Austin to Portland - Intel (Aloha) - Age 24 (Gresham, Beaverton: apartment complexes, rentals)

[Gators1234]

I recently accepted a job with Intel at their Aloha campus. I graduate in may from school and will be starting work in June. My girlfriend and I are both 24. She is a teacher with a few years experience.

I am looking for some recommendations on places to live. I am planning on visiting again in late April to get a place picked out. We are looking for a one bedroom apartment with a rent between about $1000-1500. I know downtown stuff will be on the upper end/above this. That range is rather arbitrary.

The real decision that we are going to have is living downtown versus the Beaverton/Hillsboro area. I have lived in Austin for two years. Previously I lived in smaller towns in Florida so the "suburbs" aren't that big of a deal to me. We are also planning on getting a dog once we have settled in. How is downtown for dogs?

I have been looking at areas like Orenco. Some of the new apartments there you can get a one bedroom for $1000-1200 that seem to be nice. Does anyone have any experience with this area and the new apartments that have been built recently? What are some other good areas in Beaverton/Hillsboro?

When I visited for my interview one employee said to look at the pearl district or NW 23rd. The apartments there all seem very nice. I walked around the pearl while there and it seemed like a cool place. I liked how you could walk to everything. The question for me will be how much time will I spend out during the week while working. I would love to hear about people's downtown experiences.

I have read about the traffic for the commute home. Austin traffic is terrible. I interned in town over the summer and had to drive 30-45 minutes to get home most of the time. Aloha to downtown would probably be about the same from my research.

It is hard to make a decision totally based off of internet research and short trips. I'm leaning towards getting a short term lease close to work for 6 months. Then just try to figure out if downtown is worth doing. This would lead me back to looking for Beaverton/Hillsboro apartments.

Also does anyone have information on the teaching job market? I know it isn't great there right now. Is it easier getting positions in town versus outside of town?

Thanks for your help.

[hamellr]

Live near work. Contact your HR department and get a list of recommended rentals places. Some will have discounts for you.

Realistically you're not going to take advantage of what Portland has to need to be in the middle of it. The cost savings in gas and rental prices will save you money overall. Max out your 401k, and take a long vacation with the rest. Then visit Portland on weekends or one or two nights a week.

Aloha/Beaverton/Hillsboro are all perfectly fine towns to live in. There are no real bad neighborhoods, although there are a few places where certain apartment complexes are less then desirable.

Your Girl friend is going to need to think about a career change. She's just not going to get a job as the deck is stacked against her.

[Nell Plotts]

A lot depends on your GF's skills. If she is fluent in Spanish and can teach in Spanish immersion programs there might be opportunities. She will still need to do the Oregon teaching certificate two step.

[sergeim105]

As a young dude I would live in Goose Hollow near the Timbers Field and take the MAX to work. Intel is a great job, but Hillsboro is not where you want to be.

[doggiemama]

I think Orenco would be a great choice. It's attractive, walkable, has nice amenities, close to Intel Aloha (most important thing), and is based around the light rail so you could take that into Portland when you want to and save on parking plus not worry about traffic. You really don't want to do the commute thing. Hwy 26 gets very bogged down. Hillsboro has a nice mall (Tanasbourne) and some good restaurants. And it might be easier for your wife to find a job out in the suburbs than in Portland itself.

[Nell Plotts]

Either neighborhood works, it is hard to predict where a teaching position will materialize.

[Deezus]

Originally Posted by Gators1234

Also does anyone have information on the teaching job market? I know it isn't great there right now. Is it easier getting positions in town versus outside of town?

Thanks for your help.

Outside of town is where there's more teaching jobs available. Every person I know who is a teacher in their twenties or thirties(including many of my college friends) works in the further out suburbs. Everywhere from Sherwood to Wilsonville to Forest Grove to Gresham or Troutdale. And they all live in Portland itself and just make a really early morning commute out there. A lot of them started as substitutes at those schools and kept at it until they landed a permanent gig.

Getting a job in Portland itself as a teacher is very difficult as there isn't a lot of growth in school-age population or schools(a lot of schools have been closing over the last decade). The suburbs is where the growth in kids and schools are. Portland public schools are going to hire 150 new teachers before this fall after recent negotiations to prevent a strike, but those positions are going to be pretty competitive to hire.

[bler144]

If you were single, I might say city, and Goose Hollow is at least worth a look. But I'd only do it if you were willing to train. The drive on 26 isn't too awful most mornings but afternoons are pretty unpredictable. It will occasionally run you over an hour back into the city. With a partner, Hillsboro can be a very pleasant area and you don't need to worry about hitting the scene every night to meet people. Getting into the city on weekends will generally be fine.

If your partner had work lined up, that would certainly also help. You could split the difference. Beaverton downtown is fairly charming and right on the MAX line, though auto traffic in/out can be a pain. That would be another area that's walkable like Orenco is (with dining/shopping nearish), without quite as long a commute as from downtown Pdx.

You could also look for apts around Sunset TC, though that will generally be not very walkable. Orenco is a nice area, with a really nice library on Brookwood, a few decent restaurants (though I think the dining options in downtown H'boro and Tanasbourne are generally better than Orenco), and shopping. There's a New Seasons if you want to spend a lot on groceries, and the farmer's market at Orenco is above average.

The roads out there are mostly 45 mph, but most have bike lanes, so getting around the area by bike is fairly feasible if you're comfortable around the traffic speeds.