Advice on finding apartment in Portland (rental car, apartments, rentals)

[cosmicjoke]

Hey all, my house went into contract yesterday, and I intend to fly out to Portland for a week to look for an apartment. I've been craigslisting a bit looking around at what's available, but the process can be a bit frustrating... say I search for the pearl district, i get returns of "like the pearl, or 10 mins drive to the pearl" and all this nonsense... same for hawthorne and other neighborhoods I'm considering.. are there any sites for rentals that have interactive maps or so on?

Any tips would be appreciated


Peace, CJ

[iamscott]

Thats why I am not a big fan of craigslist, People take advantage of the tag system way to much, you should see the auto section. It is usually pretty obvious when they are using key words to get more people to see there add, just click the flag button when they are purposely being misleading.

Someone suggested this link in another post Apartments for Rent - PadMapper Apartment Search for Oodle, Apartments.com, Move.com, ForRent.com, and Craigslist Apartments

Good Luck and Welcome to Portland!!!

[cosmicjoke]

Ooohh, righteous, that's exactly what I'm looking for! Tyty CJ

[Minervah]

Another good method is to pick a neighborhood go to it and just begin walking around. The really good stuff never sees cyber or print listings. Instead the owner will put a "for rent" sign up in front of the building with all the details.

It will also give you a good idea of what the neighborhoods are like. Check out the transportation information at Pioneer Square. They have Tr-Met maps which can also be used as a driving guide to the various neighborhoods. Portland is not large so you should be able to get a pretty good idea of the areas in a week's time.

[cosmicjoke]

well, actually i already spent a week out in portland at the end of march to get a better feel of the city (having once lived in seattle, i already knew my way around somewhat from weekend getaways). during that week, i probably only drove my rental car two or three times, the gps would cut out downtown and driving almost seemed discouraged anyways, lol, so i was thinking of just using public transportation when i go look for a place to rent. ideally i'd like to find a place where i can walk outside my door and find stuff to get into (parks, restaurants, concerts and the like)... so if i couldn't walk to it, i don't think i'd want it anyways - maybe this would be good method for me! thanks for the tips, cj

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by cosmicjoke

well, actually i already spent a week out in portland at the end of march to get a better feel of the city (having once lived in seattle, i already knew my way around somewhat from weekend getaways). during that week, i probably only drove my rental car two or three times, the gps would cut out downtown and driving almost seemed discouraged anyways, lol, so i was thinking of just using public transportation when i go look for a place to rent. ideally i'd like to find a place where i can walk outside my door and find stuff to get into (parks, restaurants, concerts and the like)... so if i couldn't walk to it, i don't think i'd want it anyways - maybe this would be good method for me! thanks for the tips, cj

I did exactly that when I moved here. I studied the tri-met lines and asked people at the hotel where I was staying (no transportation information center at Pioneer Mall, in fact no Pioneer Mall in those days) who gave me great advice.

I looked for a bus that would take me to a grocery store, took the bus to that store, got off and just started walking. Once I had gone out of the area in which I thought I could comfortably carry a load of groceries, I stopped. Whenever I saw a for rent sign within my little zone I inquired.

I use that method as I became more familiar with Portland whenever I decide to move.

[cosmicjoke]

ahh, that's a good idea, it would be nice to be able to carry a few groceries on a walk home. i will be having my prius shipped to portland, but intend to use the public transportation as much as possible. in march i stayed at the mariott on oak between 5th and 6th and the doormen there were incredibly helpful, and gave a good map of downtown. will have a smartphone for extra navigating as well.

[Leisesturm]

Originally Posted by cosmicjoke

ahh, that's a good idea, it would be nice to be able to carry a few groceries on a walk home. i will be having my prius shipped to portland, but intend to use the public transportation as much as possible. in march i stayed at the mariott on oak between 5th and 6th and the doormen there were incredibly helpful, and gave a good map of downtown. will have a smartphone for extra navigating as well.

Telll the truth, you just let the fact that you own a Prius slip out to curry favor with the righteous, didn't you. Nice try, but no cigar. A wind turbine and/or solar panels AND a 2nd generation (2010) Prius get you the bragging rights. Just trying to save you some embarassment at the food co-op when the urge to throw down some eco street cred hits one of the faithful.

H

[iamcims]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

Telll the truth, you just let the fact that you own a Prius slip out to curry favor with the righteous, didn't you. Nice try, but no cigar. A wind turbine and/or solar panels AND a 2nd generation (2010) Prius get you the bragging rights. Just trying to save you some embarassment at the food co-op when the urge to throw down some eco street cred hits one of the faithful.

H

ha

[philwithbeard]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

...... Just trying to save you some embarrassment at the food co-op when the urge to throw down some eco street cred hits one of the faithful. .....

Portland? Street Cred??
Eco Faithful I know. We got, Lots and Lots of 'm
Hadn't heard about Eco Street Cred,
I just thought Prius was a babe magnet wheels at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's parking lots.