Battle Ground (Seattle, Vancouver, Camas: low crime, houses, schools)

[skygrace1@hotmail.com]

Moving from FL,Love the rain... Can anyone tell me more about Battle Ground. All the usual questions. We've been Looking all over the area, and are confused as to crime, traffic, culture, etc. Here in Florida there is a GREAT EXODUS. Our houses aren't selling since Jan. Hopefully this will change in a year or two... We are running from crime, heat , traffic, House Ins. prices. Also it's one big redneck center, unless you live in the $1,000,000.00 cat. We hate it here, our families moved us here from the North as children, and we want out !
Any info would be great, Just don't want to move and it all be for naught... Thanks !

[NWgirl]

Is there a particular reason you're looking at Battle Ground? No offense, it's just kind of an odd place for someone to pick out of the blue to move to. It's a little place, kind of a suburb of Vancouver, Washington, which is a suburb (basically) of Portland, Oregon. So if you find things out about Vancouver, they will be very similar for Battle Ground. Battle Ground is just up the road, but it's small area, lots of rural addresses, lots of older homes with acreage and horses and stuff, but not necessarily inexpensive. It's got a main drag with some chain stores and some chain restaurants, grocery stores, but for many things you will probably go in to Vancouver. I'm not sure if Battle Ground has it's own library, it might. The crime rate is fine, not particularly high, we don't have a lot of gang activity in this area and murder is not commonplace. Traffic toward Vancouver and Portland can get heavy. Summers get pretty warm, like in the 80s and 90s, but not as warm as Florida. Fall is beautiful but short, and then the rain and grey comes for winter and spring. Rarely is there ever any snow. Christmas is usually just a rainy holiday here.

Battle Ground is 2-3 hours from the coast and the mountains. Lots of beautiful places here, lots of hawks and coyotes. Battle Ground is a little more red-necky than Portland and some parts of Vancouver. Definitely not as liberal as the more urban areas.

Good luck with your decision.

[skygrace1@hotmail.com]

Thanks, That's the kind of info I was looking for! We love the idea of The whole state, but never having been there before, we have to investigate slowly. When looking at the map, you wouldn't think that it was so R'necky that close to a major city. Maybe the Seattle area would be better. Thanks for replying.

[NWgirl]

Hi skygrace,

I don't want to deter you from Battle Ground because of its redneck quotient! I am only providing my opinion, and I personally like a little bit of redneck! The Portland metro area overall is very liberal, environmental, and tries to be very tolerant. I believe the Seattle metro area is the same, but I've never lived there. So places like Battle Ground, which is kind of on the fringe of the Portland area, may be more liberal than some areas, but definitely more countrified than the urban core. Although, with the rapid growth in the area, that is changing. Battle Ground isn't full of uneducated hicks or people waving Confederate flags around, but there a fair number of pickup trucks and people who litter and people that don't spay and neuter their pets. Most of Multnomah County (where Portland is) and King County (where Seattle is) voted Democratic and are "blue". Clark County (where Battle Ground and Vancouver are) voted red the last election. Probably overall it's a decent balance.

Good luck, and hopefully you'll get a chance to look before you leap!

[alinanjeff]

Originally Posted by skygrace1@hotmail.com

Moving from FL,Love the rain... Can anyone tell me more about Battle Ground. All the usual questions. We've been Looking all over the area, and are confused as to crime, traffic, culture, etc. Here in Florida there is a GREAT EXODUS. Our houses aren't selling since Jan. Hopefully this will change in a year or two... We are running from crime, heat , traffic, House Ins. prices. Also it's one big redneck center, unless you live in the $1,000,000.00 cat. We hate it here, our families moved us here from the North as children, and we want out !
Any info would be great, Just don't want to move and it all be for naught... Thanks !

...YOU WILL LOVE BATTLEGROUND..(PERFECT)..AND GUESS WHAT IT DOESNT RAIN ALL THE TIME LIKE THEY SAY..I LIVE ABOUT 15 MIN NORTH OF BATTLEGROUND...IN YACOLT..MORE RURAL ABOUT 30,000 CHEAPER ON A HOUSE...STARTING TO CATCH THE GROWTH HERE ABOUT NOW..STILL 1,000 HERE...12,000 BATTLEGROUND..

[nouveautes]

So funny to read the different opinions on areas in SW Washington. I would not say that BattleGround is a burb of PDX. Ha. It has a rural flavor, not much in restaurants, hard to get to from Vancouver (20) minutes. All of Clark county is accessible to PDX. Taxes are high in PDX and we are seeing an influx of PDX residents, to escape Oregon taxes. SW washington is growing by leaps and bounds. High end areas run like this 1) Camas/Washougal 2) Heights Vancouver 3) Ridgefield 4) Other areas. medium houses cost 300k to 350k and high end run from 600k up.
SW Washington is e access to PDX, PDX International Airport. It has a more
urban feel than Portland.
mod cut
Anything else, ring me back thru e mail\

[klpeake]

I grew up in the Silicon Valley in CA and can't wait to move to Battleground! I have gone up and stayed in the area in Oct '05, Nov '05, Jan '06, Mar '06, Jun '06 each time for 5-7 days. It only rained twice when I was up there. A light rain on Thanksgiving day and then a wind and rain storm that started at about 5pm and lasted through 7am the next morning. Coming from a place where there are never any clouds, the clouds up there are incredible beautiful to me.

Yes Battleground is a small town, they do have a library (that they are in the works to remodel) and they do have very few restaurants. But, you can drive 10-15 minutes and be at a large shopping center, restaurant or even the mall in Vancouver (depending on where you are starting out). You have low crime and nice people. You have a beautiful natural looking setting without all of the urban sprawl.

Karol

[GIMMER]

I live about 5 minutes North of Battle Ground, and have not found any place like it. It has all your basic needs and then some. Crime is low, all my neighbors are fairly friendly, and the view of Mt. St. Helens is wonderful. Close to great fishing, hiking and nature in general. Property costs are rising, so if you want to move, this just might be the right time. Oh, and if you're driving through, hit main street and stop at the bakery (near Rockys Pizza) and have a fresh baked donut for the road...at only a portion of the cost of the Krispy Kreme over by Home Depot in Vancouver :-).

[balleryna2]

My husband and I just moved to Battle Ground in July. We love it - the weather, the wide open spaces, and the people are very friendly. Enjoy!

[MossyToes]

Originally Posted by skygrace1@hotmail.com

Moving from FL,Love the rain... Can anyone tell me more about Battle Ground. Thanks !

I have live near and in Battle Ground for about 12 years. It is a nice town. Not a lot of crime, a good police force. There is a library, several banks, Safeway, Albertson's, Fred Meyer's, etc. There are a few decent restaurants recently moved in and several fast food chains. Rockies Pizza is pretty famous and has been around forever. The town has recently grown, with several new subdivisions. There is at least one new subdivision in the works. Probably more. It's a nice city where you can quickly get to the country if you wish. There is a nice park just up Hwy 503 with the Lewis River running through, playgrounds, walking paths, ball fields, etc. The schools are so far as I know reasonably decent. There is also a private Christian school and possibly a charter school (?) There are many different churches in the area. All in all the people are fairly friendly. I still go to Battle Ground for the dentist and my hair as I love the people I have found in those areas. There is an urgency care clinic as well as branch of the Vancouver Clinic.

MossyToes