Single Mom of Toddler Moving to Portland - Where to live? (Hillsboro: apartments, rent)

[sboender]

Hi,
I scored a great job that will have me working on Couch street right downtown in November. I am all about paying off my student loans so I want to keep it cheap, yet not commute for longer than half an hour. Am I crazy? I do not plan to buy a house and I was thinking about living in Washington so I do not have to pay income tax. I'd love to keep my rent in the 800-900 range for a 2 bedroom. My daughter will be four when we get there and I thought about having her at the YMCA pre-school down town.

Just looking for some general insight and suggestions. Is it feasible to take public transportation from the Washington side in a reasonable amount of time?

Also about the rain, is it a constant state of drizzle that is bearable to walk in or sideways downpours that make umbrella's useless? If so I cant drag my kid on the train :-)

Thanks,

S

[Rob Allen]

If you work in Oregon, you will pay Oregon income tax even if you live in Washington. Transit from Washington is available, but the bridge is a major traffic bottleneck. You'll never be sure when you'll arrive, morning or evening. So staying in Oregon is probably the better idea.

The rain here is almost always drizzle rather than downpour. People go out without an umbrella not because they're tough or crazy, but because it usually isn't needed.

I just went to the apartment search page at Oregon Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - OregonLive.com and searched for 2-bedroom apartments in Portland in the $800-900 range and it came up with 78 possibilities. So you should be able to find what you seek. When you've narrowed it down a bit, post here again and we can help steer you to the better neighborhoods.

Congratulations on finding a good job in a great city!

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by sboender

Hi,
I scored a great job that will have me working on Couch street right downtown in November. I am all about paying off my student loans so I want to keep it cheap, yet not commute for longer than half an hour. Am I crazy? I do not plan to buy a house and I was thinking about living in Washington so I do not have to pay income tax. I'd love to keep my rent in the 800-900 range for a 2 bedroom. My daughter will be four when we get there and I thought about having her at the YMCA pre-school down town.

Just looking for some general insight and suggestions. Is it feasible to take public transportation from the Washington side in a reasonable amount of time?

Also about the rain, is it a constant state of drizzle that is bearable to walk in or sideways downpours that make umbrella's useless? If so I cant drag my kid on the train :-)

Thanks,

S

If you earn your wages in Oregon, you'll have to pay Oregon income taxes, wherever you live.

Public transportation from Vancouver will take longer than your half-hour wish.

As for rain-- it does neither. When it rains, it's usually a drizzle. But it's not constant.

Given your work location, etc., my first choice of an area in which to live would be somewhere in the Laurelhurst, Kerns or even Buckman area. That's fairly close-in on the east side, and a short bus ride over the river. Buckman's got a real good reputation as far as schools go, and seems to be a fairly kid-friendly area.

If you need to head to the suburbs to find more affordable housing, I think the commute would be best from the west (out towards Hillsboro). You'd have MAX to take you downtown, and I think it'd be a nicer area in which to live. My first recommendation is almost always Milwaukie, for it's affordability and family friendliness, but it'd be a harder commute, until the planned light rail makes it out that way in a few years.

[Nell Plotts]

You have a toddler, one of your major expenses will be child care!!! Good child care isn't cheap, I would focus on that first. If nothing else you can share a bedroom with your child just to assure that s/he is safe and happy while you are at work.

The absolute best child care is at Fruit and Flower (unless you can get in to NIKE's employee child care center) but it is expensive. There is a child care center across from the North Park Blocks. There is an all day preschool at the Linnton Community Center. I am a grand-mother and NW Portland focused. Others can probably give you good advice.

[sboender]

Thanks so much for the tips - bummer about the taxes, though I thought that sounded too good to be true! I will be printing your suggestions out to bring with me for sure - Thanks again :-)

[sayulita]

Just in case you don't know yet, Couch is pronounced "Cooch". Also you might want to look at the close-in West side to live. That way you avoid a bridge crossing twice a day. I think you will find plenty of apts. in your price range. I agree with the above that Vancouver would not be a good choice for a short commute.

[MilwMom]

I have lived in Oregon my whole life & now we are raising our son. We lived in the Woodstock neighborhood and he attended the YMCA daycare for years. It is one of the best daycare programs around, and VERY afforadable.
Recently we moved to Milwaukie, becasue North Clackamas has better schools, and I commute to Downtown Portland for work. Milwaukie is a great community, especially for familes & children. The communte is not bad at all about 30-45 minutes from King Rd. area to Downtown Portland.
Lots of great options.
SW side of Portland has way too much traffic problems & no sense of order in the layout.