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Thinking of moving to Portland. What do you know?

hathalove

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Hi Psers.

Always such good information from our PSers that I thought I would ask here. We are thinking of making the move from SoCal to Portland. Mostly for a lifestyle upgrade. We need great schools and a safe fantastic neighborhood. We also need relatively easy access to the international airport. We will probably want to rent for a year first before buying anything to make sure we get to know the city and love it.

What neighborhoods should we consider? The idea of my son riding his bike to school is cool. Being able to walk to a yoga class or for chai sounds good too. Although if it means we are out of an area where the schools aren't that great then forget that I can drive for my chai. Lol.

Thoughts?
 

MarionC

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:wavey: I just saw this. Portland is such a cool place! All the Best to you.
 

hathalove

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Jimmianne|1430648917|3871471 said:
:wavey: I just saw this. Portland is such a cool place! All the Best to you.

Thank you Jimmianne! It's time to experience something different. It's very exciting but also a bit scary. We have such a thriving community of friends here where we are.

How are you?! I took a long break from PS. Anything fun of yours I missed? I guess no one lives in Portland on PS. Lol. Feel free to link me to any of the new jewels you have acquired. You always had great taste!
 

Matata

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If you want to live in any of the iconic Portland neighborhoods, prepare to pay a lot of money for not so much house. I don't know anything about real estate prices in SoCal, but Portland is expensive to Oregonians. Expect to pay a minimum of $500,000 for a 1200-1800 sq. ft. bungalow fixer in the popular neighborhoods. The same amount of money would get you more square footage and maybe move in ready outside of neighborhoods surrounding the city center. There are a lot of street people in the city core. Far more than you would expect for a city that size.

The city is easy to navigate on bike, foot, and through a very good transportation system. I don't live there but visit frequently and I can't figure out the street grid to save my life so luckily it isn't necessary to drive in the city core.

Foodie paradise and that's why we visit so often. Rains a lot but that may change along with the rest of the climate shift.

If you want to know what the people are like, rent dvds of Portlandia. People who don't know Portland probably think the personalities are exaggerated but I assure you, they are not and if you live there, you'll see the people represented in the show everywhere you go. Delightfully eccentric but it can wear on one's nerves.

I actually wanted to move there when hubby retired. We live 4 hours south. I ultimately decided that I didn't want to trade off open spaces and no traffic hassles for dense housing and traffic congestion.
 

blingbunny10

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I considered moving to Oregon a few years ago and had started looking at it in depth before deciding to pursue other options. I still think it's a great place to live! I don't know what you're price range is, or what you are looking for in terms of square footage/ yard space, etc., but each neighborhood and suburb have a very distinct feel and are made up of different populations. I would rent in a central to western area of Portland while checking out neighborhoods and suburbs to settle down in. I would want to rent near the Pearl District/ Waterfront areas, but I don't have kids, so you may want to look into quieter areas and possibly renting a house. The Southeast area of Portland is nice for families as well and a bit quirky - I think it's called Hawthorne(?). The areas of Portland zoned to Lincoln High are pretty tops in terms of public schools, but again, I don't know what your threshold/expectations are on that front. The only quadrant I would really avoid is Northeast.

Neighborhoods I would consider long-term (But this is my own list! You will probably find other areas you love.):
-small pockets of residential areas in central and southeast Portland, with shops within walking distance (including the Hawthorne area I mentioned above)
-West Hills (very nice area of Portland with more of a suburban feel)
-Forest Heights (still nice, but parts are rather McMansiony)
Lake Oswego (suburb of Portland, but very close with great schools. Right off several major highways for easy access.)

Are you looking to live right IN the city/downtown, or are you open to suburbs within a 10-15 minute drive? If you're open to it, you'd get more bang for your buck in the suburbs Beaverton and Tigard. Though if you're coming from SoCal, I'd imagine you won't suffer much sticker shock ! :lol: - Housing prices in Oregon (even in Portland) are still very reasonable when compared to other major cities.
 

blingbunny10

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One other thing:
I don't know if you are familiar with Estately.com, but I love using it to search for different houses and neighborhoods. I use the map view to gauge how close prospective houses are to coffee shops and other retail (Like you, I'd prefer my caffeinated drinks and yoga to be within walking distance, lol). The schools and "Great Schools" ratings are also given at the bottom of each listing.

