Any advice in purchasing here... ? (Vancouver, Mill Plain: renting, hotel, to move)

[nicolemi]

Thank you as always StealthRabbit with your detailed recommendations... so helpful !

Any suggestions for hotel locations ? I was thinking of staying close to PDX ... would going into Vancouver in the morning or middle of the day be less traffic congestion and what time would be a good time to return if staying at the PDX area hotel?

Or is it better to stay in a Vancouver hotel as we would be spending more time in that area ? 10 days is the approximate length of stay in the area to explore different areas.

Anyone with advice is heartily welcomed ! Thank you !

[texasdiver]

Stay in a Vancouver area hotel. That way if you area narrowing down a neighborhood or house you can go back and visit during different times of the day or night to see what it feels like. I ALWAYS visit houses or neighborhoods I'm looking at in both day and night. I'll get out and walk around and get a feel for the safety and lighting of the neighborhood at night because I'm out every day in the early morning and night walking dogs. Some neighborhoods are distinctly different at night and not in a good way.

There is a nice new Candlewood Suites extended stay hotel in east Vancouver on 192nd where I stayed a couple times while house hunting. There are many other options.

[notnamed]

When we came out to scout the area we did a mix of both. No particular reason to just stay in one hotel for all 10 days. We spent half the time at a hotel in Portland, half in Vancouver. 1st half doing mostly sightseeing/vacationy stuff around Portland. Had a hotel right by the Max line to make it easy to get around. The 2nd half we got a rental car and was more focused on looking at places to live in Vancouver.

[StealthRabbit]

I NEVER stay in a Hotel...(unless company pays.( then I still prefer a Guest home ... much more learnings / advice
.. or use a hotel if 3am flight) there are so many better options...

For house scouting, nothing better than an unbiased local stay... no realtor / special interests.
1000’s of excellent stays here... (I have never used Couchsurfing). Just a few options, but not my favorite directories. (Free - $20/ night worldwide)
https://wikitravel.org/en/Hospitality_exchange

I noticed several ‘pet / house sitting’ gigs in the area. I.e. free...
be sure to attend activities that you will be using. And commute your ‘route’ during your proposed hours.

Portland Traffic is not too bad ... Friday’s excluded... but if you are Vancouver centric, stay an a couple places near Vancouver. Much better way to learn the area.
There used to be a Residence Inn near Vancouver Mall. ((Centrally located extended stay). Work visitors like Heathman (next door). Also Hilton downtown for breakfast (I prefer a good local place... Carol’s Corner?).

Consider Skamania Lodge for a couple days in the pool, contemplating your vast choices of homes!

Good luck,
Be able to laugh at some of the dumps you find... the right one will appear (usually when you are exhausted from looking...)

[USDefault]

Can recommend the Hampton Inn & Suites at 315 SE Olympia Drive. It's still pretty new, very clean, safe. Ample parking, which you will appreciate. Free breakfast spread every morning. And in the evening, the staff usually orders food like pizzas and puts out desserts, even though it's not an "official" part of your stay. Great place. You'll see many out-of-town visitors here, including contractors and workers who are in the trades, scoping out real estate and building projects, etc.

[nicolemi]

Great advice everyone !!
We will be staying at La Quinta which is within our budget... (would loved to have stayed at Hampton's USDefault, but that was just not in our budget... have a night by the airport our last night because the flight is at 7:00am to LA to visit in laws)

Taking the advice about being in Vancouver since that is where we would like to purchase. Is the traffic within Vancouver areas congested or is it just for those making the trek to Portland who are mostly affected ?
What would be the windows of time when the worst traffic is occurring in both morning and evening ?
Is that something we should "experience" so we get the "feel" as to what we would be dealing with or just avoid it altogether ?

Thank you for all your responses... they really do help us in deciding things !

Mahalo nui loa !

[StealthRabbit]

Don't waste your time seeking a traffic jam...

Worse (IMHO) = 4-6PM northbound I-5 from Portland city center to Vancouver (actually just northbound to the bridge at Jantzen Beach / Hayden Island)

I-84 can get blocked between Sandy Overpass and I-5 (rush hours)

Ironically I-205 has been ugly SOUTHBOUND on the Glenn Jackson Bridge (near airport) ALL the way to I-5 (20 miles!) (usually in early AM and between 4 and 6 PM)

Just stick with Vancouver if possible!

Portland and Vancouver traffic is NOT like LA / Seattle... (ours still moves (usually) Snow / ice days excluded)

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by nicolemi

Great advice everyone !!
We will be staying at La Quinta which is within our budget... (would loved to have stayed at Hampton's USDefault, but that was just not in our budget... have a night by the airport our last night because the flight is at 7:00am to LA to visit in laws)

Taking the advice about being in Vancouver since that is where we would like to purchase. Is the traffic within Vancouver areas congested or is it just for those making the trek to Portland who are mostly affected ?
What would be the windows of time when the worst traffic is occurring in both morning and evening ?
Is that something we should "experience" so we get the "feel" as to what we would be dealing with or just avoid it altogether ?

Thank you for all your responses... they really do help us in deciding things !

Mahalo nui loa !

The only bad traffic in Vancouver is the bridge commuter traffic to Portland. So in the morning rush hour stay off I-5 and I-205 southbound towards the bridges. And some of the feeder roads like US-14 which leads onto both bridges. In the afternoon the same thing in the opposite direction although it isn't generally as bad because the bridge is the bottleneck and things spread out on the Vancouver side.

If you are on surface streets there is never really bad traffic in Vancouver ever. Except for a few places where people are trying to get onto the freeways. Nothing like in Portland.

[silibran]

Originally Posted by nicolemi

Great advice everyone !!
We will be staying at La Quinta which is within our budget... (would loved to have stayed at Hampton's USDefault, but that was just not in our budget... have a night by the airport our last night because the flight is at 7:00am to LA to visit in laws)

Taking the advice about being in Vancouver since that is where we would like to purchase. Is the traffic within Vancouver areas congested or is it just for those making the trek to Portland who are mostly affected ?
What would be the windows of time when the worst traffic is occurring in both morning and evening ?
Is that something we should "experience" so we get the "feel" as to what we would be dealing with or just avoid it altogether ?

Thank you for all your responses... they really do help us in deciding things !

Mahalo nui loa !

In the five years we have lived here, we have noticed an uptick in traffic during rush hour times. We notice a steady stream of vehicles coming from 192 AV toward 162 on 18th ST. Clark Co has not kept up with this, and lights in the county need to be updated. There is an uptick in traffic at the rush hour at Fourth Plain and where SR 500 crosses. In the evening, NB traffic exiting off I 205 onto Mill Plain or 112th seems backed up. We like the newer 18th ST exit, even though 18th is still being worked on extensively.

SR 14 used to be a clear shot in the evening to Camas, but no more. It is often slow going from I 205 east in the rush hour. And SR 14 is also often clogged and slow in the morning with work traffic.

Otherwise, traffic is much easier here than in Portland. It is much easier to get around the Van area than in the PDX area. And, apparently, WA DOT does a better job of clearing interstates than ODOT. At least in our observation.

[nicolemi]

Thanks again for the great great responses here ! It's just incredible how helpful you all are and we really do appreciate
all the insights from those who experience these areas on a daily basis or are in the know from their time there.

You people are really wonderful in giving of your time and knowledge to come here and post your answers for those who
really seek an idea of things to expect. We are very thankful to you all !!