Portland relocation questions (Beaverton, Tigard, Lake Oswego: sales, hotels, big house)

[admgr]

I know there are other threads here which were helpful but some more questions regarding moving to Portland

I am based in Seattle and was wondering about a comparison between the two cities

1. I like the feel of Seattle but it is too commercial for me. Is Portland the same except maybe more smaller?
2. Does anyone have any leads to recruiters for Nike and Intel? (Marketing/advertising online positions) Thanks in advance.
3. What are good areas to live in that are urban and are not too high priced in terms of house buying (around 300K) I am not a suburbia kind of person at all, I need my cafe close to me

3. I would like to visit Portland a number of times before I make up my mind to move. I love hiking and sea kayaking. I am a member of Mazamas.

-can you all suggest inexpensive but safe hostels/places to stay whilst in Portland for a day or two that is closer to downtown?

Really appreciate all input, I love the city and the people and somehow would want some pointers, specially from those who have lived in Seattle and moved there..why did you? Please share.

[backdrifter]

I can only answer number one.

Portland has a similar feel to Seattle, but to give an example of the differences in commercialization between the two... In Seattle you'll go to a Starbucks to get your afternoon latte and then head to Borders to browse some books. In Portland you'll go to Stumptown for your latte and while away some time at Powell's Books.

Portland also takes anything political to a whole new level and isn't very graceful about it. I mean, it's sort of the nouveau riche of hipness. It's a bit more irreverent and ill-bred and rough around the edges. If Portland were a person it'd be Tanya Harding or Courtney Love (Portlanders). Seattle would be Rainn Wilson or Frances Farmer (Seattleites)--more graceful and civilized or more nerdy or both, but in any case more "established" feeling. Seattle is more grown up. It's a liberal, latte sipping, Prius driver. Portland is a radically liberal, grungy, hipster environmental activist. Not to say either of those elements doesn't exist in both cities, but that is just my impression of which is more dominant in either city.

Edit: Also, yes, Portland is and FEELS smaller than Seattle.

[philwithbeard]

A response to your question #3:

Portland city is divided up into many small neighborhoods. Something like Seattle, where each Portland City neighborhood has it's own 'feel' and uniqueness. Small business district with coffee shop and so forth.
You may want to start here:
Susan's Online Guide to Portland Oregon - The City of Roses

Keep in mind there are 'burbs surrounding Portland, and 'burbs are 'burbs.

Rule of thumb in Portland: close to neighborhood business district and bus lines, the higher the cost of housing. 3 or 4 blocks away from bus line, prices drop.

Mass Transit link (see interactive system map!):
TriMet: Public Transportation for the Portland, Oregon, Metro Area

I might venture to recommend the following, but in truth you could easily disagree with any, or all, of my suggestions: Woodstock, Hillsdale, Multnomah Village, Hollywood, Irvington, and SE Belmont (near Laurehurst Park)

A lot of people like the 'idea' of living in the Pearl but the car parking problem gets to them after a while. Housing prices, again, supply and demand in the near NW Portland area.

Current best bargains (housing cost per sq ft living space) I believe is along Green MAX line on SE side of town. Large Park & Ride lots next to MAX stops. Also good prices out in Cedar Hills area on West side of Portland City along Red and Blue MAX lines. (MAX is an express light rail to Downtown Portland)

Hope this helps.

Phil

[philwithbeard]

Originally Posted by admgr

..{snip}...-can you all suggest inexpensive but safe hostels/places to stay whilst in Portland for a day or two that is closer to downtown?....

Try this link:
The Room Exchange Network Home
Not hotel, more of temp house-mate but can be inexpensive.

I presume you Googled cheap hotels Portland, OR. And you know the downtown hotels (the good ones! with Uniformed Door men included!) have really deep discounts on weekend packages sold on Priceline.com and such.

