Moving family from Phoenix, AZ to Portland, OR and I need advice on neighborhoods, bus lines & such. Thanks:) (Beaverton: apartments, rentals)

[TJ27]

Hi, I am in need of some advice from Portland residents. I've read through this entire forum and got so much great advice. I was hoping I could bother you all for a little bit of specific advice regarding our families move.
The beginning of January, my family (husband, son and myself) are moving to Portland, OR from Phoenix, AZ.
My husband is transferring to a higher position and we have till December to find a place and a school for our son. We'll be selling our car to save money so we'll need to live near the MAX or bus lines.
We've been to Portland a few times and loved it!! We're really excited its been a long time coming and it's finally here Ok so I'm having a hard time narrowing neighborhoods to look at that'll meet our families needs. I'm not looking for the home of my dreams just yet but more of something to get us started in our new hometown.

Ok so here's our deal.. We're looking for the best location for us considering these things:
-A good public school for our son (he's 8)
-Walking distance to grocery store, coffee, library, parks, etc
-Need to live near major bus lines
-We have a dog and a online screen printing business, so I'd really like to get into a house. But we have a back up plan if we have to get an apartment…for our business (found a local co-op that rents space when you need it) and our dog would stay at my moms till we can get her
-My husband is transferring to one of two locations. First is in NE Portland and Second is in SE Portland. This isn't a huge factor in where we live because he works from home a lot. But he will have to travel to work some days of the week.
-I have about a year and a half attending community college before transferring to the university. So I'll be at PCC for 1 1/2 years then at PSU for the next 2 years. The program I'm in is for graphic design so I think I'll be at the PCC Sylvania campus but not 100% sure on this. Google maps show a Sylvania campus in the NW and SW so I need to figure out which campus holds majority of Graphic Design classes.
I'm only going part time the first year so I can hopefully qualify for residency in 12 months. Living near a bus line would be helpful since it's seems PCC is kind of far out.
-Our rent budget is around $1000/$1150 per month.

We were leaning towards:
NE/SE
-Hawthorne area
-Richmond Division/ Clinton
-Alberta
-Laurelhurst
-Ladd's
-Mississippi
But those are just picks going off of what I've read/heard (walkscore.com), so we're open to all suggestions
We're taking a trip up there the beginning of December to enroll our son in school and *hopefully* lock down a home for us come January.

Thanks for any help!!

[Copsgirl73]

Your rent budget for neighborhood with good schools, walkability AND pet friendly is low, especially for a house. This is about as good a house you will get for the $$:

Sparkling clean single story house

Otherwise, I would start looking at apartments. Remember, convenience/good schools/safe always = more expensive. Especially in Portland. Just for example, 3 BR in Laurelhurst area are around $2000/mo.

[TJ27]

Originally Posted by Copsgirl73

Your rent budget for neighborhood with good schools, walkability AND pet friendly is low, especially for a house. This is about as good a house you will get for the $$:

Sparkling clean single story house

Otherwise, I would start looking at apartments. Remember, convenience/good schools/safe always = more expensive. Especially in Portland. Just for example, 3 BR in Laurelhurst area are around $2000/mo.

Thanks for the info. Yeah I've come across more apartments then houses while browsing within our budget too. Our dog also seems to be a problem with a lot of rentals (same problem here in AZ too). The house you posted would be fine for us. We're in a smaller house in Downtown Phx and the rent is about $1600 so we could go a bit higher if needed. Although not $2000. looks like Laurelhurst might be off the list.
It's confusing, you read one forum and people say theres so many neighborhoods that you don't have to leave because everything is right there but then there is others saying thats not the case.

[Copsgirl73]

Ladd's, Laurelhurst, parts of Mississippi amd Alberta and Hawthorne will most likely be off your list. Those are all up and coming neighborhoods that are being rejuvenated with shops, restaurants, etc. and therefore more people want to live there now and it costs more. I would suggest looking on the Westside (Beaverton, Hillsboro). Rents are cheaper and these suburbs are right on the transit lines. Walking to things may be an issue but the schools are good and you will have more luck finding a rental. Are you planning a trip out to get a feel for the city and check out rentals? Renting sight-unseen is not a good idea

[Minervah]

PCC Sylvania is nowhere near any of the neighborhoods you mention in SE or NE. And nothing there is walkable. You will need to either drive from those neighborhoods or take public transportation. I am not certain what goes there these days.

Also because those neighborhoods have all those great amenities they will unfortunately cost you more for a two bedroom apartment than your budget allows. For example, in the Hawthorne neighborhood where I live a small two bedroom apartment just a block away from a large supermarket and major bus line as well as shops and restaurants is going for $1200 a month and that is actually a bargain for around here.

