Conservative Suburban areas near portland? (Salem, Hillsboro: fit in, rental market, how much)

[carolinajack]

Where are the conservative suburbs of portland? Are they really conservative, meaning(support Lower taxes, smaller government, family oriented vs singles, more rural, more socially conservative , etc.)?

Are they close to the city, on trainline, sprawling or have small town feel?

Vancouver?
Camas?
Hillsboro?
Forest Grove?
Clackamas?
Wilsonville?

anymore?

Are they accessible to the city?

[daisy326]

You want a conservative suburb of Portland. Two words - Lake Oswego. Fairly close to the city but not directly accessible by freeway. Not on the MAX transit line but there is a bus line along HWY 43 that runs directly into downtown. Not so much sprawling yet not so much small town either. The downtown area of LO has shops and restaurants within walking distance and the neighborhood called First Addition has cute older homes. Lake Oswego is very safe, family friendly and has fantastic schools. It is also very expensive but there are pockets that are somewhat afforable. West Linn, which is the next city over, is the same but not as pricey. Wilsonville is next to West Linn and is nice too. It can be a little bit of a drive into downtown though but the rail line does go into Wilsonville. If you are moving here what is your budget? Renting or owning?

[carolinajack]

wow Daisy, thank you so much this is just what I needed-clear concise.

We will be renting first to find where the best place to settle down is adn then we will buy in 6mos to a year.

West Linn sounds good, how are the private schools in these areas, we arent looking for public schools, but dont know the schools in the suburbs as well as we did in Portland proper

[carolinajack]

also, is Wilsonville very far out? is there rural land near there?

[daisy326]

having lived here most of my life, in all mentioned areas, I can give pretty good advice. Renting first is a fantastic idea, then you can get a really good idea of exactly where you want to be. Plus the rental market is good right now. The public schools here are great...by private are you meaning Catholic schools in the area?
Wilsonville is nice. West Linn residents slowly started migrating that direction around the time I graduated HS..so early '90s. I like it there because they do have lots and lots of farmland and homes with large lots. The only downside to Wilsonville is the distance to get into the city. If traffic is bad on I-5 it can be a crawl because you also have all the people that live in Salem that commute to Portland for work

[carolinajack]

Originally Posted by daisy326

having lived here most of my life, in all mentioned areas, I can give pretty good advice. Renting first is a fantastic idea, then you can get a really good idea of exactly where you want to be. Plus the rental market is good right now. The public schools here are great...by private are you meaning Catholic schools in the area?
Wilsonville is nice. West Linn residents slowly started migrating that direction around the time I graduated HS..so early '90s. I like it there because they do have lots and lots of farmland and homes with large lots. The only downside to Wilsonville is the distance to get into the city. If traffic is bad on I-5 it can be a crawl because you also have all the people that live in Salem that commute to Portland for work

Great advice. No, i meant private schools as in Prep schools and also christian school(i guess catholic would be in there too). Yes we are looking for an area with farmland near, smaller town feel, but i am not as worried about the traffic as I use the public to get to work and from Wilsonville i can take the Trimet to teh Max.

How is Vancouver Wa? and are there other places in the suburbs to the East or South that are better for families and more traditional people?

we are a mixed family but traditional values and though we respect the liberal views and their right to live where they feel comfortable-in portland,we are looking for a place that would be more comfortable for us.

[Nell Plotts]

Honest, commuting over the Interstate bridges will be a nightmare for several years. There is a new bridge in the planning stages but the agencies involved are still arguing about who will pay how much.

People with all kinds of views live all over the area... we do not segregate ourselves. There are lots of families with "traditional views" (whatever that means) throughout the community. Perhaps you should start your search by finding a school for your children that fits your life style then find a home nearby.

[leftloonnutjob]

It's very sad, but 90% of the Portland area is liberal! Liberalism never works and never will!
everything they touch fails just like the Obama regime!

[jjpop]

Originally Posted by leftloonnutjob

It's very sad, but 90% of the Portland area is liberal!

This is one case where one person's sadness is another's joy.

[daisy326]

With all the bridge repair going on and city planners doing nothing about the traffic mess here (we only have 3 freeways - I-205, I-5 and I-84 (which isnt really a good freeway here anyway) servicing over a million people, the traffic here gets bad. The city of Portland hasnt seemed to get the whole "carpool" lane idea either as we have one that stretches on for about 10 miles.
I really feel you would fit in in the LO/WL/Wilsonville area with your wanting to be in a conservative environment.