From Nashville to MS to Detroit and now Oregon? Really? (Portland: sales, crime)

[southernb]

As you can see in the title, I grew up in Nashville. Got married, husband got transferred and we lived in God awful MS for 2 long years. Hated it enough that husband got new job in Detroit of all places. A recruiter has been contacting him about a job in Hillsboro that sounds interesting. So we are looking into the area and are a little overwhelmed because the farthest west either of us has been is Texas.

We are looking for a suburban area that has a small community feel. Excellent schools are top priority as well as safe for families with young children! Oh, and I need a grocery store and a Target close by!!! Where should we focus our efforts? We have always had to drive everywhere (public transp was never available as an option).

Think you can help, please!!!!!! The Township we live in now has 6,000 people but we are sandwiched between very large cities like Ann Arbor and Detroit.

Weather is not a factor, love the many gray days we have here in the North and hate the hot weather of the south.I've always been more of a forest and woods type than sand and beach so I would love to have mountain views.

Thank you so much for your time as I know every variation of this question has been asked a million times. I have poured over these boards and see that Beaverton is recommended a lot but I think the commute might be too long. I need to shut up and stop rambling. Thank you thank you thank you!

[DreamWeavin]

I feel your pain. I was born in Ms. and after I left that gawd awful state I moved to Alabama---same difference. Hot,humid,redneck areas with torrential rain, hurricanes..........but I digress..........
Don't be afraid to try a new area. NOTHING is worse than Ms--trust me.

As for which area..............you need to research using internet resources or visit the area. In any event--I can vouch that it's a lovely area. I live in Newberg and drive to Portland,Hillsboro,Beaverton,Tualatin,Tigard,Sherw ood,etc. all the time in just a matter of minutes.
This past Friday I left Newberg at 5pm(rush hour everywhere in the world!!) to go to downtown Portland to the theater to see comedian Lewis Black( lots of great headliners come to Portland).......anyway I stayed on 99W instead of taking the interstate and made it downtown in less than 25 minutes in all that traffic.

[Rob Allen]

For a safe small community near Hillsboro, I'd look at Forest Grove. It's on the away-from-Portland side of Hillsboro, toward the Coast Range and the ocean. The biggest thing in town is Pacific University - Forest Grove, Oregon . Search this forum and the other parts of city-data.com; there's lots of information.

[southernb]

Thanks for the info so far! I looked at the houses in Forest Grove on Realtor.com and they seemed older and the land looked more open than woodsy. Is this correct? I am having a difficult time with the cost of living calculators. The salary offered is about the same as he is making here, but I find vast differences in the calculators. Some say 17% more expensive, some say less expensive. How do I know what is accurate??

[DreamWeavin]

Originally Posted by southernb

Thanks for the info so far! I looked at the houses in Forest Grove on Realtor.com and they seemed older and the land looked more open than woodsy. Is this correct? I am having a difficult time with the cost of living calculators. The salary offered is about the same as he is making here, but I find vast differences in the calculators. Some say 17% more expensive, some say less expensive. How do I know what is accurate??

not sure about the calculators. There is no sales tax here though. Cost of living is cheaper,to me, than in Al. or Ms. and I base that on utility cost,groceries, the basics.

[philwithbeard]

Hi SouthernB:

I moved to Portland from Michigan not too long ago so here goes:

1- Food prices will shock you, especially beef and pork prices. Expect to pay 75 cents per pound more for ground beef here in Portland across the board. But know this, most Portlanders I have meet so far don't consume as much meat as people in Detroit I knew did. The lack of large waist lines on the majority of the population will also be very noticeable to you.. A lot more of the population are actually semi-physically fit. It will be very noticeable to you, the reduced wast lines from Detroit.

2 - People in Portland talk about crime in certain places in and around Portland, but compared to Places in the Inner city of Detroit, well, be kind and courteous and don't fall down laughing at the Portland locals when they remark about the crime levels.

3 - Housing costs, there are places in Portland like Souther Oakland Country with Post War housing, say Ferndale or Hazel Park. There are a few places with Grand Old Homes like just of Woodward in Royal Oak, and even better than that. But there are still a lot of 21st century suburban housing developments like Western Oakland county. Prices very comparable to last winter, but a lot cheaper than Detroit was say 4 years ago when the housing market was crazy and wild.

