Couple Moving to Pdx area (Portland, Beaverton: real estate, to rent, condos)

[K_MAC6]

My fiance and I are looking to move to the pdx area because we are looking for a change. We've grown tired of the Chicago land area and the midwest. I go to Portland a lot for work (I work for Amtrak) and fell in love with it the first time I went there and always look forward to making a trip back. We also took a vacation in downtown Portland for a week and she fell in love with it as well. We've decided this is the place for us because we felt that everyone is so friendly and laid back (like us). I'm looking for a downtown condo or attached home. I always stay in the downtown area when I visit for work. Although, I love the downtown area, I don't know if it has the amenities that I prefer. My interests and hobbies are playing flag football, softball, bike rides, walking, riding wave-runners, and I love cars. I love working on them, occassionally dragging them at a track, and cruising them on the open rural roads. With this, I would prefer at least a one car garage. My fiance like festivals, museums, art, music and the downtown life. She is finishing her masters and will be looking for a job teaching in an elementary school. I already have a job working at Amtrak so I will not be in a need for a job; at least we have that going for us. We are a young couple and are looking around the 150k range for a place. I know that the Vancouver area is cheaper, real estate wise, and has no state income tax, but doesn't have the night life and culture that Portland does. I am curious to find out what the people who live there think are the pros and cons of these places and could give me an idea of places to live.

[sayulita]

I'm short on time here but I just wanted to caution you about the income tax issue. If you are employed by an Oregon company but live in Vancouver, you will still pay income tax for Oregon. Just so you know.

[Leisesturm]

I am short on time as well but wonder about the practicality of wanting a downtown address and the expectation of a garage to wrench on a hot rod and big enough to fit a standard size automobile AND a wave runner! Sorry, your needs have suburbs written all over them. Northwest and Southwest suburbs are (IMO) somewhat nicer.

H

[John Shaft]

You won't find anything with a garage for less than $200K, except for extreme fixers in the far out parts of town.

[Minervah]

Be sure to hang on to your job. Your wife more than likely will not be able to find a teaching position in the Portland or surrounding areas. I don't think the Pearl has facilties for garage work. I know the condos have parking spaces but not large enough to work on cars.

Your best bet should you have employment if you move here for that kind of space would probably be in the surrounding areas of downtown where you might find a garage to rent for your car hobby.

[K_MAC6]

Hey Everyone, I really appreciate all the feedback. What Ive been getting form everyone is basically my hobbies outweigh the practicality of living downtown. After doing some more research online, it seems like the best places to live by Portland for my lifestyle would be Beaverton or Vancouver. It seems like you get alot more for your money in Vancouver especially with the state tax thing, but keep reading the commute into Portland isnt anything lovely. Also it seems that Washington has better Schools as well, is this true?

[jjpop]

Sayulita said this earlier, but I think it bears repeating: If you work in Oregon, regardless of where you live, you will pay Oregon state income tax. So you can't escape state income tax by living in Washington unless your physical work address is also in Washington.

The commute can be really bad. I did it for about 6 months, then moved to the Beaverton area and it's much better. It can still be difficult, depending on how far out you live, but it's better than the 'Couve.

Depending on where you are in either Portland/Beaverton or Vancouver, there will be a wide variety of school quality. Many individual Vancouver schools have good test scores and newer facilities, but several schools in the Beaverton SD are also quite good. I suggest you do your homework about the individual schools rather than judging by the quality of the District as a whole. Greatschools.net is a good place to start, but also scan these forums to see what people are saying.

Good luck!

[K_MAC6]

Thanks for the info JJ, I am aware of the workin in Portland thing, if I move out to the pdx area with my job, Ill actually be working out of Seattle, which is no issue since I only have to make that commute once every 12 days. Thanks for sending me that link, very useful. I guess I just have to decide if id rather live in a financially better area for me, or for an area I would probably like more in Beaverton

[ssmith2526]

Also, have you thought about SE Pdx? It has some really cool, hip shops, restaurants and is very walkable. I live in Beaverton so I don't want to put it down but you sound like a young couple and you also sound like you want children someday but maybe don't have any yet? The reason I ask is because you may want different things based on your stage in life. I realize that you probably prefer not to move multiple times unncessarily but just thought I would mention SE Pdx because there are definitely some hip, cool areas and it's close to downtown Pdx. GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community is a website with info on all schools in the country. You enter a city, address or school name and can easily get school stats such as test scores, school size, racial make up, parent reviews, etc. I have found that very helpful. I would also check out PortlandMaps to see tax info for prospective homes that you are interested in. Multnomah county (Pdx) has much higher prop taxes than WA county (Beaverton) so that might also be a consideration for you.

[K_MAC6]

ssmith, your pretty much hit everything on the head. We dont have any children, and would like some in the future maybe like 5 years from now. Im not very familiar with the east side of Portland at all. From what ive read people say the crime is worse there than other parts of the city is this true? Could you recomend some towns or areas of the south east I could look into?