Hi! Looking for the right town for me - Around Portland (Lake Oswego: apartment, to rent)

[Moving Lady]

Hi all!
This is my first post here. Just learned of the site and have been reading here since yesterday, lots of good info!

I've decided to move to Oregon and am trying to learn what areas would best suit my needs/desires. So, here's a synopsis of my situation:

1. Divorced, White Female, late 40's. Retired Navy. Will need to be within reasonable distance to VA Medical Facilities. I understand Portland has major facilities, so I believe somewhere on the outskirts will suffice.

2. I will not be working, so commute is not an issue. Of course, I will have my car though. I am a bookseller on ebay, so good connectivity is important. (should be a non-issue nearly everywhere now?)

3. Will be looking to rent initially, until I've decided it is the right place for me in the long-term. I don't want to live in the "City", I would much rather have a smaller town environment. I would be interested in a Townhome type place, or perhaps a cottage. 2BR/2BA type size. I want enough room outside to have a small flower garden and a porch with a swing or rocker... I'm currently paying right at $1,600 for a 2/2 apartment here. (I say this so that you're aware of my price range)

4. Things I love: Very nice, safe living. Everything Victorian, small coffee shops and book stores and antiques. Thrift/second hand stores to find old goodies! Small town environ with close access to Large City.

5. Requirements: Must be within 15 minutes of a 7-11 LOL! In other words, NOT far out... But I don't really want to hear the traffic.

So, I do have a couple of towns jotted down based on all the other threads I've been reading, but would be very interested in hearing what areas/towns ya'll would recommend based on my specifics.

I'll be moving from Southern Ca. in March. WHy? Because I've been here for over 20 years now and am ready for a change.

Thanks in advance!

[scone]

"Everything Victorian, small coffee shops and book stores and antiques. Thrift/second hand stores to find old goodies! Small town environ with close access to Large City."

Forest Grove, definitely. Possibly Multnomah Village, Aurora, Newberg, McMinnville. Maybe even Columbia County (it's cheaper), or Astoria, which is the most Victorian in the group.

[Moving Lady]

Thank you scone!

I will definately check those out!

Someone else recommended Newberg too, can't remember specifically why right now... have to look.

[Rob Allen]

There are some outlying neighborhoods in Portland that fit your criteria. Sellwood came to mind first; then Multnomah Village, which someone else mentioned, and St. Johns. Outside the city, you might like the center of Lake Oswego.

[Moving Lady]

Thank you Rob!

I've got a list going. I'll need to narrow it down to probably 3. Then I'll take a trip up there for a few days and see which one "feels" right.

I keep going back and forth on the Map, to see where these places are (compared to Portland).

Here's my list so far (in no particular order)

Forest Grove
Multnomah Village
Aurora
Newberg
McMinnville
Lake Oswego
Astoria
Sellwood
St. Johns

Are there any places on this list that you would eliminate? (for any reason; crime, drugs, bad roads, no transit, down-trodden, etc.......) My family is bi-racial, and I'm a liberal, so no judgement from here, but I would like to know what type folks predominately live in these locals.

I hope all that doesn't sound like I'm negative, cause I'm not! LOL I'm just trying to come up with everything I can think of that could sway me one way or another with these places. (gotta narrow them down somehow!)

Oh, so that brings me to the next question: How would you rate these locals for cost of living?

I'm open to hearing whatever needs to be said, so please, anyone, chime in here!

[Moving Lady]

Well, I finally found a good map site showing me where these places are... I've already eliminated some, here's my list now (in no particular order):

Multnomah Village
Newberg
Lake Oswego
Sellwood
St. Johns (can't locate this)

[EnricoV]

Like all but Newberg, St. Johns is in the Portland metropolitan area. It's at the far western tip of North Portland, east of the Willamette. If that makes sense.

A couple good websites that profile different neighborhoods are:

Moving to Portland or Portland Neighborhood.

[Moving Lady]

Thanks Enrico! Great Links, I'll be using them for sure!

[Tesaje]

Originally Posted by Moving Lady

Well, I finally found a good map site showing me where these places are... I've already eliminated some, here's my list now (in no particular order):

Multnomah Village
Newberg
Lake Oswego
Sellwood
St. Johns (can't locate this)

Lake Oswego strikes me as very much upper upscale suburban and newer. You see a lot of high price large houses and intensely manicured landscaping - more of a Bree Hodges type than a Lynnette Scavo. Quite different from Sellwood. Nothing wrong with that, but it may not fit the environment you said. It is also anything but small townish.

In my forays into the PDX city areas, some of the neighborhoods have a general feel of a distinct neighborhood more than a diffuse city. Other areas feel much more like a city. I haven't lived there, so my impressions are along the lines of visits and looking, so residents may know better.