Considering commutes - info on Woodburn to Hillsboro? (Portland, Salem: house, buy)

[quiz1]

Hello-

We are narrowing our search to Scappoose, McMinnville, and whatever resales come up in Hillsboro/Forest Grove and parts near.

So far, the best commute to Hillsboro is Scappoose. We are more partial to McMinnville and plan to go up Hwy 47 to Forest Grove, east to Hillsboro, and that apparently will take about 45-55 min.

We already gave up on anything east of I-5 because of what we thought would be terrible commutes to Hillsboro BUT are possibly re-considering because well, we want to spend less and Google maps said a commute from Woodburn would be 55 min - comparible to McMinnville.

But would going up I-5 and 217 be a nightmare? I don't think we'll get the chance to drive it ourselves like we did the McMinnville drive.

[Stonecoldharbours]

From what I hear you have to be careful where you buy in the east side, not that there are not nice areas but its generally not as nice as the SW and NW side. And then you have to use the bridge to get over to the other side and its back up? I am also looking into some of the same areas as you are here, Esp Forest Grove, seems like a nice place, and I think the schools are good but I am not real sure, as my notes are not with me at the present time, its hard to look when your on the east coast, but thankfully there are some nice people out there who help out like on these forums!

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by quiz1

Hello-

We are narrowing our search to Scappoose, McMinnville, and whatever resales come up in Hillsboro/Forest Grove and parts near.

So far, the best commute to Hillsboro is Scappoose. We are more partial to McMinnville and plan to go up Hwy 47 to Forest Grove, east to Hillsboro, and that apparently will take about 45-55 min.

We already gave up on anything east of I-5 because of what we thought would be terrible commutes to Hillsboro BUT are possibly re-considering because well, we want to spend less and Google maps said a commute from Woodburn would be 55 min - comparible to McMinnville.

But would going up I-5 and 217 be a nightmare? I don't think we'll get the chance to drive it ourselves like we did the McMinnville drive.

During rush hours, you won't get anywhere near those commute times. The TV Hwy (Tualatin Valley Highway) is not exactly a freeway. 217, I-5 and 26 all have major traffic issues - although you'd be going the opposite direction of traffic for a bit, too.

I'd suggest moving in near where you work and setting your house size expectations lower than I would moving out further and getting more commute and more house for your money. In the low-to-mid 200s, you can find something reasonable in Forest Grove, and you're not going to do much better than that unless you live WAY out somewhere.

Forest Grove is a nice little mostly-self-contained city, too, not just a commuter dot on the highway.

[quiz1]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

During rush hours, you won't get anywhere near those commute times. The TV Hwy (Tualatin Valley Highway) is not exactly a freeway. 217, I-5 and 26 all have major traffic issues - although you'd be going the opposite direction of traffic for a bit, too.

I'd suggest moving in near where you work and setting your house size expectations lower than I would moving out further and getting more commute and more house for your money. In the low-to-mid 200s, you can find something reasonable in Forest Grove, and you're not going to do much better than that unless you live WAY out somewhere.

Forest Grove is a nice little mostly-self-contained city, too, not just a commuter dot on the highway.

Thanks for the info! I'd love to get a smaller house (as long as that meant lower price too) but we have a growing family and the possibility of having to move MIL in with us in the near future......We are still looking for a resale in the Forest Grove/Hillsboro area, since on average they are bigger w/ bigger lots, but nothing has come up yet that meets our needs.
As for low to mid 200's - so far not in my experience for what we need!! :-) But we'll keep looking as long as we can, unfortunately we don't have a whole lot of time to wait. It would be great to have a whole summer to search but we have to move and start work rather quickly. Pick up market!! :-)

[kavaXtreme]

I'm sure you've long since made your move, but for others reading this with similar questions, I thought I'd throw in my two cents.

I live in Woodburn, and my experience is that you'd definitely be looking at a 55min commute on days with no traffic at all. On regular weekdays you might save a little time going through Sherwood, but it's still a long drive.

Woodburn is a great place to live commuting to Salem or Portland, but Hillsboro is probably stretching it. For more info, you might be interested in this article:
http://www.hallmarkpropertiesonline.com/moving-to-portland-oregon.html