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Old 02-24-2017, 06:00 PM
 
8 posts, read 12,755 times
Reputation: 12

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Hello! I'm a current North Portland resident looking to make the jump over the river. My previous research has been fairly limited to Camas and E Vancouver. I really like that area - restaurants, schools, community, parks etc. It seemed like it would be a great fit for my family! However, we are trying to hang on to our current PDX home as a rental property. With a reduced housing budget, I'm looking into other areas in Vancouver - particularly Mt Vista and the larger Salmon Creek area.

I'm trying to decide whether it makes more sense to sacrifice things on my house wishlist to stay in the Camas/E Vancouver area, or if Mt Vista/Salmon Creek is both a good fit for what I'm looking for and a better "value".

My main questions, I'd love your input on:

Overall vibe
How would you describe the vibe of the area, or the community? It's harder for me to get a feel for the Mt Vista/Salmon Creek area. With Camas it was pretty instant, perhaps because of the downtown, or Lacamas Lake park? When I visit other areas in Vancouver, it feels a bit more like pure housing developments, or big box stores. I'm curious if that is the case, or if not, what I'm missing.

Family friendly/schools
Is the area good for young families (I have a 1 and 4 year old)? I know Salmon Creek schools get great ratings, what about the Battleground school district, which some Mt Vista homes are in?

Restaurants/Things to do
Any good restaurants, or do you need to go to downtown? Any breweries? Other than the Salmon Creek nature area, what are fun places to check out, or things to do?

Traffic
How bad is it to get to downtown Vancouver during rush hour? Are there alternate routes? I currently work from home, but that might not always be the case. My husband works at the BPA Ross station, but can also work from home.

Longer term
As I'd like to stay put for a good chunk of time with this next move, what do you think the outlook is for the area? I know there are extensive plans for the waterfront downtown, which would be nice to have proximity to. Anything else to keep in mind, or is interesting?

Housing value/investment
I know in general the Camas and E Vancouver area is best with respect to home value appreciation. Any thoughts on the outlook for appreciation in the Mt Vista/Salmon Creek area?

Thank you!!

Last edited by festivusforme; 02-24-2017 at 06:30 PM..
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Old 02-24-2017, 08:16 PM
 
467 posts, read 519,891 times
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I moved to Ridgefield a couple of years ago, but most of our services are in Salmon Creek. I rarely go to E Vancouver for some reason. I think the schools in Salmon Creek are pretty good, though even better are Ridgefield (and Camas) schools are better. There are plenty of ways for us to get to downtown Vancouver without getting on I 5. When we go to Portland we time our trip around commute times, which is easy when you are retired. Lots of breweries. A new one is coming to Felida. We have a favorite tap room in Ridgefield which must attract Vancouver people because it is always crowded. We enjoy going to Clark County restaurants and have discovered our favorites. New ones are opening all the time. Occasionally we go to Portland to eat, generally when we visit our kids and grandkids. I can guarantee you that Clark County is full of Portlanders looking to raise their families. Our kids live in Portland and their kids are approaching school age. I am getting a sense that they will be looking for homes in other school districts in the next couple of years. I don't think they will leave Oregon, but they are finding out just how complicated it is to raise a family in Portland.
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Old 02-25-2017, 08:10 AM
 
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,559 posts, read 57,471,708 times
Reputation: 45918
Quote:
Originally Posted by festivusforme View Post
Hello! I'm a current North Portland resident looking to make the jump over the river. My previous research has been fairly limited to Camas and E Vancouver. I really like that area - restaurants, schools, community, parks etc. It seemed like it would be a great fit for my family! ...
I'm trying to decide whether it makes more sense to sacrifice things on my house wishlist

OUR main questions: Family / Wishlist..., how many? interests? activities (sports / arts / lessons?) Primary wishes on list...