Good luck with your search! House hunting and moving are such a pain, but also an chance to embark on new adventures and opportunities!
 

Zizzy

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My daughter spent a semester studying there as an award from Nottingham University. She loved it! She has lived and worked or studied in São Paulo, Madrid and Havana in Cuba as well as here in the UK and Portland was her favourite city. The people were very open and friendly, the transport brilliant, great food and drinks and a vibrant live music and arts scene. There is breathtaking countryside nearby too. Oh and Powell's book store too!
 

hathalove

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Matata|1430680623|3871592 said:
If you want to live in any of the iconic Portland neighborhoods, prepare to pay a lot of money for not so much house. I don't know anything about real estate prices in SoCal, but Portland is expensive to Oregonians. Expect to pay a minimum of $500,000 for a 1200-1800 sq. ft. bungalow fixer in the popular neighborhoods. The same amount of money would get you more square footage and maybe move in ready outside of neighborhoods surrounding the city center. There are a lot of street people in the city core. Far more than you would expect for a city that size.

The city is easy to navigate on bike, foot, and through a very good transportation system. I don't live there but visit frequently and I can't figure out the street grid to save my life so luckily it isn't necessary to drive in the city core.

Foodie paradise and that's why we visit so often. Rains a lot but that may change along with the rest of the climate shift.

If you want to know what the people are like, rent dvds of Portlandia. People who don't know Portland probably think the personalities are exaggerated but I assure you, they are not and if you live there, you'll see the people represented in the show everywhere you go. Delightfully eccentric but it can wear on one's nerves.

I actually wanted to move there when hubby retired. We live 4 hours south. I ultimately decided that I didn't want to trade off open spaces and no traffic hassles for dense housing and traffic congestion.


Thank you. I just asked a friend about Portlandia and he agreed that the people are very much like the show. I will have to take a look. I have never heard of it. Where did you end up settling. Are you saying that Portland has dense housing and traffic congestion? It is pretty congested where I live but I really do want to hear about the various experiences. I have only been to Portland twice and it was super relaxed but I know that isn't necessarily a reflection of day to day living there.
 

hathalove

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blingbunny10|1430683878|3871612 said:
I considered moving to Oregon a few years ago and had started looking at it in depth before deciding to pursue other options. I still think it's a great place to live! I don't know what you're price range is, or what you are looking for in terms of square footage/ yard space, etc., but each neighborhood and suburb have a very distinct feel and are made up of different populations. I would rent in a central to western area of Portland while checking out neighborhoods and suburbs to settle down in. I would want to rent near the Pearl District/ Waterfront areas, but I don't have kids, so you may want to look into quieter areas and possibly renting a house. The Southeast area of Portland is nice for families as well and a bit quirky - I think it's called Hawthorne(?). The areas of Portland zoned to Lincoln High are pretty tops in terms of public schools, but again, I don't know what your threshold/expectations are on that front. The only quadrant I would really avoid is Northeast.

Neighborhoods I would consider long-term (But this is my own list! You will probably find other areas you love.):
-small pockets of residential areas in central and southeast Portland, with shops within walking distance (including the Hawthorne area I mentioned above)
-West Hills (very nice area of Portland with more of a suburban feel)
-Forest Heights (still nice, but parts are rather McMansiony)
Lake Oswego (suburb of Portland, but very close with great schools. Right off several major highways for easy access.)

Are you looking to live right IN the city/downtown, or are you open to suburbs within a 10-15 minute drive? If you're open to it, you'd get more bang for your buck in the suburbs Beaverton and Tigard. Though if you're coming from SoCal, I'd imagine you won't suffer much sticker shock ! :lol: - Housing prices in Oregon (even in Portland) are still very reasonable when compared to other major cities.

