It's final! Relocating to Portland...

[Nell Plotts]

Frankly I would recommend renting from a property management company or in a building that is all rentals. My concern is that a property owner not in the rental business has mortgaged it to the hilt and may default. I anticipate that in the next two months Notices of Default will increase significantly.

[ukiyo-e]

I just returned a couple days ago from a house-hunting trip to Portland and Port Townsend, WA. As some of you who have read the Portland forum for awhile know, I've long been considering relocating to Portland since I have a set of close friends there. I can work my present job by telecommuting, so that wasn't an issue.

However, after this trip, I've permanently deleted Portland from my list, and I'm about 90% certain I'll be moving to Port Townsend instead. I lived in San Francisco for 18 years and the DC area my entire life before that, and now that I live in a smaller college town, I've come to realize that I just don't find the amenities of a city enough compensation for the downsides. Add to that my disappointment at the homes I looked at in SE Portland in the 400K range (I don't "do" suburbs, though I know they're cheaper), and Port Townsend, with its better weather (this takes some by surprise, but it's true), less expensive housing, marine coastline and views, great restaurants and cafes, fairly short traipse into Seattle for day or weekend trips, and quick escape to picturesque rural areas, and by the time I drove back into Portland and got stuck in traffic, saw the dirtier air, heard a drunken fight in the middle of the night outside my friends' house in a supposedly quiet SE neighborhood...well, I just couldn't see it, for me. Yes, they live around the corner from a store that sells 100 kinds of expensive olive oil, and the food co-op in Port Townsend only has about 20, but I imagine I'll survive.

Portland is a great city - one of the very few besides San Francisco which I would ever consider living in again - but for this semi-retiring person, it's just going to remain "a great place to visit."

So, goodbye Portland forum, and thanks to all who have provided information over the past couple years!

[Explorer Dave]

Good luck to you angelbug. For me, I live in a small town now and am not nearly ready to retire I desperately long to get back to a nice larger city.

I have looked some at New England, lots of wonderful smaller towns, if I was seeking a small town, that is where I would go. But the bigger cities don't hold the appeal for me that Portland, Seattle, or Vancouver BC do. The Northwest has three really great cities.

New England is also missing the mountains and towering Douglas fir trees!

[Nell Plotts]

I presently live in Kitsap County and know Port Townsend. Please rent for a year before you buy. The weather is not as nice as you think and travel to Seattle is no cake walk, it is NOT a fairly short traipse to Seattle. RENT, RENT, RENT for a year. Bellingham would be a much better option, or Bainbrige Island (yes you can find a home for $400,000 there today), Poulsbo or Kingston.

You sound like my son and his wife right after they graduated from the Maritime Acadamy and wanted to move to Maine. As pretty as a postcard, BUT..

[jasminetea3]

As someone who has ridden the bus many times from 1st and Arthur to NW, taking the 17 is a pretty straight shot - and about a 20-25 minute bus ride (no transfers, though, which is great). It runs about every 15 minutes for the most part - more like every 10 during rush hour. Here's a link to the schedule:

TriMet: 17-Holgate/NW 21st Weekday To Holgate & 134th Dr

1st and Arthur is one of the stops, even though it's not listed. In NW, the 17 line runs mostly along NW 21st.

Hope that helps. Best of luck in your apartment search!

[kander63]

I think you'd probably be fine living in NW, but realize that it's not quite Wicker Park - it's a little more mainstream and yuppier. (I'm an ex-Chicagoan living in Portland so I do have knowledge of both cities).

I think someone already said this, but the closest to Wicker Park here is probably Alberta St., which is in Northeast. If you are going to commute to work on public transit, that would probably be too much of a hassle. You can hang out there on the weekends though.

In my opinion, I think you should consider Southeast Portland. You could possibly bike to work, and if you lived near a bus line the commute shouldn't be too bad. You would get more for your money than in NW, and the vibe would be closer to Wicker Park than NW would be, although there is nothing in Portland that has the density or intensity of Chicago. Once you get used to it here I think you'll love it.

Good luck with your move!