractions like Oregon. Its called the garden city. So similar again!
Our city has 340000 people. So, much smaller than Portland.
Christchurch is a sports crazy city and we are famous for rugby.
My wife and I love Basketball and look forward to seeing NBA games live. The Portland Trail Blazers have a really talented young team and look forward to supporting them.
I have been reading many threads and as anywhere there is the good and the bad(IMO).
I would like for people to help me with any useful advice on certain questions that I will note down. Thanks!

Question's
Where would you recommend to find a vehicle?

(I have been looking at Craigslist and found that there is selection but not(IMO) easily sortable for searching.
I want a vehicle(at least sedan plus to maybe van size)no more than 5 years old with say 60-80000miles no more. I have been considering no more than $8000.)
Do you have testing stations for vehicles where before you buy you can have them inspected or is this done by mechanic? I have some knowledge on vehicles but US has so many different makes to what I am used too.
What are the dealers like in your neck of the woods? dodgy!lol
What do you think about vehicles with titles?(say damaged in accident..)
Do they have an vehicle auctioning business in Portland? Is this a good idea?

Recommended apartments/homes in city or near portland?

My employer has recommended for me to look at Beaveron. I have seen that many recommend on threads Sellwood and Westmoreland.
I am looking for initially a large one or two bedrm for say max $1200m(utilities can be additional) Must be family friendly area and prefer close to public transport.
Beaverton? Advice on where to look at for appts and homes?
Where not to look? Also any good month by month for initial stay and then hunt for something more permanent.

Public transport? Can you give me a general overview of this for portland central area and also Beaverton.
Costs for annual, monthly,..?

Shopping for food(grocerys)? Here in NZ we have huge food supermarkets and several varietys. Whats its like in Portland for this? Recommendations? My brother is in San Fran and he said that the supermarkets are small. Is he right? Thought everything would be big there.

Shipping/freight to NZ? Any info would be great. Been in contact with Fedex. Expensive!

Internet providers? recommendations?

Consumer Issues? In NZ we have a consumers institute website that you can contact for products and service reviews and information. Is there to advise you regards consumer issues. ie refridgerators. rating, price,... Anything like this in US/Portland?

Power companies? recommendations?

Tickets to NBA games. What do you as locals recommend as good seats and season tickets gone except $4500ones! When do you normally buy these. Any advise would be great!

Garage sales. For household goods..Any experts in the field got any favorite areas where they recommend doing the rounds. Where are these best advertised?

Initial arrival accomodation? Hotel/Lodging until accomodation arranged. Say at $80pn max for family of four(1 infant, 1 child)

Rental cars at good price for family of four? Say for 7 days.

Thanks everyone!

[Leisesturm]

G'day. I am only going to deal with your first question for now to start the ball rolling. I have been out of the new/used car market now for a long time. Really ask yourself why you would need one in a place like Sellwood. Even Beaverton. I think it would be very hard to find a 5 year old vehicle under 10k with only 60k miles. I have had the best luck by simply going to a dealer. When I bought at an auction or saw someones ride with a 'for sale' sign in the back window thats when I got hosed. There are TONS of dealerships for late model and used cars. TONS. But, as I already suggested, I think you would be well served to put wheels on the back burner. Cars cost 6k/yr to fuel, insure and keep in good repair. Think of how many trips to Outback Steakhouse that will buy!

H

[Lilly12103]

As far as the car issue, I would only buy from a dealership unless you know the person you are buying from. Period. You'll be able to test drive it around the streets, but I'm pretty sure you'll need a US license.

I just moved here so I'll let the more seasoned vets jump in with housing suggestions.

You don't have a choice of power company. Where you live dictates where your power is from.

For groceries the biggest chain out here is Fred Meyer. It is a supermarket, nothing special about it. I think it is big, but then again I'm not sure what you are comparing against.

For consumer issues there is the Better Business Bureau (BBB) or Consumers Reports... there is nothing a quick google search won't turn up thousands of reviews for, not like there is a central repository we only go to.

Check Craigslist or the local papers for garage sales. Or just drive around on a sunny Saturday through the 'burbs.

