Camas or Damascus? (sales, low crime, house)

[lizzyb]

Hi.

Can anyone give me some thoughts/comparisons between Damascus and Camas? My husband and I are going to buy a house in one of the two areas in just a few short weeks. We are relocating and the only familiarity we have with the Portland area is what I have learned on two recent trips to town.

Here are some specifics about us that may be helpful to you all:

My husband will commute daily to downtown PDX and will not be using public transportation. Once our family starts I will most likely be a stay-at-home-mom. Of course, like many families, we want a low crime area and good schools.

Specifically, I am thinking of the Orchard Lake area in Damascus as one option. However, the tax benefits of living in Washington do also appeal to us.

This forum has been very helpful! I am looking forward to your replies

[diggitydot]

Originally Posted by lizzyb

Hi.

Can anyone give me some thoughts/comparisons between Damascus and Camas? My husband and I are going to buy a house in one of the two areas in just a few short weeks. We are relocating and the only familiarity we have with the Portland area is what I have learned on two recent trips to town.

Here are some specifics about us that may be helpful to you all:

My husband will commute daily to downtown PDX and will not be using public transportation. Once our family starts I will most likely be a stay-at-home-mom. Of course, like many families, we want a low crime area and good schools.

Specifically, I am thinking of the Orchard Lake area in Damascus as one option. However, the tax benefits of living in Washington do also appeal to us.

This forum has been very helpful! I am looking forward to your replies

Be careful about posting about Camas in an Oregon forum. Apparently since it's out-of-state (but still considered a surrounding area of Portland), that makes it off limits in some of our mods minds. If this post has a moderator cut in it, PM me and I'll give you the low down on Camas.

Camas is spectacular with some of the best schools in the area and an exceptionally low crime rate. I can't really compare it to Damascus for you since I'm not all that familiar with with town.

The commute to downtown Portland from Camas can vary wildly, depending on what time of the day your husband travels and which part of downtown he's going to. Without knowing more specifics, it's kind of hard to guess, but when I used to live east of Camas and traveled to Milwaukie, OR for work, my commute was about 45 minutes. Keep in mind, though, that is predominantly freeway. A commute to downtown will have surface streets and likely include the either the Banfield freeway and I-5, both of which get very backed up during rush-hour.

[mdvaden]

Isn't Camas the town that has the odd mill smell in the air?

Not exactly a stink if I'm thinking of the right place, but enough to notice easily driving through.

[StealthRabbit]

yes, Camas has a paper mill, but it is down to 500 employees (from 1800 just 5 yrs ago) so not a mill for long. (?)

It rarely smells anymore, but does on occasion, and there is 80% of Camas area that will probably not have any mill smell.

Search this forum and you will find plenty of info on Camas + smell + schools + crime stats

Beware of the tax issues... If you physically work in OR you WILL pay OR income tax, irregardless of your home state. But... if you can be based in WA, and work from a WA location you pay ZERO state income tax. You should also be able to defer OR tax on income that is earned while on WA based assignments. Telecommuting from WA would likely not pass the test if you were providing support to your OR employer. WA has a stiff sales tax (~8%) if you are into buying 'stuff'. Residents of states w/o sales tax can get the tax waved while buying in WA with proof of residency.

Personally I think the commute from Camas to Portland is better than from Damascus, as there are no main routes out to Damascus. I'd definitely run a commute from both locations before deciding, (during REAL TIME commute hours, try a rainy Friday for worse case...). They are both decent towns, and have their unique merits. If school funding is a concern, then WA will win that argument hands down, but funding is not the only concern for a parent...

Good luck