My main questions, I'd love your input on:

Overall vibe... Different VIBE, but adequate (some people are really turned off by Camas Vibe)
Family friendly/schools Pretty decent area with Long term people (not transient) Good school / Family support Look into Pleasant Valley (very nearby)

Restaurants/Things to doPlenty of options, Suburban centric (example: more like Happy Valley, than Hawthorne area)
Traffic Only early morning (6-8am) might be a backup (+ 10 min for a 10 min drive)
... My husband works at the BPA Ross station, We (and young kids) Luv'd our Minnehaha / south Hazel Dell home (5 acres / fruits / gardens, orchards, barns, cows, chickens... walking distance to Ross)
Longer term
Vancouver has good property outlook, especially for good neighborhoods (Most are good) If you get excellent neighbors in a 'stable' area You will establish a nice place to call home (forever)
..
There might be nice perks being close to WSU-V, IIRC they have an 'early childhood' program. We arrived in Vancouver 3 weeks before our first born, and got great value from Clark College groups in their Early Childhood program (free for parents / kids at the time, great place to get to know newcomers)

This group is very active near Mt Vista and was also very helpful for us (Home school group with a LOT of public school teachers in leadership / active homeschoolers... (they will help non-home schoolers) Some very great programs / connections / staff / friends / mentors ...
Clark County Home Educators - News & Events

Should be fine,
Vancouver is not Portland, nor does it aspire to be Portland, Oregon, or California (Tho as many as 300 new residents arrive EACH MONTH from the above areas). If you are REALLY happy in Oregon, especially Portland, you will need to calibrate your expectations to be happy in WA and especially in Vancouver.

I work and teach adults in each state, the states are VERY different in many ways. Expect it.
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Old 02-25-2017, 11:06 AM
 
8 posts, read 12,755 times
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@jane917 Thanks for your reply! Glad to hear the Salmon Creek area is sufficient for with its services etc. I'm curious what the name of the brewery in Ridgefield is that you like, I want to check it out.

@StealthRabbit Great feedback thank you. To follow up with your questions:
My family
My husband and I are in our low/mid 30s, two boys ages 1 and 4. 4 year old is a November baby, so he won't start K until 2018. I have 2 sisters who live in the area, 1 in SE Portland that I don't see too much, and 1 who is graduating from UP this Spring, and might move for job prospects (Mech Eng). We aren't native to the area, but have been in Portland for coming up on 9 years.

Interests
Myself - Primarily cooking/baking. I also love to eat out and have dabbled in homebrewing. Also like to be active (or rather, will want to again once I start getting more sleep), all sorts from yoga, crossfit, zumba/dance etc. Regretably I'm not a runner, much as I've tried.

Husband - Primarly tech obsessed, so that's fairly self-contained. But he did fix up an old speed boat last summer. So we'd like to get more use out of that. Currently, we live about 5 minutes from the Cathedral Park boat launch which has been really convenient. He is interested in fishing.

Kids - They haven't picked up any "formal" activities or hobbies yet, but as they get a bit older access to a range of activities would be great. In my head, that would be soccer, gymnastics, swimming, music. Currently, they just like playing with other kids and being outdoors.

Wishlist
- Strong sense of community. We've somewhat "floated" in Portland, and since my extended family isn't in the area, and we aren't religious, we've missed the community feeling, especially after having kids.
- Proximity. I realize it won't be what we have now. But being within 10-15 minutes of good food and activities would suffice. Decent freeway access would be great.
- Family friendly. It would be nice to live in a place with other young families. Good focus on schools. Low crime & safe.
- House. We've considered both rural and in town, new build and old build. This might sound silly, but since the PNW has such amazing natural beauty, I'd love to live in a place where I get to enjoy that daily (especially when it's winter and too cold/wet to be out in it). Whether that's a view, or having a lovely yard, or large wooded lot, we're open.

RE some of your notes:
- I actually really like Happy Valley. I used to work in Clackamas and would visit that area frequently.Also like Hawthorne, lol, but am not looking to recreate that.
- Hazell Dell area - I hadn't really considered the area because of reports on crime, and the (relatively) lower school scores. Any thoughts on that?
- Curious which areas you find more "stable"
- I love Portland, and it has been great to live here. But our needs have changed, and will continue to. All signs are pointing me to the Vancouver area. So I get needing to calibrate expectations.


Thank you so much for your thoughtful replies, I appreciate it!
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Old 02-25-2017, 02:49 PM
 
467 posts, read 519,891 times
Reputation: 307
Festivusforme, the tap room in Ridgefield is not a brewery, but a tap room with beers from all over WA and OR. It is connected to the PNW Fish Market. It has a large outdoor area which is fun for kids and attracts many young families.