Hope this helps a bit, and good luck with your move!

[EnricoV]

NBA games--you should be able to pick up tickets throughout the season for all but the "big" games. Get on a waiting list for tickets for next season, if you want to buy the whole package. I know this year, they were advertising 11-game packages rather than the whole 44. Get the seats you can afford, as close to the floor as you can. The end zones are cheaper, and I actually prefer them to center court seats.

Grocery (and other) stores-- If you are in the suburbs, the stores are all larger. Within the city, not as big, since land is more at a premium.

Public transport--An annual pass for Tri-Met (the transportation system) is $946 for the full range of the system. $89 for monthly. Prices go by zone. If you don't have so far to go, you don't pay as much. It's generall cost effective if you're making a trip to and from work, five days a week. The rest is gravy. Kids tickets are much less. Check out Tri-Met's webpage.

Housing--I'd say look for housing nearest where you'll be working. That may be why they recommended Beaverton.

Initial arrival accomodation--Look for "extended stay" places near where you're looking to locate. In Beaverton/Hillsboro they'll be less expensive than in town, and probably down around the $80. cost.

[kiwiguy]

Thanks so much everyone! Great to get ideas and brain storming in motion! Keep them coming.
Another question;(I know, oh not another one!lol)
Medical insurance for a family? What do you recommend? My position starts in the new year and it doesnt include medical as its a contract position. I want to have cover for us as I hear medical costs are really expensive.
By the way my family and I received our immigrant visa through the lottery and will await for our greencards when we arrive next month. How long did people wait on this? Thanks! I want to sit state licenses for my position but I cant until I get green card. Will arrange SSN day after we arrive and open a bank account.
What bank(s) do you recommend?

Applying for apartments- anyone struck problems with applying for this prior to obtaining green card? I have been thinking as the history from my family is non existent in US, that the info from american consulate will be in place once green card issued. What do you think?
Man, its so good having this place. I feel like I got heaps of bros and sis's out there looking after me. Thanks again!

[Leisesturm]

I have to tell you, its a little surreal reading your earnest posts about coming to America. Australia is one of the places I might actually think about going to if things ever got to the point where I had to think about something like that which I really try not to think about. I don't think there is news censorship in Australia. This is not meant to be demeaning or condescending but insuring yourself is a non-starter. If your employer has no recommendations then for me at least it would be a deal-breaker. But thats me. Figure $600 or more American dollars per month. I couldn't consider it but I don't know what business you are in. I read recently that 100 banks will fail in the next two years. There are five that are expected to be more stable than most. Washington Mutual despite their troubles is expected to survive as is US Bancorp (US Bank). It isn't your citizenship that will be a factor, your credit rating is what will need to be easily verified by anyone in a position to offer housing.

H

[Minervah]

Please do in-depth research on the health insurance. It is extremely expensive and often does not cover everything you need. If you or anyone in your family has a pre-existing condition, chances are it won't be covered.
I worked in group health for many years so I am not an expert on individual which would be what you are seeking but I can tell you that if you are not prepared for the high cost, you might have to go without and medical expenses in the US are astronomical.

[Nell Plotts]

Probably you should contact Kaiser Permanente or Providence Health Care for a quote. With kids Kaiser is hard to beat. Health insurance in the US is VERY expensive. You may want to re-think the offer.


Explore buying health insurance in NZ that you could use here.

[kiwiguy]

Hi! Thanks for the advice so far.
As Im self employed the position doesnt cover health care. I hope that if my wife works perhaps her company will cover us for insurance. Any ideas on this?
Thanks!

I have heard that connecting some utilities and cellphones requires large cash securitys for new immigrants. Any advice on where to go for cellphones? A fellow data forum person talked to me about how they paid $1000 for them to connect two phones with AT&T!

Regards

Shaar

[Nell Plotts]

Why don't you ask them by e-mail?

My family uses Verizon cell service. Their customer service has been excellent. If you will be purchasing cable TV and their internet service consider internet telephone. That would be cheapest for international calls.

Make sure your wife's visa gives her authorization to work.