Moving to Portland Oregon, what are great areas to live in and commute to Portland? (Beaverton: rent, low crime)

[Tomul]

Within the next 1-2 years we are moving to Oregon. We want to know what are good neighborhoods or communities to live in that can commute to Portland. We have two small children and will probably rent for awhile to get to know the area.

We own our own business so no need to look for work. We would like to live in very safe area that is full of Oregon's lush greenery.

Housing budget - under $450,000
Good to great schools
Good ammenities (restaurants, shopping etc)
Low crime rate
We do not need to be in the City just close enough to an airport that flies to CA.
LUSH greenery

Any suggestions would be appreciated. We are very excited!

[jrkliny]

You might also want to look at housing in the Vancouver, WA, area. I only spent a day or so looking at housing in the area and Vancouver seemed to offer much more affordable housing. The airport is close and even the commute to Portland was about 1/2 hour.

[AnotherPDXGuy]

You might look at suburban cities like West Linn and Lake Oswego which seem to have retained much more of their forest than Portland proper. These are more expensive suburbs, but there should be housing available in your price range, they're safe and the schools are excellent.

[city visualizer]

If being near the airport is your major concern than East vancover, Camas, and Happy valley would be a good choice. Right now there are some great bargins in Happy valley and around 400K, you can get a very nice house with a city view. The only downside about Happy Valley is that it is near some trashy areas, but the city itself is very clean. On the westside of the river as stated above West linn and Lake Oswego are great upscale suburbs. I would also look into Bull Mountain neighbourhood in Tiagrd and Murray Hill in beaverton, both of these areas have great scenery, great schools and are close many ammenities. There is a new upscale town center under construction right in between these two neighbourhoods called Progress Ridge Town Center, which will offer a luxury movie theater, large bowling alley, resturants, ect ect.

Here is are the links about the develpment

[mod edit - Need 10 posts to link off site]

[Tomul]

Great responses. Thank you so much.

I've heard good things about Beaverton and Tigard. Anyone have any thoughts about these two neighborhoods. Hows the commute to the City?

[philwithbeard]

Tomul:

Don't discount Portland City itself. It isn't like other cities in USA where suburban development bypassed the city limits and left the inner city to rot. Portland is Unique. Living in Portland is safe and desirable to many. Live in Suburban 'burbs if work takes you there. Commuting to Downtown is a real Pain. A serious Pain. The emphasis is on Mass Transit, not roads and parking in Downtown. Suburban growth limited in favor of keeping City neighborhoods up.

I don't know where you are from, but Portland is not like Mid-West Cities in USA where there is a significant social / cultural / economic / racial stratification by suburban communities. Portland is diverse and contains many unique neighborhoods.

Parking a car downtown during business hours is limited and $$$.

However, if you do end up in Tigard or Beaverton, you will enjoy either one. Really the whole area is just Great. Compared to other cities, All of Portland area is safe. BTW: Portland city is very Liberal. One of the most liberal cities in USA. It could be a mild cultural shock to many who come from other parts of USA.

Keep doing your homework before moving here.

Phil

[LuisaV]

Sellwood in SE Portland would be a great option, maybe your housing budget is tight for that neighborhood but this is a very nice, family-friendly neighborhood with a beautiful park and riverfront, great shopping and dining streets, very friendly people with little children and good schools... you can see downtown Portland from the Sellwood bridge!... too close to the city but quiet and friendly neighborhood... all in one!

[hml1976]

We live in Camas and love it, the schools are great, its beautiful, and the cost of living is a little better. Also, if you work from home you'll avoid personal income tax by living in Washington State, it seems like half of our neighborhood works from home and uses the airport frequently. 15min to PDX

[Wicked Felina]

Originally Posted by LuisaV

Sellwood in SE Portland would be a great option, maybe your housing budget is tight for that neighborhood but this is a very nice, family-friendly neighborhood with a beautiful park and riverfront, great shopping and dining streets, very friendly people with little children and good schools... you can see downtown Portland from the Sellwood bridge!... too close to the city but quiet and friendly neighborhood... all in one!

I agree, this is one of my favorite neighborhoods. You can get downtown easily within ten minutes.

Isn't construction on the new Sellwood Bridge supposed to begin in 2010? I haven't kept up on that, but that could put a bit of a crimp (ok, a really big crimp) in getting downtown for a while.

Sellwood will always be desireable, as will Brooklyn, East and Westmoreland (which are extremely spendy), etc. Don't discount Woodstock neighborhood. These are all older neighborhoods with a good number of craftsman style homes.

PHIL - "One of the most liberal cities in USA. It could be a mild cultural shock to many who come from other parts of USA." In your experience do you really find this to be the case? Maybe I've been here so long that I don't even notice it any more. I've never lived in the midwest, so I can't gauge it by that.

[backdrifter]

The Portland metro, I might add, has the lowest violent crime rate of any major metro in the whole country.

I'd second Sellwood. It's probably my favorite neighborhood in Portland, honestly.