You may be able to find something less expensive in the neighborhoods you like if you just come out and walk around seeking "For Rent" signs. That's the way the "natives" do it because the really good and reasonable stuff is rarely advertised. The landlords don't have to because they can get responses immediately by just putting up signs.

As the previous poster stated, renting sight-unseen is not always a good idea. It can be just fine but there are scammers out there who have been known to rent out places that were not there or that were occupied by tenants who were by no means planning to move. Not to scare you but forewarned is forearmed. When you wish to move to a place that is very popular where many others want to live, you unfortunately may run into things like this. Just be careful and you will be fine.

Try to seek out neighborhoods a little farther out from the more populated areas of close-in SE, NE etc. You don't have to go too far, just a bit past all the action and rental prices will be a bit less. Like in SE where I live, past 50th ST will be a bit less than up to that area. You may be able to find your rental price there. You probably won't have your totally walkable neighborhood though. It's a compromise.

If you are going to depend upon public transportation, be sure to check out bus or MAX schedules to make certain there is service when you want and need it. You can easily find that information online. There is a lot of homework to do. Good luck with your search.

[hamellr]

Your other problem is that there is a HUGE difference between NE Portland and SE Portland. Depending on exactly where the job is, public transportation could be a pain. The lightrail runs a bit closer to the separation between the two, so if he's out near the Airport for instance, that could be a huge problem. On the same token, if he's out nearer Mount Scott, then there maybe an option (if I got the clues for which company he's working for right.)

Another thing to keep in mind, that while the majority of your classes may be at Sylvania Campus (technically SW Portland,) you may find that you'll need to go to another campus. I'm taking a business degree right now, I have three classes this semester, all of which are actual real business classes. All at different campuses.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by hamellr

Your other problem is that there is a HUGE difference between NE Portland and SE Portland. Depending on exactly where the job is, public transportation could be a pain. The lightrail runs a bit closer to the separation between the two, so if he's out near the Airport for instance, that could be a huge problem. On the same token, if he's out nearer Mount Scott, then there maybe an option (if I got the clues for which company he's working for right.)

Another thing to keep in mind, that while the majority of your classes may be at Sylvania Campus (technically SW Portland,) you may find that you'll need to go to another campus. I'm taking a business degree right now, I have three classes this semester, all of which are actual real business classes. All at different campuses.

Yeah, I was thinking about that. Whether it's from SE or NE to SW it's going to be a long commute to SW if at all possible. And as you say, there is no guarantee the classes will always be in the same place. They may have to live downtown in order to get to all those places with any kind of timliness. Or maybe Goose Hollow. I think location, rather than other amenities will have to be their main consideration.

I can't see how they can do all this without a car.

[TJ27]

Originally Posted by Copsgirl73

Ladd's, Laurelhurst, parts of Mississippi amd Alberta and Hawthorne will most likely be off your list. Those are all up and coming neighborhoods that are being rejuvenated with shops, restaurants, etc. and therefore more people want to live there now and it costs more. I would suggest looking on the Westside (Beaverton, Hillsboro). Rents are cheaper and these suburbs are right on the transit lines. Walking to things may be an issue but the schools are good and you will have more luck finding a rental. Are you planning a trip out to get a feel for the city and check out rentals? Renting sight-unseen is not a good idea

Thanks for the input. Hoping we won't have to go as far out as Beaverton/Hillsboro. We'd be able to go up to $1500 in rent but would like to stay closer to $1100. But living near the transit lines is a priority. Yeah we have a trip planned for the first week of December. We'll be there 6 days to find something hopefully.

Our move date is January 3rd. We just wanted to get some areas lined up so I can plan it out for December. I didn't like the idea of renting a home unseen and thought it would be easier to get a rental in person then over the phone or through email.

Originally Posted by Minervah

PCC Sylvania is nowhere near any of the neighborhoods you mention in SE or NE. And nothing there is walkable. You will need to either drive from those neighborhoods or take public transportation. I am not certain what goes there these days.

Also because those neighborhoods have all those great amenities they will unfortunately cost you more for a two bedroom apartment than your budget allows. For example, in the Hawthorne neighborhood where I live a small two bedroom apartment just a block away from a large supermarket and major bus line as well as shops and restaurants is going for $1200 a month and that is actually a bargain for around here.

You may be able to find something less expensive in the neighborhoods you like if you just come out and walk around seeking "For Rent" signs. That's the way the "natives" do it because the really good and reasonable stuff is rarely advertised. The landlords don't have to because they can get responses immediately by just putting up signs.