Thank you Blingbunny! This is exactly the information I was hoping for. A starting place if you will... Where to look. I am absolutely open to the suburbs. We want space but it doesn't have to be huge. We want to start with renting just to make sure we want to stay there. Maybe 3 bedrooms and two baths plus a bonus room (den, office, whatever) It would be nice to have a decent size yard. We live on the Westside near Santa Monica which is VERY EXPENSIVE... What sticker shock??? :dance: I mean for what we pay for a tiny two bedroom gets us so much more there. Thats why we are looking to move. For more reasonable living. We are use to noise and congestion and traffic so I really can't imagine Portland being worse than that. Let me know if you think of anything else you want to add. I am open to any and all suggestions.

Just curious where you ended up landing? We have been considering a few different states and Oregon has been at the top so far.
 

blingbunny10

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Glad to be of help. :) We actually considered several states and ended up in Maryland.

So, for fun, I took a peak at Estately.com. Just to give you an idea of neighborhood, 3428 SE Salmon St. and 3266 SE Madison St. are two houses in a pretty cool area of Portland. If you google the addresses and look at the map, it will show you where the "Hawthorne Blvd" area I was talking about is. There are neat shops all along that main strip, including an organic grocery store, Powell's Books, a great coffee shop, and an old theater. Close to several parks, so great for kids. We spent most of our Oregon scouting trip looking at this area and Lake Oswego, a suburb about 10-15 mins away. Both are nice, safe areas with lots of things to do within walking distance. Lol, this is making me want to move to Portland again!
 

amc80

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Hi! My husband and I are currently in the process of moving to Portland from NV. I'm actually up here right now for some job interviews. As soon as I get an offer we will move. We don't want to be in Portland, per se, but in the outskirts. Either the St. Helens area on the OR side or Battleground on the WA side. We want some land so it makes sense to go a bit north.
 

azstonie

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Here's what I know: No one leaves! :lol:

All of my friends I grew up with in CA who moved to Portland are still there 30 years later.

AMC, my DH and I have outskirts of Portland on the short list for retirement locations also. Have you looked at Eugene? I really loved it there, spent 2 summer vacations there, the downtown market they have in the summer on the weekends, so much fun.
 

aviastar

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I have sister in Vancouver, WA and it's basically the burbs of Portland, but much cheaper. Super cute and friendly.
 

amc80

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Azstonie- DH's family is in the Eugene/Springfield area. We did look down there, but really need to be in Portland for the job market.

Aviastar- Vancouver is one of the places we are looking at as well! It's looking like I'll end up in downtown Portland for work, though, and I'm not really thrilled about the idea of having to cross the bridge every day.
 

aviastar

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Yea, AMC, that would be tough. Its not a bad drive when we're in for a visit and want to go to Powells, but as a commute I don't know. I don't know the name of the exact neighborhood where they live now, but the whole place is adorable.
 

MarionC

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hathalove|1430668175|3871542 said:
Jimmianne|1430648917|3871471 said:
:wavey: I just saw this. Portland is such a cool place! All the Best to you.

Thank you Jimmianne! It's time to experience something different. It's very exciting but also a bit scary. We have such a thriving community of friends here where we are.

How are you?! I took a long break from PS. Anything fun of yours I missed? I guess no one lives in Portland on PS. Lol. Feel free to link me to any of the new jewels you have acquired. You always had great taste!

So nice to know that you are still on PS. Have not seen your posts in quite a while : )
I've gone over to the dark [& shiny] side with an Old European round named "Joy", but I still wear my "Little D" : )

I hope you will keep your adventures up-to-date here!
Portlandia!
 

hathalove

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amc80|1431042642|3873678 said:
Azstonie- DH's family is in the Eugene/Springfield area. We did look down there, but really need to be in Portland for the job market.

Aviastar- Vancouver is one of the places we are looking at as well! It's looking like I'll end up in downtown Portland for work, though, and I'm not really thrilled about the idea of having to cross the bridge every day.


Aren't the areas of St Helens and battleground further away compared to Vancouver? If you do land a job in downtown Portland. What are the closer areas you are considering that would lesson your commute?
 

hathalove

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aviastar|1431042099|3873674 said:
I have sister in Vancouver, WA and it's basically the burbs of Portland, but much cheaper. Super cute and friendly.


Woah just looked up some housing in Vancouver and it is much cheaper!
 

amc80

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hathalove|1431054336|3873798 said:
amc80|1431042642|3873678 said:
Azstonie- DH's family is in the Eugene/Springfield area. We did look down there, but really need to be in Portland for the job market.

