Tigard, Tualatin, or Oregon City?

[Sassy01]

Happy Valley has always been a nice area, and has grown considerably over the last 30 years, commute times however can and do vary greatly.
Damascus is also a nice area, not as up and coming as Happy Valley and only 5 minutes from Happy Valley.

[Stewalt]

I have lived on both the West and East sides of the Portland Metro areas and I think there are definitely better pockets in many of these areas. You really can't go wrong with Lake Oswego, West Linn, and most areas of Wilsonville but will for sure pay more to live in these cities. I know a ton of people who live in Sherwood who LOVE it. It would be to far from Portland for me! Canby is a really cute town tucked away. I went to church in Canby for many years and many of my friends who live there are very happy with their schools. I grew up in Oregon City, so that feels like home to me. OC has pockets I probably wouldn't choose to live in but would say its a pretty safe place to live. The schools are decent but I think if parents are involved kids will be successful in most schools. I currently live in Milwaukie and would say that Happy Valley is a great place to live if you wanted to be further north. Happy Valley schools get most of the money from North Clackamas School district (Milwaukie does not!) and there are many brand new schools in this area. I would say don't rule out the east side just because it isn't as manicured as the West Side! It is still a nice place to live and safe!!

[melodyjg]

I have lived in Oregon City for 28 years and have not had any issues with it, honestly I would rather live here than any other place in the Portland area. It's not gotten too big for its britches yet

There are some places that are a bit iffy but if you have any questions I would be happy to answer them!

[bler144]

I think Happy Valley makes more sense as a comparison to West Linn than it does to the other places you've mentioned. Like WL, HV has very good schools and housing will run pricier on average.

That said, unlike WL, HV houses are newer, and probably larger, and there probably are at least a few options to buy into a SFH at a lower price point. Though as someone mentioned, I'd make sure to hire my own inspector to evaluate the structure before buying. If you're buying in at the low end of HV just to get in the school district, just modify your expectations accordingly. That probably puts you in the heavy development and congestion around 205/Sunnyside.

Also, where you're commuting to matters. I personally wouldn't be excited to commute downtown Portland from either WL/OC or HV, but people do. But if either of you were working on the west side, I would absolutely not want to do that from Happy Valley. West Linn maybe. If you were commuting to the airport, then Happy Valley is a decent choice, though I'd probably at least look at Vancouver/Camas as an alternative.

[Zarick]

I grew up in OC and now live in Damascus. Love OC and would have preferred a house there, but they are spendier than Milwaukie. More importantly.. watch the property taxes in the areas. OC's just took a nice jump.

[Caliraiderette]

I think Tigard is very nice safe city with a lovely outdoor mall. I visited there when I was looking to relocate. Lake Oswego is also such a nice area but different than Tigard IMO. Lake Oswego seems fancier and more "old town" than "new suburb". Not talking about the actual age of the city but just of the vibe I got when I was there. Both were amazing but out of my price range. I would love to know more about Oregon City myself (I have not been there) but it seems like a close drive from the other two cities. Oregon City seems much more affordable which usually means higher crime, more homeless, crappy job opportunities and so on. But thats just based off my past experience. Would love to know more about it.

[Nell Plotts]

Oregon City is not close to Tigard and Lake Oswego. Oregon City is not noted for homelessness or crime.

I don't know about the schools in Canby but housing there is relatively inexpensive.

Where do or will you work?

[Hockeygirl063]

Not so sure about the schools in Tigard we have friends who live there and sent their kids to Beaverton Schools. We live in Beaverton and I don't think it is as affordable as Oregon City but I think Tigard would be similar since they are right next to each other. Beaverton has very good schools.