4 - Portland city itself is very not car friendly. The Mass Transit system is just stellar compared to anything you have experienced before, and just unimaginable compared to SE Michigan's Mass Transit system. A family can really survive with only one car, and you can use the great TriMet system.

5 - All of Portland and local area is very focused on Education, Lots of small colleges and learning. Not big education factories like Ann Arbor and U of M. Most of the kids schools are better than most of the souther Macomb and Souther Oakland schools. Not the big huge disparity between school districts as in SE Michigan. You don't really see the social-economic stratification and suburban flight you see so often in the Middle of the country between the mountain ranges.

6 - Be sure to Google Map the Portland area, and hit the Terrain button. There are hills, bluffs, rivers, and geography to deal with. Cheap housing on the flats, really expensive on hills with views of Mt Hood.

7 - Portland city is about neighborhoods; each has its own uniqueness. Suburbs are suburbs. Get the Detroit housing stratification out of your mind. Wholly different here. It is also much more politically liberal here.

8 - Oregon has passed a law, consumers CANNOT pump their own gasoline. Gas Station attendant must pump the gas. State Law. Still bothers me after living in Detroit. Gas prices reflect added labor cost by a few pennies per gallon. Not much, but the cost is there.

9 - Electric Utility cost is cheaper. Big electric generation dam on Columbia River, and unlike Detroit Edison, local Electric companies are not stuck paying to clean up old ancient Fission Power Plant by passing on costs of clean up to consumers.

10 - Your Kroger Grocery discount shoppers card will work with local Fred Meyers Grocery Stores. Different that Meijer's you know. Once you get here, search out your nearest WinCo food store and Alberson's. You will need an Alberson's shoppers card.

11 - Macy's took over local Department stores, just like they took over the remains of Hudson's, or Marshall Fields I guess it was near the end. Prices about the same. Suburban Malls are all the same everywhere. But Gosh, they are much smaller than Detroit, or Chicago. You can actually walk an entire mall without feeling you are doing a mini-marathon.

12 - The biggest surprise is the food portions in restaurants are actually sized for the modern family and it's activity level. No longer food portions aimed at construction workers or other people who burn 4 or 5 thousand calories a day.

13 - Did I mention it is safe in most places in and around Portland?

You can actually live cheaper here in Portland depending on your choice of housing and entertainment choices than in most parts of Detroit. But Portland is smaller, and a lot less crowded that SE Michigan. Roads are narrow, but there is a lot less traffic because so many use the excellent bus service, which is BTW still a bus service for the Mass.

HTH

Phil

[DreamWeavin]

regarding above^ posters #8 - Oregon has passed a law, consumers CANNOT pump their own gasoline. Gas Station attendant must pump the gas. State Law. Still bothers me after living in Detroit. Gas prices reflect added labor cost by a few pennies per gallon. Not much, but the cost is there.

I always LOL-really hard that it bothers anyone that someone can and does pump gas for you which means for the consumer(A) not getting out of the car in all and varying kinds of weather (B) provides a job for others and I have paid much higher prices for gas while living in other states while pumping my own gas.

[Cornerguy1]

Originally Posted by DreamWeavin

regarding above^ posters #8 - Oregon has passed a law, consumers CANNOT pump their own gasoline. Gas Station attendant must pump the gas. State Law. Still bothers me after living in Detroit. Gas prices reflect added labor cost by a few pennies per gallon. Not much, but the cost is there.

I always LOL-really hard that it bothers anyone that someone can and does pump gas for you which means for the consumer(A) not getting out of the car in all and varying kinds of weather (B) provides a job for others and I have paid much higher prices for gas while living in other states while pumping my own gas.

Let's save the gas pumping debate for another thread

[southernb]

Phil- You absolutely rock! Thank you so much for taking the time to help me out! SO much great info. I was actually getting a negative vibe about Portland after reading so many many threads but you have turned it around for me. Yeah Phil!

[figmalt]

If you have a job in Hillsboro, chances are that you will not want to live in Portland unless you really want the city vibe. I think Forest Grove or North Plains are good suggestions, as is Hillsboro itself. I lived in Beaverton for 3 years, and Hillsboro for 12, and still prefer Hillsboro to Beaverton. Most new lots won't have a lot of mature trees if you're looking for the 'forest' feel, but check out areas like Jackson School, Shute Road, and areas around Turner Creek Park if you want more trees.