Yards at Union Station (Portland: apartment, lease, crime)

[bukuloo]

I'm trying to narrow down the apartment hunting process but I currently reside in Florida and it's hard to gather completely accurate information from 3000 miles away. Could anyone give me any information about this apartment community or its neighborhood? I know it's next to Union Station....is the noise from the trains really that bad? What about parking? I have other questions but maybe we could start there.

[Lilly12103]

what is your budget and how many rooms do you want/need? Sorry, don't know anything about the Yards at Union Station though.

[subsound]

I've looked into the area there, I wouldn't suggest it. It's pretty near most of the missions and soup kitchens at the East side of China town, a good deal of crime and people sleeping where they can (I go by it daily on the way home from work).

They do look nice on the outside, but I would skip it for now.

[bukuloo]

here's the deal. My goal is really just to get to Oregon for now. I'm trying to save up money but I assuming that I don't have a job lined up I don't want rent to be eating up my savings. So I'm looking to find the cheapest possible place without sacrificing safety. And I admit finding a place with a washer and dryer in the unit is very important to me. I've never had to do laundry outside my home but I don't think I would like it... With picking the cheapest of places I'd also go with a short lease that way when I get their it'll give me enough time to do better research than say staying in a hotel.

[subsound]

The cheapest I've found in the city is Lloyd (actually where I live, but I have the requirement for large dogs). Paying about $500 a bedroom, still no washer/dryer in unit. There are some that are no pets with better amenities for about the same price around, but around yards (and Pearl, on the other side of the tracks) it can be about double this unless you are in an income restricted place...which takes a bit to get into.

[orrenter]

Originally Posted by bukuloo

I'm trying to narrow down the apartment hunting process but I currently reside in Florida and it's hard to gather completely accurate information from 3000 miles away. Could anyone give me any information about this apartment community or its neighborhood? I know it's next to Union Station....is the noise from the trains really that bad? What about parking? I have other questions but maybe we could start there.

I knew someone who lived there. Would visit about twice a month. Outside in the day it looks alright. At night, a tad bit creepy. I've never been around when a train was in, so I couldn't answer your question about noise from the train.

There is an area nearby on Nato Parkway where the train tracks cross the road, right beneath the bridge...it's a major homeless hangout. If you get off the lightrail I think there are only two ways to get to the yards; right by that hangout (the path happens to be on the opposite side of the street where I usually see them) or up some stairs that lead over the train tracks further down. You asked about parking however, so that may not even be a concern for you.

From what my friend told me, you have to pay for parking, and it's expensive. Renting a unit from the Yards does not get you a parking spot. I recall the pricing being something insane..like $150 a month.

There are lots of weird people that walk by, but if you ask me that's generally the Portland area populace, and if you have even an ounce of common sense in you and don't go looking for trouble, you will be fine almost anywhere you live downtown.

My friend just had a studio. It was rather small, but very well priced. He had a small outside balcony, enough to have a few plants in pots outside. It wasn't very noisy when I was there either. The building has a weird interior scent, but so do a lot of the buildings downtown. I dont know if there is a building code to use some kind of air fresheners or what.

That's about all I can remember for now.