Aviastar- Vancouver is one of the places we are looking at as well! It's looking like I'll end up in downtown Portland for work, though, and I'm not really thrilled about the idea of having to cross the bridge every day.


Aren't the areas of St Helens and battleground further away compared to Vancouver? If you do land a job in downtown Portland. What are the closer areas you are considering that would lesson your commute?

Yes, both of those places are further out. But, we want a bit of land, and that's really hard to find/expensive as you get closer to Portland. St. Helen's is fairly far out, but there isn't a ton of traffic, so it wouldn't be bad.
 

MarionC

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I was just thinking - you *should* move to NC instead! :naughty:
 

Zlata

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IIRC, neither Nevada nor Washington have state income taxes? Is it true that you would pay Oregon state taxes on wages earned in Oregon, even if living in WA? Not sure how that works, but something to consider.
 

amc80

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Zlata said:
IIRC, neither Nevada nor Washington have state income taxes? Is it true that you would pay Oregon state taxes on wages earned in Oregon, even if living in WA? Not sure how that works, but something to consider.

Yes, that is true.

Btw, we did end up finding a house in Vancouver, and are in escrow.
 

aviastar

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Yay! Congrats!
 

amc80

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hathalove|1431054512|3873801 said:
aviastar|1431042099|3873674 said:
I have sister in Vancouver, WA and it's basically the burbs of Portland, but much cheaper. Super cute and friendly.


Woah just looked up some housing in Vancouver and it is much cheaper!

Yes! Houses are cheaper, property taxes are WAY lower (like $5k/year in Portland vs. $3k in Vancouver, for the same property value), and schools are (generally) better. The commute won't be too fun, but it seemed like a fair trade off.
 

hathalove

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amc80|1432821486|3882214 said:
Zlata said:
IIRC, neither Nevada nor Washington have state income taxes? Is it true that you would pay Oregon state taxes on wages earned in Oregon, even if living in WA? Not sure how that works, but something to consider.

Yes, that is true.

Btw, we did end up finding a house in Vancouver, and are in escrow.


That was fast! Awesome and Congratulations. :appl:
 

Zlata

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amc80|1432821486|3882214 said:
Zlata said:
IIRC, neither Nevada nor Washington has state income taxes? Is it true that you would pay Oregon state taxes on wages earned in Oregon, even if living in WA? Not sure how that works, but something to consider.

Yes, that is true.

Btw, we did end up finding a house in Vancouver, and are in escrow.

:appl: Congratulations! :appl:

Enjoy your new home and new job!
 

Candygrl

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I lived in Lake Oswego and I loved it! I wouldn't want to live right In the city, so Lake Oswego was perfect for me.
 

luv2sparkle

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The trick is to live in Washington, no property tax and shop in Oregon, no sales tax! I love Oregon and we would like to move there too. I don't think he congestion is as bad as SoCal, and I can't imagine property, even in Portland, would be higher than SoCal. We also love Lake Oswego! Such a lovely place. The rain wouldn't bother me at all, I don't think. I love rainy weather.
 

amc80

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luv2sparkle|1432917079|3882683 said:
The trick is to live in Washington, no property tax and shop in Oregon, no sales tax! I love Oregon and we would like to move there too. I don't think he congestion is as bad as SoCal, and I can't imagine property, even in Portland, would be higher than SoCal. We also love Lake Oswego! Such a lovely place. The rain wouldn't bother me at all, I don't think. I love rainy weather.

You mean no income tax- there's definitely property tax in WA :)
 

MichelleCarmen

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amc80|1432919774|3882708 said:
luv2sparkle|1432917079|3882683 said:
The trick is to live in Washington, no property tax and shop in Oregon, no sales tax! I love Oregon and we would like to move there too. I don't think he congestion is as bad as SoCal, and I can't imagine property, even in Portland, would be higher than SoCal. We also love Lake Oswego! Such a lovely place. The rain wouldn't bother me at all, I don't think. I love rainy weather.

You mean no income tax- there's definitely property tax in WA :)

Yep, there's property tax in wa and sales tax, but no state income tax, just federal. There's no sales tax in OR, though, so live in WA and shop in OR.
 
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