Portland vs. Beaverton (Aloha: live in, housing, ferry)

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by DreamWeavin

seriously I still can't tell where one starts and the other begins.
Seems like everything just runs together.

But these days that is most cities and most suburbs. But Portland does seem much worse, mostly because all the outward growth westwards started in the same 15-20 year time frame.

[Élan vital]

Originally Posted by hamellr

But these days that is most cities and most suburbs. But Portland does seem much worse, mostly because all the outward growth westwards started in the same 15-20 year time frame.

true....was just saying I couldn't tell you ,when I'm out and about, if I'm in Beaverton,Portland,Hillsdale,Aloha, etc......... wish I could-but I can't.

[HonuMan]

I live in Beaverton, and while I wouldn't describe it as having any hip areas, I don't loathe it the way some people do. I moved here in 1999 because I wanted to buy a house, and I couldn't afford anything closer to downtown Portland. I chose it over other suburbs because I worked in high-tech at the time, and most of the high-tech companies were in Washington county.

I agree with philwithbeard about Hillsdale and Multnomah Village: both are nice areas and have some character. The area west of I-5 and east of 217 has a lot of midcentury houses in the $250-400K price range, many with mature landscaping, and some with quarter- or even half-acre lots, if that's important to you.

The eastside of Portland is hipper and more diverse, and I've found more of a sense of community there. The downsides are that you get less house for your money because you're paying to be close to Portland, you may have to spend more on repairs because the houses are older, and property taxes are higher. Most lots are 5,000 square feet or less, which is a plus if you don't like yardwork, and a minus if you want more space and privacy.

My wife and I probably will leave Beaverton once the housing market improves, because we both work in downtown Portland now, and our kids are grown and no longer need to be in Beaverton's excellent school system. We go back and forth between the I-5/217 area on the westside and one of the close-in but affordable eastside neighborhoods. There is a lot of variety in housing price and vibe from neighborhood to neighborhood on both sides of town, so you really need to do a lot of exploring before you buy. We've found gorgeous and affordable pockets of houses in otherwise unremarkable neighborhoods.

[mxpl]

I am interested in moving to the Portland area in a few years and Beaverton sounds like a nice compromise between being in the city and being too far away.
What is the character of Beaverton? Can I walk to a restaurant at night (safety and distance)? Are there nice cafes where I can spend an hour reading the paper? Is there a "main street" where a person can walk and widow shop? Malls close by? Bicycle paths throughout the town? Who are the major employers?
Any info would be appreciated.

[juggler]

Originally Posted by mxpl

I am interested in moving to the Portland area in a few years and Beaverton sounds like a nice compromise between being in the city and being too far away.
What is the character of Beaverton? Can I walk to a restaurant at night (safety and distance)? Are there nice cafes where I can spend an hour reading the paper? Is there a "main street" where a person can walk and widow shop? Malls close by? Bicycle paths throughout the town? Who are the major employers?
Any info would be appreciated.

Beaverton is typical suburbia, USA. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Most restaurants you will have to drive to, although it's certainly possible to live within walking distance of some of them. There is no main street where you can "walk and window shop"; you'll have to go to downtown Portland for that. There are several malls close by: Washington Square at the southeast corner, Tannesbourne at the northwest corner, and Bridgeport Village a few miles south of town. Lots of bicycle paths and bike lanes throughout the city. Major employers are Nike, Tektronix, Columbia Sportswear and Intel ( a few miles to the west in Hillsboro).

[HonuMan]

As with many suburbs here that grew and sprawled around an original town, there is an "old town" Beaverton: several blocks of old buildings that have been converted to shops and restaurants. Offhand, I know that the restaurants include Mexican, Thai, and Korean. The downtown core is centered around two streets that change names: Farmington Road (Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway) and Canyon Road (Tualatin Valley Highway), just west of Highway 217. There is also a fairly large park that has a nice farmer's market every Saturday during the summer. There are modest older houses south of this downtown area from which you can walk to the shops, restaurant, and park. If you head in other directions from downtown, you'll find strip shopping centers, auto dealerships, and progressively newer housing developments. If you stripped away all the newer development, you'd be left with a very small old town (as opposed to, say, the town of McMinnville, which has a large, impressive core area of historic buildings). Calling downtown Beaverton "quaint and charming" would be pushing it (I'd never put it on a list of must-see attractions for visitors), but it's okay.

Really, it comes down to this: If you prefer urban living and hip/funky/trendy neighborhoods with lots of diversity, and you dislike suburbia on general principle, then Beaverton (and every other suburb in the area) will disappoint you. If you're fine with suburbia and recognize that it has advantages that are important to many people (lower population density, more open spaces, lower housing prices, lower property taxes, good school system), then I'd recommend Beaverton. Downtown Portland is only 20 minutes away from downtown Beaverton, so it's easy to get into the city for a culture fix.

As for safety, Beaverton in its entirety covers a large area, and there are pockets of poverty and gang activity, but overall, it's quite safe. I live in a modest, safe, quiet neighborhood at the western edge of Beaverton, about 10 minutes from the old downtown. You can get a small, 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom house built in the 1980s for about $220,000. We have the added technological advantages of underground utilities (which means we rarely have power outages, and there are no ugly power lines to look at) and high-speed Verizon FiOS Internet and TV service, if that's important to you.

Hope that helps!

[mxpl]

Great response. Thanks.

[NWkat]

There are great pockets all over the Portland metro area. Once you live here, you'll see what I mean. So to begin with, it really will depend on your perception of "hip". If it's the cute little trendy neighborhoods, inner Portland has them on both the east & west sides. (East & West is separated by the Willamette river which runs through downtown Portland. North & South is separated by Burnside Street.) I've always been partial to the Lake Oswego or West Linn area, which has some very upscale & expensive housing, but also moderately priced housing. What I love about L.O. is the quaint downtown area with upscale trendy shopping, but also Mom & Pop shops & some great restaurants, and a lake to play on. It also has the best school district in the area. It has a small community vibe, yet is very close to downtown as well as freeway access to the east & west sides. Be sure to check it out, and some of the inner neighborhoods as well such as Sellwood, Hawthorne, Alameda, Laurelhurst, Beaumont, Pearl District, etc.

Best of luck in your search & I hope you find exactly what you're looking for!

[John Shaft]

To all the nuts that avoid Beaverton: thank you. I can go to the Beaverton Farmer's Market and buy great produce in peace, without having to be screamed at by freaks supporting basically incoherent causes. No one urinates on the market grounds. There's no huddled tweakers with crazy eyes looking like they might just snap and charge at you with a sharp object. Our mayor isn't eying all the young kids doing their internships, there's actually diversity of opinion rather than "you MUST be a certain kind of socialist or else you're probably a Fox-News-Watching, Bush supporting hate monger" and you can actually afford a house with a backyard that doesn't require $100K in improvements after you've already dumped $450K in buying the thing.

On the other hand, in Beaverton it IS virtually impossible for me to sit around with my fellow un/underemployed 20-something trustifarians and be proud of how cool I am. So I guess there is that trade-off.

Still, thanks.

[radha324]

so u think its good to live in beaverton, or portland