Input Please ...moving to Portland (Beaverton, Hillsboro: apartment, rental, house)

[PMJ]

Need some input!!! I want to relocate to Portland Oregon.What is a nice area for a young senior citizen. I am a christian so a place of worship is very important to me. I want quietness..I am a writer and I love my alone time. I want to be close to community meaning I love to mingle; to get to know other races and ethnicities,this also is very important to me. I was wondering, what is a good neighborhood and what is public transit like?I would even be willing to share an apartment, as long as my privacy was respected..If anyone has info,Please share

[Minervah]

I am planning to retire out of Portland. It will be too costly for me to live here without a full time job. If you have a good solid means of support you can do it otherwise you might want to rethink your idea.

If you are depending solely on public transportation you will need to live near a frequently running busline. All but a few bus routes and light rail go directly downtown. As far as churches go, it would probably be a good idea to look up whichever denomination you are interested in and and check out the surrounding area for suitable neighborhoods. Actually, contacting the church pastor would be helpful.

Portland does not have a great deal to offer Senior Citizens. But depending upon your reasons for wanting to move here, that may not affect you.

[philwithbeard]

Any specific branch of the christian faith?

I don't attend church, but I have ridden a bus past one or two. I can always look and the names as I travel this week around town.

BTW: bus system is one of best in USA.
TriMet: Public Transportation for the Portland, Oregon, Metro Area

Portland is divided up into neighborhoods.
Google: Moving to Portland.
One or two sites will provide you with lots of reading.

BTW: Portland is very white bread. Low racial diversity ratio.

I was once told that the neighborhood called Sullivan's Gulch (NE Broadway between NE 20th to about NE 30th or maybe even 35th) has lots of medical professionals who work rotating shifts. No tolerance for party types as everyone is bone tired all the time around there. I have posted this comment before, and no one has posted anything to challenge it. I don't live in that neighborhood. Problem is finding a rental available, as low turn-over.

Inside joke: NE Broadway runs into NE 42nd street, and that is the Hollywood district. Get it? Hollywood starts at Broadway and 42nd, (Hey, I didn't make this up-- don't blame me.)

Phil

[PMJ]

Phil, I like your sense of humor... thanks for the info..I will check it out

[JimmyAZ]

Depending upon where you are coming from, I'd also rethink your idea. Portland is VERY expensive, liberal, rainy, cold and you won't see your neighbors for 6 mos out of the year. It is not very diverse. It's close to 96% white. Don't know the actuals, though. If public transportation isn't a must, I'd choose: NW Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Lake Oswego, Wilsonville. Tualatin is nice but a traffic NIGHTMARE. Ridgefield, WA/La Center, WA areas are also very quiet and nice.

[Leisesturm]

I am the organist for a medium sized church in Forest Grove (just west of Hillsboro) there are ~200 people coming each Sunday and if one of those Sunday's everyone over the age of 60 failed to show up there would likely not be much reason to even bother with having a service. The choir has 25 members and maybe 5 of them are under 60. I recently attended a concert smack in the center of the Hollywood district Phil mentioned. It was at the Rose City Park Presbyterian Church which appears to be a major house of worship in that area. There where there were in excess of 2500 people which tells you something about the size of the building. You wouldn't be able to fit more than ~500 people in the church I play for. All you could see was a sea of white hair across the auditorium of the Rose City church. My point is obvious: there are a great many seniors in Portland. They get out and do things and in general enjoy life in Portland and its suburbs. Or not. Just like anywhere else. YMMV.

H