how do you live in Portland? (Gresham, Beaverton: apartments, for rent, condos)

[Kung Fudge]

Hello - I just graduated from college and am considering living in Portland. I figure I will just get a job doing whatever I can to support myself and pay the rent. The thing I can't figure out though is where to look for apartments (I'm looking for something very cheap, hopefully around $500). Most of these apartments seem pretty far out from the areas that I saw when I visited (mostly downtown and surrounding areas on the west side of the river).

What I don't really understand is how you get around in these areas that are very far from downtown. From streetview they all seem kind of neighborhoodsy with not many shops or anything, and it seems like it might be a trek to get somewhere where there are. For someone with no car or bike it seems like this could be a big problem, since from what I can tell all the real public transportation serves primarily the downtown area. I've heard people talk about how great Portland is and that you can walk everywhere because the public transit is so great, but it seems like this might only be true if you're living in very specific areas.

Maybe I'm mistaken but I seriously don't understand how Portland works and why people rave about it so much or talk about how it has 'so many bars and cafes.' I might have just gotten a very poor or inaccurate impression when I visited because if anything the whole town just felt extremely sleepy to me.

[no one special]

Portland has many neighborhoods and each of those neighborhoods have their own shopping areas. From most places you can get to any kind of shopping within 5-10 minutes and there are also lots and lots of busses here to help out those that don't drive. There are busses all over the major streets all over the city. Not just downtown. Visit www.TriMet.org and I am sure you will be surprised at what you find based on your comment above.

You said you visited mostly downtown and the west side of Portland. Most of the West side is a little more expensive than the east side. You might find something affordable on Barbur that would put you on the west side of Portland and there are some grocery stores, etc..on Barbur plus you would be really close to downtown if you like that. Not sure about that price range though. There are a couple of sketchy streets along Barbur but nothing dangerous.

On the east side the closer into downtown you are the more affordable an apartment would be. I have been told in any city in any state that Martin Luther King Blvd (the MLK) usually is not the best part of town and the further you go from there the better off you are. I would say that is true here as well. A friend of mine moved here from Florida and knew he wanted to be away from the MLK so he found a fairly affordable place on the west side of Portland off Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy. He didn't make a lot of money and was able to afford that 2 bedroom apartment so it couldn't have been too expensive.

Although looking on a map it may seem there are a lot of neighborhoods- but each of them have shopping. I have known people to not leave their neighborhood for weeks or months as they have everything they need right there. And there are about 5 or more different malls scattered about. Plus a Starbucks and 7-11 all over the place!

I would say that the more north east you go...for instance N of Lombard, East of MLK there would not be much shopping there- mostly industrial. But still you wouldn't have to go far for anything and there is always the bus and the Max (light rail train.)

If you choose anything along the major streets anywhere in Portland, Gresham, Troutdale, Clackamas, Oregon City, Lake Oswego, West Linn, Tualatin, Tigard, Beaverton, Aloha, Hillsboro you will have public transportation and nearby shopping.

Hope that helps!

[Kung Fudge]

Okay, that is very helpful, thank you. I guess I didn't realize the neighborhoods were so well contained. The part of Portland that I saw that was east of the river was (I believe) just along Burnside St, and there didn't seem to be much of anything around there and it just felt like a lot of warehouses. The hostel I stayed at was in the Pearl District, which was nice, but it didn't feel like it had a lot of character, although there was a very nice jazz club there. Are places like Gresham and Hillsboro considered part of Portland or are they separate cities?

Also, what are some neighborhoods to look at where there's a lot happening (cafes, pubs, etc.)? I've been trying to find rooms in the Hawthorne District so far. Anything else I should be looking at?

[no one special]

Gresham and Hillsboro and all the other areas mentioned are separate cities than Portland. We call it the tri-county area out here. Multnomah County is Portland, Washington County are the cities West and Soutwest of Portland. Clackamas county is the area South of Portland on the East side.

The Hawthorne district is a very busy place with pubs and cafes. The hippies, earth friendly, green types converge in this area, although there are many other types here as well. When we want to go out for a walk and have a good time meeting people we go to the Hawthrone district. When we want a peaceful walk we stay on our side of town, the West side. You could find a couple good Irish pubs on Hawthorne and a very cool old movie theater where they serve pizza and beer and it costs $1 to see the movie (which are not new releases.)

The downtown area and the NW area (the Pearl District) are also great areas for this type of activity. You also might enjoy Sellwood a lot which is in SE Portland just off the river but a bit of a drive from freeways. There is a lot of that cafe style there- not sure about pubs there.

We like hanging out in downtown and uptown Oregon City (which is south of Portland) as there is some neat bars there- but we play in a pool league and that is why we like those places. They give a warm welcome to pool players.

