Young professionals moving to PDX (Portland, Tigard: apartment, to rent, transfer)

[whizzerd]

My girlfriend and I (lgbt couple, ages 23 and 24) are moving to Portland this summer from North Carolina. Moving to the PNW has been a goal of mine since I was in high school. She has a 53k/year job in the staffing industry that will be transferring her to a different branch either Tigard or Portland proper. I'm currently working a $14 hourly admin position. We are looking to rent a one bedroom apartment in the ($800-1000) range, probably in Tigard since it seems mostly studios would only be in our budget in the city. We are looking to live in a more exciting and more liberal area than North Carolina, where it seems almost everyone is religious and/or conservative. Is Portland really as liberal and accepting as it's rumored to be? Or is this just an idealistic view of an otherwise ordinary city?

[bler144]

Depends on what city you're comparing it to.

Tigard is a suburb, and one that's going to lean more conservative than say, Hawthorne. Is Tigard exciting? Well, the traffic sure can be! (j/k - kind of)

The area on the whole is definitely not bible belt, but it's not conservative free.

FWIW, if she knew she were going to be working in Portland, for most locations you'd probably be better off and happier looking at living in Milwaukie over Tigard. But Milwaukie wouldn't make any sense for a commute to Tigard imo.

[urbanlife78]

There is no way to cut it, the commute out to Tigard is going to suck unless you live in Tigard, which is very suburban in general. I would definitely say find a place that is west of the river because that will make the commute a little bit easier.

[skiffrace]

Tigard is neither more suburban than most other places in PDX metro area, nor its traffic any worse.
There are parts of Tigard where you can easily live without a car - here is one where I lived once for several years.
Politically, it's "middle-of-the-road", which is very typical for most areas around here except for some section of Portland proper.
Work location should be your main criterion. If the office is in Tigard, live in Tigard, Tualatin or perhaps SW Portland.
If that's the case, avoid Hwy 99 - it is the main congestion point.

Otherwise, look within few miles of the office.
In that radius you should be able to find reasonable housing regardless of the office location. Keep in mind that the high prices are concentrated in the so-called "close-in" neighborhoods, located very near the downtown. Go just a bit further in any direction and your options improve.
Also consider living near public transit like MAX or bus line.