Moving to Tigard or Beaverton (Portland: home, suburbs, drive)

[thedownlow]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

Show me your portfolio!!

I don't need to show you anything.

[patches403]

Originally Posted by melissask

Hi there,

my husband's job has changed locations and we are moving to the Portland area. I prefer the suburbs so I was looking at Tigard and Beaverton. However, there's something that is really bothering me. We found a nice house in Tigard - 4 bed/3 bath for $400,000. Almost the exact same house in Murrayhill, in Beaverton, not 3 miles from each other is $600,000!!

Seriously, can a single neighborhood in the same suburb really be THAT much more because of the name?

I'm quite amazed by this. I've heard the Murrayhill schools are very good, but that price difference is crazy. Any insight from locals?

Thanks so much!

Melissa

As a general rule, the Murrayhill area is much nicer than much of Tigard (the exception being Bull Mountain), the houses are mostly newer, and the schools are better.

Neighborhood makes a Huge difference in the Portland metro. In my West side zip code, all the grade, and middle schools near my house are rated 10's and the high school is a 9, but if I went 2 - 3 miles South still in the same zip code, the grade schools are rated 2 - 4, the middle schools 3 - 5, and the high schools anywhere between 2 - 8. The population demographics can be drastically different between neighborhoods that are only a mile or two apart so just because the house is virtually the same doesn't mean the neighborhood will be. It could also be that the Tigard house is closer to a major road or some other less than desirable factor that you can't see just doing an MLS search online. I bet if you visited both houses, you would quickly see why one is 600k and the other 400k.

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by patches403

As a general rule, the Murrayhill area is much nicer than much of Tigard (the exception being Bull Mountain), the houses are mostly newer, and the schools are better.

Neighborhood makes a Huge difference in the Portland metro. In my West side zip code, all the grade, and middle schools near my house are rated 10's and the high school is a 9, but if I went 2 - 3 miles South still in the same zip code, the grade schools are rated 2 - 4, the middle schools 3 - 5, and the high schools anywhere between 2 - 8. The population demographics can be drastically different between neighborhoods that are only a mile or two apart so just because the house is virtually the same doesn't mean the neighborhood will be. It could also be that the Tigard house is closer to a major road or some other less than desirable factor that you can't see just doing an MLS search online. I bet if you visited both houses, you would quickly see why one is 600k and the other 400k.

YES! This is exactly why we bought in Beaverton and not another suburb in WA County. We could have bought a bigger house in another neighborhood but we wanted all better than average schools, elementary through high school, which our house feeds into and ALSO, house had to be IN Beaverton so our kids could benefit from the magnet schools and the spec Ed classrooms. We also wanted to be in an area that was close to amenities that fit our lifestyle and needs. The Beaverton hood we chose has it all.

[jjpop]

Originally Posted by Yankeemama

Just to add on to this though, Beaverton can re-zone a Tigard feed OUT of BSD, which was a primary reason we bought IN Beaverton. Long-time residents warned ne of this last Summer and there is a new high school going to be built in Beaverton that will be in South Cooper Mountain, I believe. All info is on BSD web page.

It probably is safer to buy in Beaverton if you want to be 100% sure to stay in the BSD. Governments (of which BSD is one) can get a little wacky when they change leadership, and you never know what may happen in the future.

That said, I have no doubt there would be a big revolt from the residents in the BSD but outside of the City of Beaverton if BSD decided to exclude the capture areas that are outside of Beaverton. My Tigard neighborhood is in BSD and has been since the subdivision was built in the mid-1970s, and of course we all pay property taxes that go in part to funding BSD operations and bond measures and don't pay anything toward TTSD. There would be a lot of irate individuals (me included) if we suddenly got excluded.

Incidentally, the new River Terrace subdivision that is planned in the south part of Tigard will have some area that will be in the BSD capture zone (mentioned here: River Terrace). So this continues a long history of the BSD and City of Tigard being pretty relaxed about the boundaries.

One bad thing about being outside of Beaverton is that we are not in the Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District. We have to pay an assessment so that we can take advantage of the after school and summer programs offered by THPRD.

[Familyman6]

Whatever you decide, you better do it quickly. Real Estate doesn't last long and the prices are rising every month. Those $400k normal single family homes will be $600k in 3-5 years. Oregon is getting over run by transplants and builders cant build fast enough.

[Hockeygirl063]

I live in South Beaverton. Southridge is the high school. They are building a new high school because their is over crowding at South Rifge. My daughter is in elementary school and we like the school it is in a very nice residential area. I have heard some not too good things about Tigard High School. Friends had kids that went there. I would pick Beaverton. over Tigard any day.

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by Hockeygirl063

I live in South Beaverton. Southridge is the high school. They are building a new high school because their is over crowding at South Rifge. My daughter is in elementary school and we like the school it is in a very nice residential area. I have heard some not too good things about Tigard High School. Friends had kids that went there. I would pick Beaverton. over Tigard any day.

Tigard and Beaverton have different demographics which was a big reason we chose Beaverton over other suburbs close by. Beaverton has an international feel to it and has a very educated populace. My husband and I considered factors when deciding where we wanted to life if we were to leave an amazing community in NE Portland. Beaverton isn't as liberal as Portland but it definately feels like most people here are relatively open minded. Pick your neighborhood wisely is my best advice.

[capros]

I'm moving to the Beaverton area soon and trying to make sense out of the Beaverton/Aloha areas. Found a great house in the hills south of Farmington that has a 97007 zip code -- Realtor says it's Beaverton but various web sites say Aloha. Not so worried about schools in the area but more concerned about crime, resale and general vibe. I also looked in Tigard and found some nice places. Any comments on what distinguishes the three areas? I'm from out of state and can't spend a lot of time on the ground there.

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by capros

I'm moving to the Beaverton area soon and trying to make sense out of the Beaverton/Aloha areas. Found a great house in the hills south of Farmington that has a 97007 zip code -- Realtor says it's Beaverton but various web sites say Aloha. Not so worried about schools in the area but more concerned about crime, resale and general vibe. I also looked in Tigard and found some nice places. Any comments on what distinguishes the three areas? I'm from out of state and can't spend a lot of time on the ground there.

Start googling Aloha and make your own mind. Most young families buying houses in the west burbs are not interested in Aloha. Look at the streets on Google maps and see if the area looks like an area you would want to live in. I know there are residents there who live it but remember if you buy a house there for over 350k it will be hard to compete with new housing going up in Beaverton, Hillsboro and Tigard. I live in a great area in Beaverton but because of the amenities, the public schools and the high quality of life... it's been worth every penny.

[Rob Allen]

I live in 97007 - outside the Beaverton city limits but inside the Beaverton school district. There are some lower-income areas in Aloha but they're north of the area you're looking at. The hills south of Farmington Road are full of new or recent construction and are perfectly pleasant suburban neighborhoods.