Moving to Portland (Beaverton, Beaver: car rental, rentals, crime)

[jws]

I moving to Portland with my family. My family consists of me, my wife, and our three teenage daughters. I'm having a hard time figuring out which areas a good to live in and which should be avoided, so any help would be appreciated. One thing I would like is to be near MAX.

Thanks,
Jon

[jws]

Maybe If I give more info for what I'm looking for, someone will reply. Like I said, I have three daughters (currently 14, 16, and 17) - one will be starting high school, the other will be a senior, and the other will be attending Portland State (this is all starting in the fall). Our family will be moving to the Portland area in April. We only have one car in the family, so being near public transportation will be important, especially for me getting to work and my oldest daughter to school. I know I mentioned I would like to be near a MAX line, and still would, but any type of public transportation will work. We will be looking to rent a townhouse or single family home, we prefer the latter. We prefer 4br/2-2.5ba, but have always lived in 3br/2-2.5ba, so that works just fine. If we do rent a single family home, we'd like at least a bit of yard. The most important thing, though, is living in a safe area. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Jon

(PS - I was wondering if anyone knows of a good website to check out crime stats that breaks it down into neighborhood/zip code. The only website I've found is livingchoices.com, which breaks things down by zip code, but for some reason I don't think their numbers are correct. They also don't give raw numbers, they give the rating on scale with 100 being average. Again, thanks in advance for any help.)

[PDXmom]

Originally Posted by jws

Maybe If I give more info for what I'm looking for, someone will reply. Like I said, I have three daughters (currently 14, 16, and 17) - one will be starting high school, the other will be a senior, and the other will be attending Portland State (this is all starting in the fall). Our family will be moving to the Portland area in April. We only have one car in the family, so being near public transportation will be important, especially for me getting to work and my oldest daughter to school. I know I mentioned I would like to be near a MAX line, and still would, but any type of public transportation will work. We will be looking to rent a townhouse or single family home, we prefer the latter. We prefer 4br/2-2.5ba, but have always lived in 3br/2-2.5ba, so that works just fine. If we do rent a single family home, we'd like at least a bit of yard. The most important thing, though, is living in a safe area. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Jon

Jon, I think your location will largely depend on how much you want to pay in rent. But taking that out of the equation I'll give you some recommendations.

My neighborhood Westmoreland/ Sellwood is close in SE. Great area. Loads of restaurants, shops, parks, stores, library, post office, etc all walking distance. We are right on the East side of the river from the Sellwood Bridge & Ross Island. YOu can easily take the bus to places or you can bike downtown. Also, we have a Flexcar rental in our neighborhood for those occasions you need 2 cars. Oh, we are close to PSU. I know many PSU profs that live in our neighborhood. We are not on a Max line.

Not sure why you need a Max line. Are you commuting to Beaverton?

For Max line neighborhoods look at Laurelhurst (NE/ SE Portland). But really any close in (below SE 40th , NE 50th, below SW 50th) will have great mass transportation. Portland is known for it! I did not mentioned NW Portland because it's just so dang expensive. Also, personally I do not think North Portland is safe enough for the prices they are charging now.

Send me a pm if you have specific questions.
Good luck with your move!

[jws]

Thanks for the suggestions, PDXmom.

The reason I preferred to be near a MAX line was because were I live the buses tend to slow. It'll take 35 minutes to go 10 miles on a highway, sometimes more. Usually with any public transportation trains that I've used, whether it be a subway or light rail system, it only takes about 15-20 minutes for the same length. Also, the the buses I've used usually don't run as late as the trains. If TriMet buses are a bit more efficient than the bus systems I've used, which by your post I'm guessing they are, then it doesn't matter if I'm near a MAX line.

As for rent prices, around $1250 would be the best, but anything $1500 or less is doable. Are rentals for a 3br/2ba in the areas you mentioned available for that price?

Thanks,
Jon

Edit: I forgot to ask, which areas should I avoid other than North Portland?

[lucero32]

Hi,

At the price you wish to pay in rent it will be a challenge to find a home that meets your criteria within Portland proper. I would suggest you check out Beaverton. The MAX line travels through many areas, and being on the west side of the river, the commute to PSU would be shorter. Plus, the schools are fine for your girls. Keep in mind Beaverton covers a huge area with all sorts of neighborhoods but you should be able to find a home within that price range. You may aso want to check out parts of SW Portland.

I suggest you check out Craigslist and you should be able to get a good idea of what you can get.

Good luck