Starting a Family in Portland? (Gresham, Beaverton: rent, crime, houses)

[ucbedge]

Hi Portland Board!
My wife and I - both in our late 20's - are looking to move away from the high-stress life of Southern California (I know I know - sigh hiss boo - but we're not awful people, I promise! ). We're checking out other cities on the West Coast as a place to move to and start a family. Our favorite city that we've ever been to is Burlington, Vermont - and somebody suggested to us that if we liked Burlington, we would like Portland. So here I am.

We're flying up next weekend to check out neighborhoods and houses. Of course, as complete newbies to Oregon, we have a couple of questions:

1) Is Portland a nice area to raise children? As in, are there good schools, not serious drug problems, etc etc?

2) Any recommendations on which neighborhoods we should look? Our budget is about $350K. We're looking for some place to eventually raise a family, so while schools are important for resale value, they arent important to us near-term. We like farmer's markets and hiking/biking trails, and the idea of having more than a 0.1 acre plot is just music to my ears.

3) Probably more important than #2, is there any areas we should avoid??

3) What are property taxes like in Oregon? About 1.1% of the purchase price of the home?

4) Whats the worst commute(s) to/from downtown Portland? Ideally, I would not like to be more than a 30-minute drive (one way, including traffic) from in downtown Portland.

Thank you for all of your help! And if you need any info regarding Southern California, feel free to PM me. I'll have to pay this forward somehow.

[Nell Plotts]

With a 30 minute drive as your rule of thumb to down town you are limited to the neighborhoods surrounding the core area, basically the Portland school district and the Beaverton/Sunset schools.

You have no children yet. I strongly advise you rent first, give yourself time to find a home that meets your budget and lifestyle. There is no hurry. You could be in either Multnomah or Washington County, hard to predict what your property tax might be.. it also depends on the assessor's review cycle.

If you are concerned about crime (aka, your question about areas to avoid) there is a City website that provides data about the nature of reports by physical location.

[EnricoV]

That's not true. Milwaukie, or North Clackamas would be well within the 30 minute commute requirement (driving, that is). It's not considered the most upscale area of town, but is perfectly fine for raising a family. You may even find the larger lot-size you desire.

Personally, anywhere between I-205, out to Gresham would not be where I'd choose to buy. Barring that, within the city, I don't think you're going to find the lot-size you're looking for, in that price range.

[StealthRabbit]

Probably better check out Camas, WA too (If schools are important). There are some nice smaller communities within Portland Metro. Check out Woodstock area (SE), there should be something available in your price range.

[Nell Plotts]

Woodstock is a neighborhood in Portland. Worthy of a look.

Driving from Camas to downtown Portland will take a lot longer than 30 minutes. If driving time is a criteria it won't meet the OP needs.

I think the MLS website search has a lot size field, as well as price (and other factors). Take it for a spin.

[John Shaft]

There are areas in Beaverton where you can buy for less than $350K and get a decent lot size (by Portland standards). We paid less than that at the market peak and have about a fifth of an acre. Prices have dropped since then. You won't be able to buy newer construction, though, because of the crazy zoning where they are smashing houses up against each other...like .05 acre lots...seriously. But most of the new construction was built during the big boom where people were buying anything practically sight unseen, so I have my doubts as to the quality of the workmanship.

[Nell Plotts]

I agree about the questionable quality of new (last 5 years) construction.

[Laney Wilson]

Are you liberal hip people? Then think about Southeast or North Portland. Do you want to raise your kids with good schools? DO NOT go to Oregon, which has terrible schools in general. Go to Washington but here is the truth: south Washington is very religious and conservative, about as opposite Vermont as you can imagine. Seattle would be great but it has bad schools too (better than Portland) and it is expensive. Think about Minnesota, the Twin Cities are nice and they have terrific schools, as my brother has found moving from Oregon. Or Wisconsin, or even a midwest college town (believe it or not, a Burlington type would love living near the University of Iowa). Oregon has really bad schools and poor universities, did I mention that? Oh and by the way, anything outside of Portland proper is pretty conservative except the richest suburbs. And even the close places like Hillsboro and Gresham are a mix of poor people, gang problems and rednecks. At least Hillsboro has some ethnic diversity and educated people though.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Laney Wilson

Are you liberal hip people? ...but here is the truth: south Washington is very religious and conservative, about as opposite Vermont as you can imagine. ....

I don't think so.... but SW WA is more representative of WA populace than King County. I came from CO and WY, so find SW WA plenty liberal, and becoming much more so. Just stay away from the 2 school districts with highest scholastic concentration and you will be avoiding any conservatives in SW WA. (It is only 5% churched, same as rest of the state, and slightly more than OR, tho Beaverton has quite a few solidly conservative neighborhoods... nothing to be concerned about, the conservatives are not represented in the legislative rules that govern either state)

For WA with good schools and less fear from any conservative influence try the 'San Juan Islands'. They have really good schools.

[Laney Wilson]

Jan, I don't agree about the religious quotient of Clark County. If you go to places like Battle Ground or Hazel Dell, or the non-rich areas of Vancouver, there are a lot of religious young families. Seattle and the wealthy parts of King County are much less religious. I don't understand the "churched" information you're referring to, because on the ground you sure see a lot of small evangelical churches and a few huge churches.

Just don't expect the culture of Clark County and vancouver to be anything like the liberal areas of California, Portland or Seattle.

I think Jan is right about the San Juans, if you could find work there. You could work in Anacortes maybe.