Job opportunity in portland with family of 5 - yes? (Hillsboro: to live in, dangerous)

[alooper]

Thank you all for the comments. I am coming from Orange County California. I've never lived in Oregon so it truly is quite a difference. Thanks again.

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by alooper

Thank you all for the comments. I am coming from Orange County California. I've never lived in Oregon so it truly is quite a difference. Thanks again.

If you are coming from Orange County I would suggest Happy Valley. They have some newer schools and the new(er) home developments are nice and more affordable than Beaverton.

[topaz420]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

BTW there are NOT hundreds of ghettos in LA. I doubt that there are more than 150 terrible areas in LA Metro....

H

We have "micro ghettos" here in Los Angeles, and they are *everywhere*. I live in a good pocket (maybe a handful of burglaries per year), but literally 5 blocks east, it's full of gang members, they closed a street to auto traffic to combat street crack dealing, and someone was stabbed in public by 15 gang members just 5 days ago.

In the San Fernando Valley alone (which is roughly 5% of the Los Angeles statistical area) there are about 40 neighborhoods where I would not raise children or feel safe at night.

Only left Portland yesterday, and I miss it already.

[WestCoastTransplant]

We recently relocated to Portland. I had read about the traffic and thought yeah yeah yeah. I was wrong, it really is bad. I've lived in the D.C/Northern VA area and it is similar, except think smaller roads. So, the same amount of cars but less lanes. Not fun for commuting. I would not recommend Lake Oswego or anywhere West only because of the commute. Stick to the east side or even Happy Valley. We are a family of 5, kids ages 4, 9, and 11. We always have something to do. We live on the East side and love not being tied to a car. Lots of walkable, bikeable things to do. We considered Happy Valley but my husband's job is close in on the East side so a commute from Happy Valley would have been way more than he wanted to do. Now he bikes to work.

[KJoe11]

Originally Posted by alooper

Hello All,

I have a job opportunity near Portland and I know NOTHING about the city. From what I've been reading online, Portland is a town of "hipsters," "beer" and "coffee". Well I'm sure that there is a grain of truth to this, but I am more interested in knowing if Portland and its surrounding areas are great for raising a family? I'm in my 30's, and usually spend most of my free time with my wife and kids. I guess the easiest way to go about this, is just to lay it out there with the questions I have, and see what it brings in.

1. Is Portland and it's surrounding areas relatively safe?
2. What is the best city for families with small children, ages 7, 5 and 2?
3. Do you have any advice for where to stay away from - ghetto areas, etc?
4. I read that there are a lot of "kidnappings" in this area, is that true?
5. Do you have any advice that you can tell me, that you wish someone had told you before you moved to Portland area?

That's about it. I know it rains a lot, and I actually love the rain, so that doesn't bother me at all. I'm just trying to get a feel for the city, there is only so much I can explore on my own during trips down there, and need some real concrete advice from people who actually live there.

Thank you for checking out my post!

Congratulations on your exciting adventure. Clackamas is a nice area for your children. So many things to do together as a family unit.

Have a safe move!

[bler144]

Originally Posted by alooper

Thank you all for the comments. I am coming from Orange County California. I've never lived in Oregon so it truly is quite a difference. Thanks again.

If you have $400k and up to spend on a house, really all you have to do is:
1) make sure you can live with the commute
2) make sure you're in a good school district (if you have kids).

Anywhere that satisfies 1 & 2 is likely to be more than satisfying in regards to safety, access to amenities, etc. The rub that locals face is that the median family income in Portland is under $60k, so the majority can't afford to be in the market for anywhere that costs 400k.

You likely have a variety of options that would be quite satisfying, but for the sake of ease, I'll say you should start with 3 options that meet the criteria above on a 400k budget: Sellwood-Moreland, West Linn, or Happy Valley.

HV, particularly along Sunnsyside Rd. will probably feel the most familiar coming from SoCal. If you're working on the east end of Clackamas (by the Town Center/Mall), it also makes for a fairly short commute.

WL will feel the most 'residential suburban' but generally with actual charming older neighborhoods, rather than modern developments (and HV is mostly modern development not unlike what you'd see in CA). If you're working in the SW area of Clackamas (Gladstone/Jennings Lodge area) it will be a fine commute. Going up to the Town Center area you'll hit some congestion on 205, but 20 minutes will still generally suffice.

S-M is actually part of the city, though mixed residential/commercial in the manner of much of east Portland, and if you want to be "in Portland" I'd say it's where I'd start. I haven't done the commute from there to Clackamas, but my perception is it's not that bad. 99E can be slow because of lights, but 224 seems to move fairly smoothly.

[Matt Yates]

Great place to look and get feedback from people is TripAdvisor.

Portland Tourism: 699 Things to Do in Portland, OR | TripAdvisor

[eric351982]

82nd and Division has to be one of the most unattractive neighborhoods I have ever seen in any city in my life and I have travelled far and wide.

[SETabor]

82nd is a commercial strip chock full of used car lots, odd bars and restaurants and other random businesses. I wouldn't call any intersection with it attractive. Go a few blocks off and it can be not too bad.

[Nell Plotts]

The OP will evidently work at the UPS facility on Swan Island. That means that he will have little flexibility in his hours of work. It is practical that he bike to work and then put his bike on a bus to at least carry him to level terrain.

According to Google Maps there is a paved bike trail from the north end of Basin Ave to Willamette Blvd. If the OP could find housing in N Portland, the closer to the University of Portland the better, getting to work would be easy and quick.

The only road off of Swan Island is Going St. The best place to transition from transit to bike would be Interstate Ave. While biking on Going St. is possible it is a very busy street with a lot of trucks so I wouldn't recommend it.

With only $1,000 to spend, and a dog, you won't have many choices.