Beaverton vs Gresham? (Portland: apartment, for rent, how much)

[PAZ4U]

Moving to portland in may and I can't decide where I should live? I'll be going to the culinary school in downtown portland. I don't have a car so I'll be using public transportation. Anybody can give me an advise in those 2 areas? Thank you!

[redfish1]

Beaverton is overall the nicer of the two areas as it's much newer but you should expect to pay more for rent.
Gresham was not too bad when I was a kid but pretty much the whole east side of Portland has gone down hill in the last 15-20 years IMO. the last few times I've gone back to visit friends that still live in my old neighborhood I could barely recognize it. I saw lots of run down houses and a decent sized Hispanic population that didn't exist there when I was a kid. You could almost mistake it for a poor neighborhood in CA if the weather didn't suck. LOL
I'm sure there are still some very nice parts of Gresham but like I said Beaverton is a much nicer area IMO

[Urbanlover85]

Just curious as to why you don't get a place downtown? If you're going to school downtown and you don't have a car, downtown seems like it would be the most logical choice to me. Anyways, that said, I would definitely choose Beaverton over Gresham. While there are a handful of nice areas in Gresham, I find it to be very trashy overall.

[EnricoV]

Yeah, if I had to pick one, I'd pick Beaverton. But it's not because I like it. I have to admit I didn't grow up on the west side, nor have I ever lived there. It just seems like a big, flat parking-lot rich area. I'd sure go for a tiny apartment downtown over a larger apartment in Beaverton, given a choice. Especially if you don't have a car.

[philwithbeard]

This rail system map:
TriMet: Rail System Map (MAX, WES and Streetcar)

Check out the fine print:
Beaverton to Downtown---
- call it 10 min to Washington park station,
- plus 8 to 9 min then to downtown.

Gresham to Downtown ---
- Gresham to Gateway TC =22 minutes;
- Gateway to Rose Quarter = 14 minutes;
- and call it maybe 7 or 8 minutes from Rose Quarter to Galleria and SW 10th st.
(your pushing more than 40 minutes of commute time, with rush hour crowding and how much you will be standing in your cooking classes, and you most likely will be standing on the ride home for most of the way.... just saying...)

Phil

[PAZ4U]

Originally Posted by Urbanlover85

Just curious as to why you don't get a place downtown? If you're going to school downtown and you don't have a car, downtown seems like it would be the most logical choice to me. Anyways, that said, I would definitely choose Beaverton over Gresham. While there are a handful of nice areas in Gresham, I find it to be very trashy overall.

Downtown looks very expensive my budget is $800 a month.

[Urbanlover85]

Originally Posted by PAZ4U

Downtown looks very expensive my budget is $800 a month.

You can easily get a modest one bedroom downtown or in a "close-in" neighborhood (I never heard that term used until I moved to Portland) for $800/mo. Downtown is the place to be of you'll be working there and car-less. I live in a neighborhood on the fringe of downtown called Goose Hollow and I currently pay $740/mo for my small one bedroom. It's not the most luxurious pad in the world but I wouldn't live in a dump and I love that I can walk just about anywhere in the city center and NW Portland. I would definitely do some digging around downtown before settling for the suburbs.

[1208]

Originally Posted by Urbanlover85

You can easily get a modest one bedroom downtown or in a "close-in" neighborhood (I never heard that term used until I moved to Portland) for $800/mo. Downtown is the place to be of you'll be working there and car-less. I live in a neighborhood on the fringe of downtown called Goose Hollow and I currently pay $740/mo for my small one bedroom. It's not the most luxurious pad in the world but I wouldn't live in a dump and I love that I can walk just about anywhere in the city center and NW Portland. I would definitely do some digging around downtown before settling for the suburbs.

He's right, and if he's getting a place for 740 in Goose Hollow, which is a pretty nice neighborhood, you can get a place for even less in other close in neighborhoods. Beaverton and Gresham are two of the last places I would choose to live, especially if I was going to school downtown and had no car.

[PAZ4U]

Thank you all!!! I'll be visiting portland in 3 weeks... your suggestions help a lot!

[figmalt]

Originally Posted by 1208

He's right, and if he's getting a place for 740 in Goose Hollow, which is a pretty nice neighborhood, you can get a place for even less in other close in neighborhoods. Beaverton and Gresham are two of the last places I would choose to live, especially if I was going to school downtown and had no car.

If it's the Western Culinary Institute, then the MAX stops about two blocks away. It would be relatively easy to live in Beaverton and commute with public transportation.