Possible move to Portland from Texas - don't know where to start looking? (Lake Oswego: sales, daycare)

[Juliana]

We may be moving for husband's job to the Portland area. He will actually be working in Vancouver, Wa but am not sure we want to live there - don't really know, but from what we've heard that tends to be much more limited in terms of restaurants, shopping, etc.

Some background on us - family with 2 small children so we will need excellent daycare options as well as excellent schools, preferably public. We prefer diverse neighborhoods (meaning, race, socio-economic, as well as home styles). We don't like cookie-cutter, all-white neighborhoods. We do like to be within reasonable driving distance of good shopping, fun family outings, etc. We would probably be able to spend up to $800k on a house.

A few questions -

1) If we live in Portland, what neighborhoods do you recommend based on commute to Vancouver and above background info? Keep in mind, good schools are very important to us.

2) How expensive are Portland homes and what really are the tax advantages to living in Vancouver rather than Portland?

3) What is the commute like from Portland to Vancouver? I know the commute time in the opposite direction is pretty bad, but, maybe against the flow is not so bad? Also, are there reasonable mass transit options from Portland to Vancouver?

4) Anyone think we should live in Vancouver? Pros/cons based on our family background info?

Thanks in advance for any information/advice you can provide!!!
Juliana

[Yankeemama]

I don't know about the commute to Vancouver from Forest Park neighborhood but with your housing budget and the kind of neighborhood you want, I would choose that neighborhood. The commute could be hell. Then again, what time will your husband be commuting? The NW Nob Hill neighborhood is great, too. There are excellent schools that those neighborhoods feed into. There are regulars here that know more about the commute so hopefully you can good advice from them. Good luck!

[Rob Allen]

The major tax difference between Oregon and Washington is that Oregon has income tax and Washington has sales tax. If you live or work in Oregon, you pay Oregon income tax. If you live and work in Washington, no income tax. And you can drive across the river and shop with no sales tax in Oregon.

Commuting against the flow is not as bad, but still isn't good.

[AndyAMG]

live in vancouver, work in vancouver, visit portland. problem solved.

[rainierman]

AndyAMG is right. live in vancouver, work in vancouver, visit portland. problem solved.

But if you decide to take a job yourself as 2nd household income in Oregon, then its a moot point. Just live in Oregon.

[mobilemindstationaryreality]

Originally Posted by Juliana

We may be moving for husband's job to the Portland area. He will actually be working in Vancouver, Wa but am not sure we want to live there - don't really know, but from what we've heard that tends to be much more limited in terms of restaurants, shopping, etc.

Some background on us - family with 2 small children so we will need excellent daycare options as well as excellent schools, preferably public. We prefer diverse neighborhoods (meaning, race, socio-economic, as well as home styles). We don't like cookie-cutter, all-white neighborhoods. We do like to be within reasonable driving distance of good shopping, fun family outings, etc. We would probably be able to spend up to $800k on a house.

A few questions -

1) If we live in Portland, what neighborhoods do you recommend based on commute to Vancouver and above background info? Keep in mind, good schools are very important to us.

2) How expensive are Portland homes and what really are the tax advantages to living in Vancouver rather than Portland?

3) What is the commute like from Portland to Vancouver? I know the commute time in the opposite direction is pretty bad, but, maybe against the flow is not so bad? Also, are there reasonable mass transit options from Portland to Vancouver?

4) Anyone think we should live in Vancouver? Pros/cons based on our family background info?

Thanks in advance for any information/advice you can provide!!!
Juliana

1. To answer this, it depends on where in Vancouver your husband will be working. The city is very rectangle shaped and it is pretty parallel to Portland. If he'll be downtown, then living somewhere in North Portland would be ideal as it is close to the Interstate Bridge. If he was working on the east side, then living somewhere near the Glenn Jackson Bridge would be more ideal. There aren't a ton of what many Portlanders call "hip neighborhoods" near the Jackson bridge but housing prices would probably be cheaper anyway.

2. I'm not a homeowner but I hear people say all the time that property taxes are cheaper in Vancouver. This doesn't always fit the bill, though. My good friend lives in the Orchards area of East Vancouver and he complains about his property taxes being too high all the time. He also lives in an excellent school district (Evergreen) which is even superior to many affluent Oregon school districts in terms of new technology, new buildings and overall resources. He says he will never have kids though so he doesn't understand why he needs to pay it. Anyway...

3. Commute is always bad on the Interstate in both directions during rush hour. Commute isn't as bad on the Jackson bridge but it has an extra lane and was built to better standards. Interstate Bridge always seems to be a mess.