Burnside is not meant for pubs and cafes. Out further east Burnside is the street our light rail runs through. There are some shopping areas as it travels into Portland and crosses over Sandy Blvd, etc... but no, there is not a lot of activity on Burnside. Sandy Blvd has a lot of activity but I am not positive on the cafes and bars. However if you choose Sandy Blvd then stay clear of 82nd avenue as there has been some trouble on that street in recent years on the more Northern sides of it.

Other people may know of other areas- I just don't get out in the pub & cafe environment anymore unless it is for a game of pool. We entertain ourselves in parks and on the trails in the many forests we have scattered about here... and yes- we night hike too so really we don't go out anymore like that. We just like being outdoors too much- but Hawthorne would be an area I would choose to walk around and have some fun. I am a hippie at heart so it is really my kind of neighborhood to hang in. But I also am a bit suburbanated these days (I know that is not a word) and have decided it is not the area I would want to live in. Some people like that kind of area for living though. And if it is a room you are looking to rent versus your own place, it is probably a good choice of an area.

[Bluesmama]

You've been given some good suggestions. And as long as you don't feel an irresistable need to live downtown, you may be able to find something in your budget (although you'll find that it won't be easy. . . rent is expensive in the Portland-Metro area). For what's worth, you could probably give "the burbs" a look. Take the Max train thru Beaverton and Hillsboro and check out all the multi-family complexes right on the line ~ Beavercreek, Willowcreek, Quatama, Orenco neighborhoods. (However, Orenco is pricey; also, some of these may be strictly condos.) Living in these burbs isn't wouldn't be as exciting as downtown but being right on the Max line would be very convenient for you.

And this is something else that I want to emphasize in capital letters: STUDY THE TRANSIT SYSTEM before you settle in somewhere!!! Yes, we have a sprawling bus system; however, in some areas it isn't sprawling enough, and many of the lines don't run as often as they should. Max Lightrail only serves the immediate areas around it. I live only 10 miles from work, and between Max and the bus it still takes me almost an hour to get home. In your case, If you can compromise somehow, I would try to spring a little extra for rent just to have smooth mass-transit.

Good luck to you.

[jojo4]

I would go to craigslist and find a room for rent in NW 21st/23rd area. (search for nob hill)
I see there is posting for $417, 467 and 570.

This is a cool area, centrally located and have plenty of public transportation.

There are a bunch of rooms for rent in the Hawthorne area too.

If you don't want to share an apartment/house, then 500 bucks is going to be tough in the cool areas.

[gorilazgomossad]

Originally Posted by Kung Fudge

Maybe I'm mistaken but I seriously don't understand how Portland works and why people rave about it so much or talk about how it has 'so many bars and cafes.' I might have just gotten a very poor or inaccurate impression when I visited because if anything the whole town just felt extremely sleepy to me.

Other cities that are probly less "sleepy" to consider:

DC- small and very walkable. Expensive and has some crime though.
Lots of young people, huge gay populationa and lots of independent boutiques bars and bookstores (although these are dropping like flies in this economy ).

Baltimore - less walkable but has some cool trendy areas like the waterfront and thats really all i know but my friends have a theater company there and like it.

Philadelphia - big but subway system is fairly good, easy to drive, cheap parking compared to other cities. Rent in south philly, fishtown, and other neighborhoods will definitely be $400-700 a month, sure you could find some steal apartments. Very artsy - lot of art students as well as several theater/dance production companies, gay-friendly, lot of pubs, lot of young students. Two rivers make nice scenery.

Austin TX - actually I know nothing about it but it seems pretty cool to me. I hate the heat but otherwise would have considered it.

Columbus Ohio is fairly affordable from what i've heard from friends and has a lot of college students.


Anyone else have any ideas?

[subsound]

I doubt very highly you'll get an apartment for $500 near downtown or Pearl, just maybe a room in a house with a bunch of students. Also there are many people on boards posting rooms at ridiculously low prices to steal your identity or take your deposit and run.

I hope you have a marketable degree right now if you want to come, there are a great number of liberal arts majors looking for any job.

[gorilazgomossad]

oh right, and if someone from nigeria wants you to send a check, just tell them to send you a check for $3.50 or some ridiculously random number and they'll get really suspicious and leave you alone after that. I find it works better than yelling. cheers.


Disclaimer- dont use your real address obviously. I usually cut and paste the cia or fbi's address and ask them to make it out to director of said organization, without ever mentioning the words cia or fbi. so if they do act on it, at least it gives us a leg up on finding out who they are. *big guffaw* yeah right like cia and fbi dont have better things to do. oh well.

[gorilazgomossad]

scam back. i call it. the scam the scammer scam. is that wordy? perplexed. uhm, back to issue at hand, back to issue at hand, what was it, oh right where to live. sorry.