As the previous poster stated, renting sight-unseen is not always a good idea. It can be just fine but there are scammers out there who have been known to rent out places that were not there or that were occupied by tenants who were by no means planning to move. Not to scare you but forewarned is forearmed. When you wish to move to a place that is very popular where many others want to live, you unfortunately may run into things like this. Just be careful and you will be fine.

Try to seek out neighborhoods a little farther out from the more populated areas of close-in SE, NE etc. You don't have to go too far, just a bit past all the action and rental prices will be a bit less. Like in SE where I live, past 50th ST will be a bit less than up to that area. You may be able to find your rental price there. You probably won't have your totally walkable neighborhood though. It's a compromise.

If you are going to depend upon public transportation, be sure to check out bus or MAX schedules to make certain there is service when you want and need it. You can easily find that information online. There is a lot of homework to do. Good luck with your search.

Thanks for all the detail! Yeah on the map the PCC campus looks a ways out. I'm not concerned about walking there but more living near public transportation to get me from my home to there. That would be great if I could find an apartment in Hawthorne for around $1200 but I see it's rare. Our move date is 1/3 so we'll be going out there the first week of December and hopefully I'll see some for rent signs in the neighborhoods we're checking out.
We don't need to live in the center of the action but I didn't want to be so far out from everything. Really all I want is a grocery store within a short bus ride and I'll be happy. Sure it'd be nice to walk right to it but a 10 minute bus ride wouldn't be bad either. I live in downtown phoenix right now and its about an 45min walk to a grocery store (in 112F weather not ideal) or about a 35 min bus ride each way. I definitely see it's going to be a compromise. I'm going to check out the areas in SE past 50th and see what the transit schedules look like from all my points. Lots to do! Thanks again

Originally Posted by hamellr

Your other problem is that there is a HUGE difference between NE Portland and SE Portland. Depending on exactly where the job is, public transportation could be a pain. The lightrail runs a bit closer to the separation between the two, so if he's out near the Airport for instance, that could be a huge problem. On the same token, if he's out nearer Mount Scott, then there maybe an option (if I got the clues for which company he's working for right.)

Another thing to keep in mind, that while the majority of your classes may be at Sylvania Campus (technically SW Portland,) you may find that you'll need to go to another campus. I'm taking a business degree right now, I have three classes this semester, all of which are actual real business classes. All at different campuses.

Huge difference in what aspects, distance from things or just all around feel? Love to hear your input on each.
We could have a say in his work location preference, we just weren't sure which to pick.
I didn't know that about PCC so thats good to know. Here all our classes are on one campus. So do most students have cars or is it pretty doable to travel to and from PCC campuses on public transit.
Thanks for your info

Originally Posted by Minervah

Yeah, I was thinking about that. Whether it's from SE or NE to SW it's going to be a long commute to SW if at all possible. And as you say, there is no guarantee the classes will always be in the same place. They may have to live downtown in order to get to all those places with any kind of timliness. Or maybe Goose Hollow. I think location, rather than other amenities will have to be their main consideration.

I can't see how they can do all this without a car.

I definitely agree with you that location is going to have to come before all other amenities when choosing. I can't see us affording a 2 bdr apartment anywhere downtown with our budget. Although I had checked out Goose Hollow before and did find a few places we could do. Whats your feel on Goose Hollow? From what I read it's a college neighborhood?
I think the main problem is getting down to SW for PCC from anywhere we live. Do you have any suggestions for neighborhoods in the SW? Multnomah hows that neighborhood?
Thanks for the input

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by TJ27

I definitely agree with you that location is going to have to come before all other amenities when choosing. I can't see us affording a 2 bdr apartment anywhere downtown with our budget. Although I had checked out Goose Hollow before and did find a few places we could do. Whats your feel on Goose Hollow? From what I read it's a college neighborhood?
I think the main problem is getting down to SW for PCC from anywhere we live. Do you have any suggestions for neighborhoods in the SW? Multnomah hows that neighborhood?
Thanks for the input

I believe our Nell Potts lives in Goose Hollow and can tell you about it. It looks like a good place to live and is near public transportation and grocery stores. Not far from downtown.

Were you referring to Multnomah Village? That's a great area but then you wouldn't be very close to either NE or SE side of town.

[Lair Hill Jim]

You might look along SW Barbour Blvd. in the South Portland neighborhood as well as a few blocks to the east of Barbour. But, by all means walk the neighborhood and talk to people.