couple commute to Intel Ronler Acres Hillsboro and OHSU (Portland: sublet, 2015)

[Nell Plotts]

Thanks for the update!

[5cents]

I'm living in NE near Alberta and bike commuting (most of the time) to out near Ronler Acres. If you bike over the Broadway Bridge and through town to Goose Hollow or up Morrison (following the MAX line) you can save a lot of time vs. if you're getting on the train on the east side near the Rose Quarter or something. The train is super slow through town. Anyways, that's how I do it and it's about 1 hr door-to-door for me. The drive in isn't bad, but coming back down 26 in the evenings can be horrendous.

[lifewithacommute]

This is an old thread, but I don't see a newer related one. My girlfriend is moving to Portland for residency at OHSU in less than a month and I'll be moving in August and working at Intel Ronler Acres. Has much changed since 2011? I've searched high and low for a nice place downtown/Pearl/along Burnside as we'd really like the easy access to restaurants and casual nightlife, but have not found much that catches our interest that's in our ideal price range (which has continued to creep upward). We have no pets as neither of us is used to being home much or at any regular hour, so that's not an issue. We don't spend much time home at all, both working typical 60+ hour work weeks, but we do like having room to breathe when we are home. We're moving from a bigger metro, but one that has a lot less issues with parking and provides a lot more sq ft for the dollar, so the sticker shock is a little disheartening. It seems like the south waterfront is improving but still lacks a lot of basic necessities (grocery store, reasonably-priced parking after factoring in rent). I have a few friends who live in SE and commute to Intel and it sounds like they spend way more of their life in a car than I'm willing to. When it's all said and done, factoring in parking for two vehicles, any potential pay parking at OHSU (if public transit isn't an option, which it seems may not always be due to irregular hours of a resident), housing costs, life wasted in a vehicle (personal or public) we're having a hard time finding a solid option. Thanks!

[Nell Plotts]

I suggest you look around the MAX Goose Hollow stop. There is a commuter bus to OHSU from there and you can use the MAX to Intel. Most of those apartments are in parking zone A so you could buy a city resident street parking permit for one person if need be.

I understand that Residents have God-awful hours so your physician in training may want to drive to OHSU. There is a 'back door' route to OHSU to/from the Goose Hollow neighborhood.

One caution, there is an apartment building under construction across from that stop that will have NO parking. Our street parking competition may get even worse.

[bler144]

I'd rule out St. John's - Germantown is fairly pretty, but aside from potentially wearing out your break pads quickly, it's not a route you want to be going up and over at 7am in the winter. Very steep and curvy, and once you add even a little slickness, it's a risk.

Going to Intel at 7am won't be a major issue. Afternoon traffic is the larger consideration depending on when you'd be going home most days, and the commute in to OHSU is another concern. I'm not sure there's a single best fit, but if you're both willing to cope with commuting, you at least have options. The dog is another wrinkle though, certainly.

Downtown Beaverton is less suburb-y (plus some pretty good restaurants and shops, and MAX access if you want to ride/bike, or your s/o wants to MAX in to downtown). Not sure you'd find space for your dogs, but I think it's at least worth looking at Goose Hollow.

East of the river is problematic not so much because of the extra 2-3 miles past Goose Hollow, but because of the layout of getting on 26. On a map, it looks like 26 just crosses the river and picks up heading west. Smooth, right? The map lies. It's an abomination of road layout with multiple twists and turns. From Sellwood, you can cross the Sellwood bridge and come up Macadam, but getting on 26 that was isn't exactly fast either. Eastbound the Ross Island route is even worse.

I agree with Davemess - biking out by Hillsboro really can be pretty good on many routes, as long as you don't mind the traffic noise. Most of the major roads (Cornell, Evergreen, Cornelius, etc.) have wide enough bike lanes, and visibility is good. The only street I'd really avoid is 185th.

But roughly the area around Bridlemile is much tougher going. Not only are you fighting steeper hills, but you're going to be a bit more squeezed and with the trees and curves, you're going to be less visible if a driver isn't paying attention.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

I suggest you look around the MAX Goose Hollow stop. There is a commuter bus to OHSU from there and you can use the MAX to Intel. Most of those apartments are in parking zone A so you could buy a city resident street parking permit for one person if need be.

I understand that Residents have God-awful hours so your physician in training may want to drive to OHSU. There is a 'back door' route to OHSU to/from the Goose Hollow neighborhood.

I actually hadn't seen Nell's post - I'd loaded the page and then didn't respond right away. So you have two simultaneous votes for Goose Hollow.

However, I think the oversize dog might be the challenge there.

[Nell Plotts]

A couple weeks ago there was a posting for a 'townhouse' style rental that likes dogs on/near SW 18th south of the freeway.

They have a large dog and they both work 60 hours a week? I think the dog needs a better home.

[Rob Allen]

The one with the dog was the OP from 2011. The people who revived this thread today have no pets.

[bler144]

Edit - I'm either asleep or this thread is loading weird for me.

South waterfront has better access to groceries than I think it appears at first glance. It's really no farther to groceries than a lot of neighborhoods on the east side. The real issue you highlighted is the cost - most of what's being built there is not being built with affordability in mind.

Now that I understand you have no dogs, I'd really recommend Goose Hollow or maybe Southwest Hills if you have the $$. As far as a balance between OHSU and Intel, I think it's about as good as it gets. Pretty good location for getting to OHSU, not great but could be worse for going to Intel. The worst of 26 is if you have to take either 405/I-5 to get where you're going, since those lanes back up.

I'm not an expert on parking on OHSU, alas. What's your budget?

[lifewithacommute]

Thanks for the rapid response guys, I've been caught up trying to get ready to defend and forgot about posting here.

I have been eying Goose Hollow as well as NW (assuming she can bike/transit to OHSU and I can take Burnside out). SW or S Waterfront would be nice but we are hoping to have better access to downtown, particularly as my gf will be there on her own through the summer. She is moving out very soon but I won't be arriving until the end of summer, so we're hoping we can find something in the $1000-1500/mo range since we'll be paying double rent until then. I just can't believe how much $/sq ft Portland is! I'm honestly looking at buying at this point as a mortgage, HOA fees, and taxes could get me a lot more space for the same monthly costs.

Does anyone have recommended apartment management companies or realtors? Feel free to PM me the info if you don't want to post here. I'm starting to get an idea of the good ones, but it seems an awkward time of year to have options.