[ak.nessa]

All the suburbs are still cities. Some smaller suburbs of Portland that I like are Lake Oswego, West Linn, Tualatin, Beaverton, Tigard, Oregon City. LO and WL are very expensive though. If you want an affordable suburb I recommend Tualatin (or Sherwood). If you want to work for Nike live in Beaverton, housing is cheap and there are neighborhoods within walking distance to Nike. My grandma lives out there in a nice big house! I prefer Portland over Seattle. It seems friendlier and slightly slower paced, but still very much a big city!!! Plenty of cafes and coffee shops

[malachai23]

Hi there, I lived in Seattle for a year at one point. Actually, I lived in Bellevue - but spent most of my free time in Seattle. Before that (and after that) I had lived in Portland for many many years. I thought Seattle would just be like a larger Portland but I found it to be quite different and actually went through a tad of "culture shock". Then again Bellevue might have had something to do with that! LOL

All kidding aside, the Seattle area first off is STUNNINGLY gorgeous. Portland is nice, but it sir is no Seattle. I almost feel like a traitor saying that. But it's true. Seattle has all those amazing hills downtown, the bay right there and water all around, the views, the amazing architecture, the crazy zigzaggy streets. Portland has hills in some residential areas - but the majority of the city is flat or just gradually inclining. Its streets, for the most part, are layed out on a basic grid. You have the Willamette and Columbia rivers, which don't get me wrong are beautiful - but it doesn't give you the feeling of being surrounded by water.

I found Seattle to be a lot less laid back than Portland, in general. I found it VERY hard to meet people when I moved to Seattle. Seattelites didn't seem to be nearly as friendly, or at least "surface friendly", as Portlanders. I had a lot of questions and didn't know a soul when I moved there and nobody seemed to be too interested in helping me to acclimate or getting to know an "outsider". I got pulled over THREE TIMES in Bellevue on the first day I moved there because I had an out-of-state plate and the temp tag (which was the first thing I purchased on the first day I lived there) kept falling down off the window. THREE TIMES!! Seattle seemed more staunch, prim and proper, reserved. Also, I thought traffic was worse in Seattle (although it's not much better in Portland). Seattle drivers seemed to be more aggressive. I think that kind of ties in to not being as laid back as Portland, in general. Of course all of these observations are generalities - they were just *MY* experiences and could very well have been no one else's.

Anyhow, Seattle is also hella more expensive than Portland. Housing/rent/groceries - all way more expensive. Oregon has no sales tax, by the way. However, you will have to start paying personal income tax in Oregon. Oregon doesn't not have a car import fee either like Washington does or at least used to have ... don't know if it still does? (boy THAT about killed me moving up there!!). I think you will find a better cost of living and quality of life in the Portland area. At the price you want to spend for your house I'd say you could find something nice pretty much anywhere in Portland (excluding some ritzy West Hills areas). Oh, and you will no longer be allowed to pump your own gas in Oregon. You will be forced by law to sit there and wait for the attendants to take their own sweet time doing it for you.

Sorry - I don't know of any hi-tech recruiters in the Portland area but I'm sure you could find a few by looking it up online.

If you are going for "urban" once you get to Portland, you will definitely NOT want to live in Beaverton, which is the epitome of suburban. The closest "urban" area to Beaverton would be NW 23rd/Goose Hollow/Pearl District/Downtown. But depending on the hours you will be working you could probably get out there in less than a half hour from anywhere in Portland. You would be going against the traffic.

Well, hopefully all that helped!! Good luck to you!!

[admgr]

Thanks everyone, really helpful and love the Seattle/Portland exchange ..i dont know, i still like Portland more and I dont even live there!

[LuisaV]

I'm jealous, I'm in the other direction... exchanging Portland for Seattle :S

[hamellr]

Nikebiz.com has a list of all the jobs at Nike. Their recruiter is Adecco, but getting a job at Nike is near impossible. You really have to know someone to even get your resume looked at, unless it's an fresh out of college entry level job.

All the Intel recruiters I know of only do Tech recruiting there. I don't know anything about their marketing department, I assume the bulk of it is sub contracted out.

But if you have a really good resume and portfolio, you're forgetting about Weiden & Kennedy.