4. Think of it this way. In Portland, you will probably get the culture, diversity (as diverse as an extremely white city can get), liberal and/or yuppie neighbors and possibly even some bad stuff. You really never know in a cit of almost 600,000 people. In Vancouver, you will get typical suburbia but extremely better schools.

[EnricoV]

1. One of the problems with living in Portland and commuting to Vancouver is, areas nearest, with the easiest commute, aren't necessarily the preferable neighborhoods. Especially in your price range. Though I will say that north Portland neighborhoods like Portsmouth, Piedmont, University Park do have some great old homes, and would be the closest commute. And will probably give you the most diversity in the city.

2. Property taxes are probably fairly comparable. It's the income tax vs. the sales tax that will make the biggest difference.

3. The commute is fine, if you're happy giving up (probably) an hour there and an hour back.

4. Yeah, I'm all for ... work in Vancouver, live in Vancouver. It makes the tax situation much easier. Vancouver is also a great place for families. It'll be so much easier to go to Portland for shopping and entertainment than it would be to commute back and forth for work. And there are certainly enough good restaurants, etc. in Vancouver for everyday. Big box type shopping is just south of the river, for the convenience of Vancouver shoppers!

[rainierman]

A few answers -

1) If we live in Portland, what neighborhoods do you recommend based on commute to Vancouver and above background info? Keep in mind, good schools are very important to us.
Generally all public schools in the entire Portland Metro are pretty good due to popularity among teachers who want to work here, so the teaching talent is often better than other cities.

2) How expensive are Portland homes and what really are the tax advantages to living in Vancouver rather than Portland?
Portland is getting cheaper every year due to the 'recovery'. Homes out here dropped to an astounding $100k-$200k, so $800k will get you a home from a rapper's music video. Want chrome spinners on your car? Seriously, with $800k, look at the Portland West Hills (old-money families).. then Dunthorpe, Stafford, Lake Oswego, West Linn (new money & celeberties. no joke) all along HWY 43 south of Portland, that's where $800k gets you thick walls, better-built homes, boat easements, or simple cottages on the most incredible view lots. Given that area, Riverside School is the top public school there.

3) What is the commute like from Portland to Vancouver? I know the commute time in the opposite direction is pretty bad, but, maybe against the flow is not so bad? Also, are there reasonable mass transit options from Portland to Vancouver?
The main fancy coach bus service is C-TRAN. Welcome to C-TRAN It's a true reverse-commute, not that bad, you're stuck at 52 mph only because of the single idiot messing up everybody's flow.

4) Anyone think we should live in Vancouver? Pros/cons based on our family background info?
Texans and out-of-staters opt for Vancouver, just due to familiar environment and way better deals on big houses with 3 garages, etc. Vancouver, aka 'The Couve' or 'Vantucky' has the more familiar setup that looks like every major suburb from Calif to Florida with more open 6-lane road layouts than the 2-lane spaghetti roads and bottlenecks weaving all around.

Hope this helps!

[Nell Plotts]

Lincoln High School has the highest average test results BUT this student body comes from families with (on average) higher educational attainment and professional/managerial occupations. Their parents are on their case from preschool. The primary schools in that enrolment area are Skyline, Chapman, Ainsworth and Bridlemile (split between Lincoln & Wilson High Schools). Each of these grade-schools has their own mini-culture. Chapman has more parents with a laid back attitude. Ainsworth parents have high expectations. Skyline is up in the forest and insular. Bridlemile is suburban.

In terms of commuting to Vancouver Chapman would be the place to look on the east side of Forest Park.

Homes are more expensive in these areas.

[HonuMan]

Another thing to ask yourself about living in Portland and working in Vancouver is how much time, realistically, you plan to take advantage of Portland's amenities at the end of a work day. After working, commuting, taking care of the needs of your children (as they get older, they'll need to be driven to and from various activities -- trust me on that), stopping at the grocery store sometimes, and taking care of household chores, will you really go out on the town enough to make the commute worthwhile? If so, then consider living in Portland -- especially NW Portland, where you'd be close to restaurants and shops. When my wife and I had our kids living with us, though, we were lucky to have two free hours in the evening, so we were pretty much homebodies during the work week. If you live in Vancouver, you'll have extra free time because you won't have as long a commute, and you can go to Portland on your days off. Vancouver may not be as cosmopolitan as Portland, but there are some pretty areas.

If I had $800K to spend, I'd look at houses on the north shore of the Columbia River in Vancouver. There are some gorgeous views. If you're set on Portland, though, and you like old houses, and you want to be fairly close to the city, also check out the Irvington neighborhood on the east side. Every spring, they have a tour of historic homes. It's a beautiful neighborhood, very walkable, with plenty of huge, old trees.