Moving To PDX in February (Portland, Beaverton: low income, real estate, crime)

[amandap]

Well that would be my ideal situation, but i'm a social worker and they don't pay me the kind of money to pay for an extended stay hotel room, as for the temporary living situation, i'm looking around making some inquiries, but not much luck

[Leisesturm]

A Motel 6 on the extended rate plan is more than rent? I'm not sure about that. Anything else you might work out, a roomate, apt share, SRO, etc. is going to lock you into some kind of committment. If you really want to be alone you're going to have to cough up the dollars. It's a pretty tight rental market right now even if landlords won't admit it. It just might be possible to get something rented sight unseen. It isn't the landlord that's taking a risk its you! Google streetview is your friend for scoping out the neighborhood from a distance but Google has its limitations when it comes to finding out what temperature the master thermostat is set at.

H

[meltinjohn]

Heh, I know I wouldnt mind NE Portland where the max line is. I hate the lame suburbs so much and like Portland so much so even if I am not in the best part of Portland, Id be happier for sure.

[EnricoV]

Buses generally are affected by weather maybe a few days a year, and of course, in the hills. Like Mt. Tabor. Heck, MAX too can be affected by the weather. I wouldn't factor that in at all.

There are a couple of extended stay B&B type places that aren't as expensive as the extended stay hotels. But still would be more than the $700 a month rent. Check Craigslist for those.

My only thought as to suggest bus lines is, housing along the MAX lines tends to be more expensive, simply because it is more convenient. As it does in the hills (where weather might affect the schedules a couple times a year). Choosing a location for an easier bus commute would probably get more apartment for the dollar than MAX would.

[wandering hillbilly]

Try south of Powell and east of Reed College - say the Woodstock area, or even better near 39th and Holgate. As cities go, there are no bad areas in Portland, only slightly cheaper ones with worse paint jobs. You can find an apartment for below 800, and if you like to ride your bike it's only a 5 mile ride on the Springwater corridor. Or a 35 min bus ride to downtown on the #17. Hillsboro or Gresham would likely be a dissapointment for a young up and comer. Relish the poverty.

[wandering hillbilly]

I forgot to add: please do not listen to those who say the buses are unreliable. Use them. Portland has an excellent public transit system - better than most cities - and weather is (as EnricoV states) RARELY an issue. In the last few years, yes, we have had some crazy snow days, but c'mon guys, really?

[Leisesturm]

I said busses are unreliable and they are. I use them. But I prefer MAX. I agree Portland has an excellent transit system, I am only referring to the busses. Most operate on a 20 minute window at peak times. A few operate on a 15 minute window. That is roughly the same as MAX but in my relatively short time in using Trimet I have had several 30+ minute waits for busses because a bus had to be taken out of service. And because I am new here and don't always know exactly where I am going I am surprised when even the bus driver doesn't know where a given stop is. I can't always see the road signs from inside the bus. I admit it. Its my personal bias. Busses get me to those places that are too far off the MAX route, even then, if its less than a mile I'll walk.

H

[amandap]

Well and i might be able to afford more rent, but right now this is what i anticipate spending out of my budget. i'm getting a bit of a bump with my new job, but exactly what my COLA will look like expenditure wise, i don't know. i've actually seen a few things down town that i'm going to pop up and look at next week as well as a friend of a friend who's offered me a place if i don't find something that suites me. I guess i'm not worried about safety as much as i am about inhibiting my independence. coming from a small town i rarely think about tromping about somewhere on my own and don't want that to change. i've been checking Craigslist and have every person i know in portland keeping an open ear for me. i want to use the transit system, walk, bike etc... that's great in my town our bus runs from 7-4. you can walk or bike but you'd be going forever basedon how spread out everything is. so that's a big appeal to me. plus i hate driving. anywho, what i'm looking at is this:

plymouth apartments, the commodore, king towers (maybe) and an apartment over by psu. there are some things i might check out in multnomah village but we'll see. any feed back on those neighborhoods?

[Leisesturm]

Maybe it's me, but if I were getting an income bump the last thing I would want to do with it is give it to a landlord or property conglomerate to add to their bottom line. They don't need the cash, you do. Maybe someone else knows otherwise but is there any float in those apartment complex rates? Do you like apartment complex living? I could tell you more about those buildings if you had street addresses. Their names mean little. I personally would not like anything situated on an east/west boulevard like Division or Powell or Foster. Smaller north/south streets of which there are sixty or more between downtown and north Mt. Tabor are much better for relative quiet. You say you don't know neighborhoods and streets. You will be a much better appraiser of properties if you learn them. Elsewhere people have given their favorites of the many, many sites that list Portlands' neighborhoods and describes their characteristics. Probably if you Google "Portland neighborhoods" you will learn something useful.

H

[amandap]

Two of them are on sw 21st and the other one is on like sw morrison or some such nonsense right across from PGE park. the only other complex i lived in wasn't too bad, but it was more like duplexs side to side.