Our kids are about 10 years older than yours, but grandkids range in the same age. Oldest is 4.5, youngest 8 months.They all live in Portland, and we find it very easy to go visit. Today one of the kids and 2 grandkids are downtown Ridgefield enjoying the parks.

I think your overall budget to buy a home might be your determining factor on where you will land. Be sure to check out East Vancouver, Fisher Landing area. It has many many services, and is probably more like Happy Valley than any other place around. We looked at a couple of homes in Happy Valley, but it just did not suit us.
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Old 02-25-2017, 06:10 PM
 
Location: WA
5,288 posts, read 7,579,799 times
Reputation: 8225
I think you fairly well nailed it.

If schools are an issue I would stick with looking in Vancouver, Evergreen, and Camas districts. Battle Ground schools have had issues. Last year at an education job fair in Vancouver I ran into several current Battle Ground teachers looking to get out of that district. Ridgefield is currently very overcrowded at all of its schools due to recent explosive growth. They just passed a big bond that will let them catch up but they are a couple years away from building out the capacity. Right now it is a sea of portable classrooms.

We looked at the Felida and Salmon Creek areas in north Vancouver as well as the Fishers Landing and Cascade Park areas of east Vancouver before finally settling on Camas. We haven't regretted the choice. In all these areas the neighborhoods are fairly similar because it is the same builders and codes they are following. Although Camas is probably a bit more universally upscale. In Salmon Creek when you drive around it is more mixed with 70s tract homes on one block and a new upscale subdivision on the next.

In terms of shopping and restaurants you will find more in east Vancouver along 164th and 192nd which are almost in Camas. From our house in the Deer Creek area of Camas the QFC grocery on 192nd is 5 minutes away and the big Fred Meyer on 164th is 10 minutes as is the Costco on 192nd. Downtown Camas is 10 minutes but that will shorten to 5 minutes when the city finally gets Forest Home road repaired.

What you will get in Camas that you won't get over in Salmon Creek is more of a sense of community identity surrounding the schools and little downtown area. The schools are a huge deal for the school age families and everything surrounds Camas HS. There are also many community festivals and such happening year-round in downtown Camas. There is a great library and a nice summer farmer's market. And long-term the city has a lot of potential as the big pulp mill will eventually close some day opening up hundreds of acres of prime Columbia waterfront land for development.

I didn't get the sense that Salmon Creek or Felida had the same sense of community feel and neither of them really have the same central downtown area like Camas that is the focus of the neighborhood. There is the big intersection area where I-5 and I-205 come together where there is the hospital and lots of retail but it isn't the same as Camas where people go at night just to walk around and visit the shops and restaurants.

Hint. If you want to know about traffic, just run google maps scenarios during all your normal commuting times. That will get you a better idea of drive times than anecdotal information here. Plug in your husbands work and the places you might go on a daily basis and see what the commute time actually is on google maps at 7 am or 5 pm or whenever you want to check during peak weekday commute times from each neighborhood you are considering. I did that a lot before moving here and learned that we wanted to stick to the west side of Camas and not wind up way out east in the Washougal area or up north past the high school, both of which would have added 10-15 minutes to our commutes.
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Old 02-26-2017, 01:00 PM
 
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,559 posts, read 57,471,708 times
Reputation: 45918
Personally, at age 1 and 4 I would not put too much value / decision merit on schools.

Things change, schools change, administrators change (hopefully!!!)

You want a stable neighborhood and school (few rentals within neighborhood or district)

Having dad home at lunchtime and between meetings and a QUICK commute would be my priority. YOMV

Kids activities / interests / responsibility will change considerably in the future. DRIVING everywhere (taxi-mom) is not a great way to spend yrs 10 - 16. GREAT access to Arts school or Clark College may become important.

I TREASURE my home as a place to 'retreat'.
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Old 04-05-2017, 12:25 AM
 
1 posts, read 1,903 times
Reputation: 13
Quote:
Originally Posted by festivusforme View Post
Hello! I'm a current North Portland resident looking to make the jump over the river. My previous research has been fairly limited to Camas and E Vancouver. I really like that area - restaurants, schools, community, parks etc. It seemed like it would be a great fit for my family! However, we are trying to hang on to our current PDX home as a rental property. With a reduced housing budget, I'm looking into other areas in Vancouver - particularly Mt Vista and the larger Salmon Creek area.

