Neighborhood suggestions for a single young renter? (Portland, Burns: apartments, condos)

[HondaCivet]

Hello! I remember asking for help in this forum when I was moving here over a year ago and you guys were very helpful. I'm hoping you can help me out again. I'm a 27 year-old single lady with gainful employment in town. At the end of January, my current lease is ending. Right now I'm in Goose Hollow and it's not bad but it's kind of pricy and it's a little hard to get around due to being backed up against the hills and having to drive through downtown all the time to get anywhere. I hate to admit that I don't really know the city that well in spite of living here about a year so I was wondering if you guys could suggest some neighborhoods to look in? Here are my criteria:

-One bedroom or studio, type of building doesn't really matter as long as I don't have roommates
-Big enough for me and two kitties
-Would really like to save some money on rent so ~$700/mo. would be nice, maybe up to $800
-Everyone says this but . . . SAFE! I'm a single lady and would like to be able to walk around alone at night comfortably. I'm on the edge between Goose Hollow and downtown right now and it feels OK except when random scruffy-types wander over from the downtown side.
-Some nice shops in walking distance would be nice. A gym in walking distance would be really nice!
-Somewhere for my car! If parking is going to be a nightmare then no thanks.
-My job right now is in one of the Lloyd Center office buildings so I'd like that to be pretty accessible, preferably by public transport but driving is OK as long as it's a short trip.
-Cute would be nice? Some parts of Portland are really wretchedly ugly I have to say.

I'm guessing somewhere in the SE but I'd like to hear what you guys think. Thanks!

[Haley James]

Check out the Belmont, Hawthorne, Mt. Tabor, Laurelhurst and Irvington neighborhoods. All on the east side, relatively close to your work, within walking distance of shops, cafes and safe with common streetsmarts. Somebody else may be able to help with info on gyms.

[Minervah]

The problem as I see it is your price range. SE and NE neighborhoods close in with the kind of public transportation that will get you to work will be out of your price range. The neighborhoods close to the amenties you are looking for have rents around $1000 for studios and one bedrooms. I live next to close in SE Hawthorne so I know that's what they go for. I am told it is pretty much the same for close in Belmont.

Farther out may be doable for rents but you will have to travel farther on the buses or MAX and will more than likely have to transfer. TriMet, unfortunately has had some bus cut backs that used to serve going from SE to NE neighborhoods to another.

So what I would suggest is that you check out Sullivan's Gulch which is near the Llyod Buildings around Broadway and Wiedler. I don't know the rents there but there are a lot of apartments and lots of coffee houses and shopping on Broadway. Since you work around that area, you can cruise around and take a look at surrounding neighborhoods. You might even find something where you can walk to work. Personally, I like living in a neighborhood nearer to work because I am not a happy commuter.

[HondaCivet]

Thanks! Yeah, I had a feeling the cute Hawthorne neighborhoods would be too much. Maybe when I get a new job I can comfortably make that kind of rent but right now it would kind of stink. I think I will look anyway though, maybe I can luck out and find a bargain.

I have a coworker that has a house in Sullivan's Gulch, haha. I feel like that might be TOO close to work but I haven't really checked it out much, maybe it's nicer than I think it would be.

Would the NW work? I thought it would be too expensive but Craigslist seems to have quite a bit of stuff in my price range. However I have the impression that parking is a nightmare there and also that it's still going to be hard to get out to the rest of town like it is with Goose Hollow.

[EnricoV]

Knowing what areas you feel are "wretchedly ugly" would help. I wouldn't describe anywhere that way.

[Minervah]

NW is one of my farovites. Parking can be a problem but on the other hand you maybe can find a studio within your price range. Everything you could want is there though. It would be worth checking it out. I don't know about getting out to the rest of town. I wouldn't think it would be difficult. By public transportation it wouldn't be too bad depending upon which street you were near but by car I can't say because I don't drive.

There are some quite streets in Sullivan's Gulch. I used to walk from the Lloyd Center to Fred Meyers down Multnomah St and I always enjoyed the area. Lots of apartment buildings but I don't know what they rent for.

I think you are going to have to do some compromises here. How close is "too close" to work? Working within your budget and wanting a place that has all the shops and a gym etc. is going to be pretty difficult. You are going to have to decide which is the priority the budget, the stores, the gym and then there are the cats. I don't think you will be able to encorporate all these things in one place for even $800 a month.

Pick the most important and go from there.

[HondaCivet]

Originally Posted by EnricoV

Knowing what areas you feel are "wretchedly ugly" would help. I wouldn't describe anywhere that way.

Portland has some weird industrial areas that bother me but they probably don't have a lot of apartments in them so maybe it's not really an issue. That and the run-down areas out east but I probably wouldn't want to live out that far anyway.

After looking around a little, I agree Minervah. I am trying to decide what's most important and what I don't like about my current location. I think it's mostly that I just don't really care for downtown Portland that much. It's expensive, hard to find parking and I don't feel comfortable there at night. Jeld-Wen is really annoying too, it takes up so much space and all the shops nearby are bars. I'd like to live somewhere with a better variety of shops within a short walk or drive. I also need to get out more so it would be nice to live nearer to places like the Bagdad and Hawthorne theaters because that seems to be where a lot of shows and stuff are. Does the NW have a good variety of shops and things to do? I haven't spent much time up there so I don't know what it's like besides that it's cute and a little claustrophobic.

Forgot to note, I've been doing searches and Sullivan's Gulch doesn't come up at all. Maybe it's all condos?

[Minervah]

Here's a good link.

Guide to Sullivans Gulch Neighborhood in Portland Oregon

There is all kinds of housing but I don't think you will find many condos. I can think of one or two townhouse complexes that were converted to condos but that's about it.

There were Sullivan Gulch websites listed but I like this website the best for all Portland neighborhoods. You can also find one for the NW side as well if you subsititute NW for Sullivans Gulch.

The NW part of town has everything the SE part of town has and probably more except for good parking. There are older homes and taller apartment buildings with a lot of character. It is also more crowded. It's more like city living. I don't think it is inexpensive but I have heard of people finding studio apartments for around $800.

You should go there and walk around. It's a lot of fun because there is so much to see and do. It's not at all that far from Goose Hollow. If you start at 23rd and Burnside and just keep walking north on 23rd you will see all the stores. Walk down any of the streets off 23rd towards 21st and you will see lots of apartment buildings and homes.