May move to Portland after graduating from college. What areas within the city have nice affordable housing? (apartments, rent)

[tallahasseehero1]

Portland is one of the cities I have looked at moving to after I gradate college at Florida State University. I'm thinking of attending Lewis & Clark Law School.Where do you believe I could find affordable housing in the downtown area or close by. Is Portland a good city for people in their 20s? Is it possible to live there without a car? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[sorupaa]

portland is crazy at finding parking, a bike is the way to go, ive never lived there so i dont know much

[EnricoV]

It's a little hard to say - affordable is one of those things that might mean one thing to someone and different to another. And good for someone in their 20s? Again, hard to say. It depends on what your interests are. It's not party central. But yes, it's certainly possible to live without a car, depending on where you live and where you want to go. Getting from here to there will probably take longer than it would if you drove.

Lewis & Clark is in the hills, not in the downtown area. So getting there would be by bus. And if you're going to depend on the bus, I'd check the bus lines, and look for somewhere to live along one that goes directly there.

[Minervah]

Living downtown will get you the closest to all bus stops. There are shuttles to L&C. The question is what do you believe is affordable housing?

[Nell Plotts]

The other question is why do you want to go to law school???? Many grads, even from Ivy schools, are having difficulty finding a position. Where you my son or daughter I would strongly recommend you set your sights on another profession. Don't get me wrong, I count several successful lawyers among my friends. There is nothing wrong with the profession but there are more than the business can support.

[Yankeemama]

Parking is pretty easy to find in almost all of PDX.


UOTE=drum bro;20824855]portland is crazy at finding parking, a bike is the way to go, ive never lived there so i dont know much[/quote]

[sorupaa]

theres a little less spots becaus the blocks are small the transportation isnt good at night everyone is driving the day time isnt as bad

[Minervah]

You didn't ask about parking but since it has come up here's a thought. One problem with parking at least in the older neighborhoods is that new apartment buildings are being squeezed in wherever there is just a little bit of space. They don't usually accomodate parking and if they do, it's only for one car. Many people have more than one car and have visitors who want to park closeby.

Street parking fills up fast in the evening. People sometimes have to park blocks away from their house or apartment.

But that will depend upon the neigbborhood. Some are better than others.

[mkl654321]

Where you should look for housing is the "Nob Hill" area, on NW 20th through NW 23rd and the attendant cross streets. The neighborhood is full of cool restaurants and shops, and it's really convenient to other areas of Portland. It's right up against the hills and so would be relatively close to Lewis & Clark.

My second choice would be the Pearl District.

Public transit in Portland is very good, and yes, you can get along without a car, as long as you don't have the urge to go out of the city--but you probably will, and should. Portland is surrounded by so many wonderful natural attractions, most of them only an hour or so away, that you'll be glad that you do have a car.

"Affordable" is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but expect one-bedroom apartments to be in the $700-900 range. It also may take quite a while to find exactly what you want. NB: Portland has "micro-neighborhoods". You can go two blocks in any direction from any given point and find that the character of the surroundings has changed drastically, for better or worse. So don't rent sight unseen.

[Minervah]

If you decide to go outside the downtown or NW area, be sure and check the bus schedules and routes with Tri-Met before you rent. There are some areas within the city on major buslines that are just fine. Since all roads mostly lead to downtown you will be able to take one of those buses and transfer downtown to a Tri Met bus or the L&C shuttle.

As a long time resident of Portland who has never owned a car, I can attest to the fact that many bus routes have had cut backs in their schedules and some taken off the line altogether. Since there are very few cross town buses that go into different neighborhoods and you do not have a car, you will need to make sure there is a grocery store convient to where you live. These neighborhoods are more expensive as you get close to downtown.

As an example, I live in the Buckman area off Hawthorne Blvd which is a very desirable neighborhood. You can walk to everything and are near two major buslines that run every 15 minutes. Rents for a one bedroom apartment go for around $850-$1000.

But if I were attending L&C College, I would want to live either NW, or downtown where the buses converge or closer to the school farther out.