Where in the Portland Area? (Beaverton, Beaver: real estate, rentals, condos)

[Wepplo]

Hello! I am looking for recommendations for where to move my family in the Portland-area (does not need to necessarily be Portland proper).

Some important info - My husband is looking into legal jobs in the Portland area, and is willing to commute up to 30-40 minutes each way (though less is ideal, of course). We have two small children and a dog. We are from CA Bay Area (don't hate me!) and have family in the St. John's Bridge and Forest Park areas of Portland. We don't need a large home, and have been considering attempting a downsize into an under 1000 sq. ft. house.

What we are looking for -
family friendly (low crime especially, parks, etc.)
30-40 minute max commute to downtown Portland
affordable (is that even possible? single family housing for $400K or less?)
nature - we would love a neighborhood with lots of trees!
a decent lot size, if it's possible

What areas would you guys recommend we focus our search on? Or areas to avoid? Both are extremely helpful for me as I narrow in on where to check out during our next visit. Thank you so much!

[Nell Plotts]

Can your children share a bedroom?

[Wepplo]

My kids can absolutely share a bedroom. 2 bedrooms are not out for us.

[Harpaint]

There are several in Beaverton listed on Zillow that appear to meet your requirements. The schools in Beaverton are very good.

[Nell Plotts]

Downtown and NW Portland is my stomping ground, others can provide information about other parts of Portland. All I am seeing at the moment in your price range are condos.

The co-op at the corner of Vista and Park Place doesn't permit pets (there really isn't much 'walking' areas in any case), scratch that off your list.

In the core area, the condo at 1500 SW 5th looks interesting. A few blocks to Waterfront Park to walk the dog, as I recall they have a swimming pool.

Avoid the 'Presidents' condos with kids. Avoid the condos in NW on Naito Parkway.

There are a couple condos in the John's Landing Area (between the Willamette and Macadam Ave that would be suitable. Given what is on the market at the moment they would be high on my list.

IF a 2 bedroom became available in the Forestry condos (NW Upshur at 28th) jump on it. Good grade school (with adjacent dog park), frequent bus service to downtown, strong neighborhood, lots of dog walking territory.

For listed real estate I find the one hosted by JL Scott the most user-friendly.

[fortunatus]

When I moved with my family from your parts a few years ago, I read forums on this wonderful site and came up with a short list of neighborhoods that included NE (Grant Park, Alameda) and inner SE (Sellwood, Eastmoreland). What we realized on the ground was that it was impossible to get decent lot sizes in any price range (in Eastmoreland - in our price range). That's how we turned toward SW, and the rest, as it were, was history. (We also wanted to have a proper Portland address, no satellite cities, which I slightly regret today what with the taxes... But I digress).
A quick check on Zillow shows some promising properties in Garden Home and Multnomah in your price range. This is what I call suburban SW. Low crime and you can count on generally better lot sizes.

Is it still true that roughly, you could divide a South Bay home price by 2 to arrive at a Portland price for a comparable house?

[Leisesturm]

Originally Posted by Wepplo

Hello! I am looking for recommendations for where to move my family in the Portland-area (does not need to necessarily be Portland proper).

Some important info - My husband is looking into legal jobs in the Portland area, and is willing to commute up to 30-40 minutes each way (though less is ideal, of course). We have two small children and a dog. We are from CA Bay Area (don't hate me!) and have family in the St. John's Bridge and Forest Park areas of Portland. We don't need a large home, and have been considering attempting a downsize into an under 1000 sq. ft. house.

What we are looking for -
family friendly (low crime especially, parks, etc.)
30-40 minute max commute to downtown Portland
affordable (is that even possible? single family housing for $400K or less?)
nature - we would love a neighborhood with lots of trees!
a decent lot size, if it's possible

What areas would you guys recommend we focus our search on? Or areas to avoid? Both are extremely helpful for me as I narrow in on where to check out during our next visit. Thank you so much!

Portland isn't L.A., but it is a very slow city to get through. I think it is premature to even think about where to buy a house or condo, until a job is secured. New construction (condos, rentals) is off the chain in Portland right now. It's crazy. We have one of the better rental management agencies. I can furnish their website URL if interested. They manage properties all over Portland and I don't think it out of possibility to imagine that if you are really happy with something you rent from them it couldn't be turned into a purchase. They also rent free standing houses on decent sized lots. You need to see for yourselves where you want to live. I am from NY. Safe to me ... let's just say that to me there simply isn't anywhere in Portland that is remotely unsafe. My neighborhood has lots of trees. We love it. It is Downtown to boot, albeit on the East Side of the river. I can't see it taking longer than 15 min to West Downtown and there is plenty of work on the East Side too. A walking commute to the office towers on the East Side is very possible from my spot in Sullivan's Gulch.

[Yankeemama]

I would recommend NW Portland or NE Portland if you want in town or Beaverton for the burbs. I like S.W. Waterfront or Corbett Lair in S.W. Portland, too, but may be too spendy or too much traffic with little kids. I love that area with kids because it’s close to everything with MAX and it feels more line the Bay Area. I grew up in SF and Corbett Laie’s hilks remind me of home.

[take57]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

Downtown and NW Portland is my stomping ground, others can provide information about other parts of Portland. All I am seeing at the moment in your price range are condos.

The co-op at the corner of Vista and Park Place doesn't permit pets (there really isn't much 'walking' areas in any case), scratch that off your list.

In the core area, the condo at 1500 SW 5th looks interesting. A few blocks to Waterfront Park to walk the dog, as I recall they have a swimming pool.

Avoid the 'Presidents' condos with kids. Avoid the condos in NW on Naito Parkway.

There are a couple condos in the John's Landing Area (between the Willamette and Macadam Ave that would be suitable. Given what is on the market at the moment they would be high on my list.

IF a 2 bedroom became available in the Forestry condos (NW Upshur at 28th) jump on it. Good grade school (with adjacent dog park), frequent bus service to downtown, strong neighborhood, lots of dog walking territory.

For listed real estate I find the one hosted by JL Scott the most user-friendly.

As someone who lives in the core of the nitty-gritty city, I appreciate you bringing to light that kids can and do in fact grow up in a downtown area. Lots of them even end up being solid, productive citizens.

[Nell Plotts]

I grew up and raised my family near Forest Park. We all went to Chapman Grade School. At the moment Chapman is being loved to death by all those families who were not predicted to live in Pearl condos. Friendly House, a community center 2 blocks from Chapman, offers programs for all ages.

John's Landing is in the Wilson High School enrollment area. According to one RE listing Winterhaven Grade School serves that address (never rely on RE info). Winterhaven is across the river in the Cleveland HS enrollment area, I believe John's Landing is in the Capital Hill grade school enrollment area.