Central Beaverton? (Portland, Hillsboro: apartment complex, crime rate, house)

[vicious-lies]

Hey guys,

I'm moving from Maui to Portland at the end of July with a friend and we were hoping to find an apartment in Beaverton. So I made a lot of calls to the apartments in Beaverton and little did I know, most of them had no availability until the end of August. However, I did find one that was in our price range and didn't seem so bad with the ratings on apartment finder so we applied. It is in Central Beaverton and the name is Central Plaza apartments. I researched the area and found that it rather high in crime. Well the management called back to let us know the application got approved so now we have to decide. Is central beaverton a bad place to live? I wanted something that was green and foresty, but also close to stores, as well as the maxline. Also, our price range is from $700-880 for 2 bedroom. I need advice please!

Thanks

[FSF]

I know that complex well though I've never lived there or been in there. It's not much to look at from the outside though it's by no means slummy or anything. The location IMO is TERRIFIC. It's literally in my Top 5 of all of the Portland area. You will be right next to the red and blue line of the MAX and the main bus hub of Beaverton. You will have TONS of commercial groceries, restaurants and other shops all within a relatively short walking distance.

As for safety, I think it's about as virtually safe as one can get. Some elements of the general area look a little more sketchy than it actually is. But there isn't much more or anymore hardcore crime there than most areas of safe Portland metro that isn't in the hills or something like that. It is definitely safe as far as I'm concerned and there is not any time of the day or night where I wouldn't feel comfortable walking alone anywhere in that general area, though one should always have their mental guard up when walking alone at night.

[EnricoV]

And being at that hub is why the crime rate is high. Just as downtown Portland's rate is astronomical. It's because the rates are based on the crimes per resident. But, most of the residents aren't the victims of the crimes. It's the people moving through the area.

[Leisesturm]

I was listening to a program on the Trayvon Martin shooting this morning and one of the guests made this observation: as America gets safer and safer and, violent crime has decreased 56% in the last 20 years. Non-black Americans feel just the opposite. Blacks of all walks of life pay a real price in just about every measurable metric for this perception on the part of so many that black people are so dangerous and that crime is sure to follow if any black people are around. Whatever "astronomical" means in the present statistics it was worse before, but still this board is inundated with people inquiring about "safety" ad nauseum. This may not be the forum for it but... since we are discussing crime... I'll observe that the unemployment rate for Hispanics is around 3%. It doesn't get much better than that. Only white people with a superior education have unemployment rates that low. The unemployment rate for blacks can hardly be measured because so many have simply never worked, ever. But lets say its 16%, and it's probably double that, 16% represents a whole lot of disenfranchisement. The miracle is that crime in Beaverton is as low as it is!

H

[skiffrace]

The issue of crime and safety has been discussed on some other threads as well, and many people say that
1. The statistics don't mean much and 2. You specifically will not be a victim of a violent crime.

While I agree that the media-fueled obsession (sometimes bordering paranoia) with crime in this country misrepresents the true situation, still

a) Property crime is the type of crime you will most likely suffer from. Car break-ins, your house or apartment burglarized, your patio furniture stolen etc. are not going to kill you, but they will kill the quality of life you expect from your neighborhood.

b) Humans have difficulty comprehending the meaning of statistics. Someone reads that in location 1. (say N. Portland) your chances of being assaulted are 0.01. In location 2. (say, Sylvan) your chances are 0.001. To most people those 2 numbers don't look that different. In reality, #2 is a 10-fold decrease, and while #1 makes the assault unlikely, but remotely possible, #2 practically eliminates the chance of it.

Comparing the crime stats, especially the property crime means the difference between locking your car and your house when you leave it even for 5 minutes vs. leaving the patio door open when you go for a vacation, so your cat get get in-and-out (my case)

[FSF]

I agree with that it's all about how heavily trafficked that area is. I'm not sure who all the victims are and of what but when considering how many people and cars are shuffling in and out of that area, I'm guessing the true crime rate of incidence is probably not anywhere near as high as it seems.

Also, to the OP, the Beaverton Farmer's market is walkable and also in that general area and that is another very good incentive to want to live there.

[hamellr]

I live in Central Beaverton and am very familiar with that area, and that apartment complex specifically. That is the absolute worse part of Beaverton by a fair measure. But that is very subjective, I have absolutely no problem in telling a single woman with a couple of young kids that she could live there safely. Most of the issues are domestic disputes and noise complaints.

It's only a bad area in comparison to what is around it. In the middle some place like LA it'd be paradise.

That apartment complex is one of the better ones. The landlords tend to be pretty responsive to issues. It looks better then most of the other places, and the price is still comparable. Neighbors will be speaking multiple languages, there are Mexicans most of whom are second or third generation. We have a fair number of refugees from former Soviet Bloc Countries and Africa, and there is a small but growing Korean population right there. Not a lot of Indians as they tend to be out more towards Hillsboro, but I would not be surprised to see some living there due to proximity to both Nike and Intel via MAX.

The location can not be beat. Within a short walking distance you have the Beaverton Transit Center which has Red/Blue MAX Lines, the WES, and Multiple Bus lines. You have Fred Meyers, WinCo, New Seasons, another "Natural Market", the Farmer's Market, and a small yet relatively cheap produce only shop that leans towards organics from local farms all within walking distance.

Also within walking distance there is, Powell's, EM Music for your cheap DVD/CD needs, Hall Street Grill for those nice nights out, two Buffet Places for when you just want to shove the kids full of food until they're comatose, two high quality Bike Shops, Goodwill to off load your junk, and pick up more junk, multiple nice parks, two gardening stores that are NOT Home Depot, a small history museum, and three of the best Asian restaurants in the entire Portland area, not to mention a ton of other cheap eats with quite a bit of variety represented.

[Yankeemama]

Hammer- could you provide the names of the Asian restaurants? My husband and I ave heard the best Japanese food is in Beaverton. Still looking for recs, though. Thank you.

[Yankeemama]

Hammelr- sorry about typo with your name.

[scottinpdx]

Originally Posted by Yankeemama

Hammer- could you provide the names of the Asian restaurants? My husband and I ave heard the best Japanese food is in Beaverton. Still looking for recs, though. Thank you.

I would like to know also. I love going to Uwajimaya which is a huge asian grocery store.