Planning relocation to Portland. Any tips on a good area?

[upi402]

I'd like to get away from the fairly conservative Eastside of Seattle. And Washington voters have drunk the FoolAid -voted down indexed taxation on $400K and up couples, etc.
I think it will get pretty bad here fairly soon.

We're looking for a cheap 2 bed 1.5 bath house, or 3 bed 2 bath (buy/rent not sure). Near the MAX would be good. I like college areas but can't afford the UW area in Seattle anymore. A safe working class area with decent transport would be great. Is Gresham still nice? Sandy is too far

Any info or experiences appreciated.

[laconicsax]

1. You'll probably want to be west of I-205.

IMO, things get nicer as you move away from Gresham. If you can manage to get west of 82nd Ave, it's even better. Once you get to 82nd, you have tons of bus lines that will get you anywhere you want to go.

There's also an area known as "felony flats" in SE Portland that you might want to stay away from. It's essentially bounded by SE Foster Rd. to the north, the county line to the south, and 72nd and 52nd on the east and west respectively.

[quakerboy]

6. I have a totaly opposite perception

East of 205 is sketch in my mind. A bit west as well. I lived off east of 82nd for a while. mega petty crime area, by my personal experience. Then as you get further in, things just get more and more packed in. No room to breathe. Plus the whole "Im gonna pretend to be a hippie, but not really and if you piss me off, god help your soul" vibe that people tend to give off east of 82nd. I enjoyed being out in Gresham by the CC. When I moved most recently, I think of all the places we looked, my favorite was a house on the hill in troutdale. It just cost more than I could afford. But walking distance from the sandy river, great view over the river and into WA, those were the traits that appealed most to me.


Then again, Ive never been afraid to walk in any area of Portland at any time of day. Perhaps I should rethink that now that someone was shot right outside my place here, but I probably won't unless that kind of thing becomes even more commonplace. I notice that Portland seems to be more mixed together than any other city I have spent much time in. You will get a really run down section right next to a nice section, with no clear "wrong side of the tracks".

[laconicsax]

7. Many valid points.

I disagree with you though. West of 82nd is great--I prefer the higher density.

[cascadiance]

2. I wouldn't go much west of Beaverton...

I'm right on the edge of Beaverton and Portland (on the county border there. Get much west of Beaverton in to Hillsboro, and its a bit more conservative, though that's relatively speaking as it still isn't too bad a place there either. But I like being closer to the city areas and the other parts of town where I am now. If one lives too far west in to Hillsboro, it is a bit more suburbia with less cultural diversity, etc. Being in Beaverton does help me though be close both to downtown tech jobs and the tech jobs in the Beaverton/Hillsboro area though (Intel and others).

We have an election now that's still being counted for Metro president in this area between Tom Hughes and Bob Stacey, though I'm seeing just now that it looks like someone at KPTV just called this very close race for Tom Hughes...

http://www.kptv.com/yourvote/25750049/detail.html

That race gives you an idea of how the conservative and liberal areas are divided up around Portland area. Tom Hughes was the more conservative mayor of Hillsboro (albeit I think he's still a Democrat), and Bob Stacey was the more environmentally conscious candidate that was more popular in downtown Portland (Multnomah County). Would have preferred Stacey. One of my friends was helping to campaign for him too with a fundraiser earlier for him.

[HuckleB]

3. Try the North Portland area around the Yellow MAX line.

Perhaps Rose City Park or Roseway neighborhoods in Northeast. Maybe Concordia... though that's far from MAX. There are some up and coming neighborhoods in southeast, just west of I-205, but you would want to do some research. It's a city of pockets, more than whole areas, in terms of livability.

[0rganism]

4. rent an apartment close-in and take your time looking around

There are a lot of groovy neighborhoods with wildly varying character and costs. Predicting now what might catch your eye once you've been here a while is basically impossible. If you're okay with renting, especially renting a few rooms or a floor in a larger house, you'll have a lot of options. Initially, try renting someplace in SE between 99E and SE 52nd, north of Bybee. If you have some flexibility, a chance to live in SE Portland for a few months is not to be missed. Meanwhile, you can look for something affordable that really suits your lifestyle.

[upi402]

5. That sounds like a plan then

With the tips from other posts as prime launching points.
Thanks folks, much appreciated!

I do want to stay away from conservative areas, done with that cold war living. Life is good, but short.