Noise while living next to MAX and bus lines (Portland: apartments, rentals)

[Nevara]

My husband and I are moving ASAP to Portland. It's going to be a great match for us, as we have family in Lake Oswego, and we've visited enough times. But we do have a few questions.

First, if we live almost at or near a bus stop or the MAX is it going to be REALLY loud, or is it relatively a non problem?

Second, a public transpo only trip to downtown fox building on yamhill and broadway, what's the furthest out we could go before it took an hour to get to work? My brother has a house in Beaverton off Murray we may be able to rent.

Do a lot of people ride the Public transportation to work downtown daily?


THANKS!!!!

[sorupaa]

if you lived next to the tracks or next to the street that the buss is on it would be loud

[Nell Plotts]

Nothing at all like one experiences in NYC or CHI. Actually the MAX is so quiet it is a safety problem. Each of us have different tolerances for street noise. No doubt it is quieter if you don't live on a through street.

[Minervah]

There will be noise. It all depends upon what the individual can tolerate. I would be concerned about safety especially at some MAX stops.

Buses and trains are packed with commuters every morning.

[davemess10]

We have a bus stop two houses down and the bus goes directly by our house. It's somewhat noisy. Granted the bus service is so limited you'll only hear a bus every 20 mins. or so. It is something you might notice. We sleep in the back bedroom, so it's not too bad, but you can occasionally hear the buses. It's not a deal breaker for us, but there are definitely moments when I wished we were on a quieter street. As for living next to the MAX, you would hear it as well. More the rush of wind than anything. I work in Providence hospital (next to 84), and we can hear the MAX trains go by from inside if we are on that side of the building. So they definitely are not silent. I would say on par with a bus in Pdx.

As for an hour commute? It just depends if you get one direct lines or not. Transferring and waiting is going to be a major constraint on your time. If you can find something near the MAX or on an express bus line this will allow you to live a bit further out. I think Beaverrton would definitely be withing this hour timeframe (probably a good bit less).

[Minervah]

Two weeks is an awfully short time to start looking for an apartment. Do you have any neighborhoods or rental prospects in mind?

[Nevara]

Minervah, it is a ridiculously short time! The opportunity cropped up out of seemingly nowhere and it's too good to pass up. But I have a brother who lives in Lake Oswego who said we could stay with him until we find something, but I'm REALLY wanting to keep that short since it's just a pain for all involved. I'm really just looking within an hour max ride (or express bus, something with only one transfer or none) of yamhill and broadway downtown... the fox building which is where hubby will be working. We've got a budget of about $1000 (up to $1500 if absolutely necessary) and don't care how many beds it is as long as it's not a studio. We also were thinking of living downtownish... maybe Pearl District, but I'm just in over my head trying to learn as much about the area as possible in the shortest time possible. I have garnered that Pearl is probably out of our budget... Using Padmapper and hotpads as well as zillow for my search. If I can't find anything, I'll end up looking around when we get there I suppose.

My brother is a super busy investment manager, and I don't like to bother him with my questions, so I'm trying to take most of this research on myself.

He did mention something about John area? Maybe I'm totally remembering wrong. Said the schools were bad, but we don't have kids, so it would be fine.

I'm pretty picky about safety, and I prefer newer construction, but other than that, throw your living ideas my way. I appreciate anything and everything you can advise me about!



davemess10, I've been looking at the transportation... it's like spaghetti soup with the bus lines. How do I know if it's an express bus line? Are there any from Lake Oswego, Beaverton and maybe even the Pearl?

Thank you for the input about noise. I'd been looking at housing almost right on the lines, but maybe I'll take a few blocks back...



Minervah,
What do you mean, safety, at some max stops? Hubby will probably be wearing relatively nice clothing and carrying expensive items to his bank/investment job every morning downtown.


Nell Plotts,
I remember thinking the MAX was quiet compared to NYC, but I haven't ridden it in probably a few years, so I wanted to reconfirm my memories of it.

Thank you all!

[sorupaa]

it says express on there and they say express bus when the pick people up

the one that goes to oregon city will be gone in a few years but theres one that goes to beaverton

[Nell Plotts]

You may be a good fit for the area around Orenco Station, actually any of the MAX stops from Merlo west. I think of the Merlo Rd stop as the NIKE stop but there are apartments to the south, within walking distance. The Hawthorne Farm stop is Intel, the closer you are to Intel the more you will be competing with their engineers and technicians for housing.

Rents near the core area on the west side are higher than elsewhere. The streetcar, buses that run along NW 23rd, and NW 21st run very frequently (about every 15-20 minutes); the Hillside, Vista and Arlington Heights buses have a very button-downed ridership and run only during commute times but newer rentals rare and when found comparable to the Pearl.

The safest building in the city, IMHO, is the Vista St. Claire at the corner of SW Vista and Park Place. Tenants who don't mind their manners have been known to be poked by ladies wielding canes. The building is old but very well maintained (as are most of the residents ).

[Minervah]

What I meant by safety at the MAX stations is that there has been a little bit of an upswing in crimes reported in the past few months at some of them. However, it hasn't been during heavy commuting times so I wouldn't worry about it. It's just a good idea to be aware of one's surroundings. Anything can happen anywhere as I am sure you know.

$1000 a month rent can get you a nice apartment in a good neighborhood in Portland. It will more than likely be a one-bedroom but you said that was okay. I agree with those who say Beaverton is a good option. There is a MAX that goes downtown in less than an hour and there are usually apartments available since there are large complexes there. You could probably find something pretty quickly in that area.