Relocating with family (Portland, Gresham, Hillsboro: rentals, crime, new house)

[a113antonia]

I am in my 20's and relocating to the portland area in march. I am going to be taking a trip next week to the area for search for a rental. I have the idea that I want to live on the outskirts of town in suburbia so I can still commute to portland for work. Is my plan doable? Any towns to look at or stay away from completely? Any advise would be greatly appreciated !
I can't wait I am so excited

[Minervah]

There are many burbs just across the street from Portland. All roads lead downtown. It pretty much depends upon what you can afford and what type area you are looking for to narrow down the choices.

[subsound]

Hope you have a job lined up, or enough savings to work with.

[juggler]

Originally Posted by a113antonia

I am going to be taking a trip next week to the area for search for a rental. I have the idea that I want to live on the outskirts of town in suburbia so I can still commute to portland for work. Is my plan doable?

I'm not quite sure what you're asking. You're looking for a rental and you want to commute to Portland from a suburb. With such broad constraints, what could possible NOT be doable?

As subsound mentioned, you'd better have a good job in hand. Lots of folks want to move to Portland, but job opportunities are few...

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by a113antonia

I am in my 20's and relocating to the portland area in march. I am going to be taking a trip next week to the area for search for a rental. I have the idea that I want to live on the outskirts of town in suburbia so I can still commute to portland for work. Is my plan doable? Any towns to look at or stay away from completely? Any advise would be greatly appreciated !
I can't wait I am so excited

Cheap rentals can be found in East Multnomah County, but crime is much higher. While decent housing can be found anywhere, personally, I'd try to avoid anything from the I-205 freeway to Gresham. I also wouldn't want the often times difficult commute from Vancouver, so I wouldn't go that way. Anything else, I could live with.

[pokygirl2119]

I am also looking for advice on relocation to the Portland area. I will be graduating from school in about a year. My degree will be in Mass Communications with an emphasis in Photography & Graphic Design. My husband will most likely be looking for a school to attend, so something close to a good college/ university would be nice. He is also considering Helicopter school. I am acustomed to living in a medium sized town, roughly 60,000 people. I would like something busier, but I think baby steps would maybe be a good thing. I also have a border collie so I would really like a fenced yard for him to run in.

In short: * safe neighborhood
* access to public transportation
* close to a college/ university (maybe even Hillsboro's aviation school)
* places with nice sized yards
* closer to the coast rather than the east side of Portland
* prefer to buy rather than rent, but well see how the economy goes over the next year

Also, who are the local builders to avoid and who are the builders to look into?

[Nell Plotts]

IMHO, don't buy anything built within the last 10 years (the technical skills of the construction crews is an issue as there was so much construction going on). Homes built in the 1930s are treasures.

Honest, right now you should rent.

You can find what you are looking for in Hillsboro.

[pokygirl2119]

Thank you for your info!

[rosecitywanderer]

Originally Posted by pokygirl2119

places with nice sized yards

High-density zoning laws have pretty much eradicated this in new construction. You're lucky if you get a strip of lawn the size of a coffee table with new houses. That and unemployment in Oregon is approaching (if not already over) 10%, so make sure you have a job lined up before you decide to make that move.

I'm not trying to discourage you, I'm just spitting out facts.