I'm trying to decide whether it makes more sense to sacrifice things on my house wishlist to stay in the Camas/E Vancouver area, or if Mt Vista/Salmon Creek is both a good fit for what I'm looking for and a better "value".

My main questions, I'd love your input on:

Overall vibe
How would you describe the vibe of the area, or the community? It's harder for me to get a feel for the Mt Vista/Salmon Creek area. With Camas it was pretty instant, perhaps because of the downtown, or Lacamas Lake park? When I visit other areas in Vancouver, it feels a bit more like pure housing developments, or big box stores. I'm curious if that is the case, or if not, what I'm missing.

Family friendly/schools
Is the area good for young families (I have a 1 and 4 year old)? I know Salmon Creek schools get great ratings, what about the Battleground school district, which some Mt Vista homes are in?

Restaurants/Things to do
Any good restaurants, or do you need to go to downtown? Any breweries? Other than the Salmon Creek nature area, what are fun places to check out, or things to do?

Traffic
How bad is it to get to downtown Vancouver during rush hour? Are there alternate routes? I currently work from home, but that might not always be the case. My husband works at the BPA Ross station, but can also work from home.

Longer term
As I'd like to stay put for a good chunk of time with this next move, what do you think the outlook is for the area? I know there are extensive plans for the waterfront downtown, which would be nice to have proximity to. Anything else to keep in mind, or is interesting?

Housing value/investment
I know in general the Camas and E Vancouver area is best with respect to home value appreciation. Any thoughts on the outlook for appreciation in the Mt Vista/Salmon Creek area?

Thank you!!
Hi,
My name is John Stotridge. I live in Mt. Vista/Salmon Creek. My house is approximately one minute drive to Washington State Vancouver. My wife died one year and three months ago. I'm preparing to sell my house. Its a 2600+ sf. four bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, with family room. Two garages and driveways. THere's about 1200 sf of garage. One garage has a 10 ft by 20 ft garage door. House is in relatively good shape. Older home. secluded. Updated a few times. A new subdivision was built around this house, beginning in the 1990's. (360) 281-9182.

I live in the HighLand Ridge Subdivision, on a meandering cul de sac street. 13107 NE 36th Place. Mine is an older house. But, the value seems to have steadily increased after the bubble burst. Schools are terrific. Neighborhood is extremely kid friendly. There are great walking paths in Vancouver. One begins at Klineline pond, about a mile from my house. Also, a day trip to the relatively new Mt. Saint Helens Discovery Center is about an hour away. Beacon Rock, on HWY 14, has walking path to the top. It sits upon the Columbia River. I'm a transplant that grew up in Ohio. And haven't had a lot of time to explore. As to restaurants... depends on the flavors you like. Ha!. There's a great fish processing place about three miles away that also has a fresh seafood restaurant. Its on 10th Street. Terrific halibut fish and chips. And clam chowder bowls, etc. Or...if you like ribs, two places I really like: Goldies, on Fourth Plain, near 162nd Ave. And Rib City, on Mill Plain, about 1/2 mile east of 162nd. There's a really good Vietnamese Pho Restaurant Just East of Grand Blvd, on 4th Plain. And, I real like Dok Koon Thai, on St. Johns. So also, I like the Mandarin beef and Walnut chicken dishes at Golden City Chinese restaurant on Hwy 99.
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Old 04-09-2017, 10:47 PM
 
Location: Southwest Washington State
30,585 posts, read 24,917,855 times
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East Vancouver is suburban. Parts are old and icky and parts are new and shiny. There is some good housing in E Vancouver, and in the surrounding county. The western edge of Camas is a continuation of E. Vancouver in terms how everything looks. SE 192nd St is the dividing line between the two cities. That street is up and coming. New stores are going in like mad, and the neighborhoods are upscale. Further west, things look good, but much of the the housing is not as upscale.

I feel the area is safe and nicely kept up, in general. But E. Van and the surrounding area is very suburban, even exurban. If you like a little town, Camas might be better for you.

Downtown Vancouver is down at the heels and there isn't that much there. We love the farmer's market on the weekends though. Camas has its own market, which starts later and ends sooner. And there is to be another farmer's market in East Vancouver later in the year.

I think you just have to visit for awhile and look at housing and drive in traffic to see stuff. Try and visit in the rainy season and the summer to get a taste of what it would be like to live here.
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