Any Oregon DISers?

[Bellamia4]

DH just called and said he's almost guaranteed a promotion and transfer to the Portland metro area. We've visited before and loved it, but we have no idea what the desirable suburbs are.

Any Oregoners have any advice?

TIA

 

[MinnieM21]

If you're moving to Portland, I would live in NW Portland (in the uptown area or even the downtown area maybe). It's safer and closer to everything.

I would say just don't live in the NE area, my aunt does and parts of it are really dangerous.


Do you know what area you're moving to? Portland is a big city.

 

[Bellamia4]

Are there any suburbs you recommend? We don't really want to live in the big city.

 

[MinnieM21]

What part of Portland are you moving to? NW, NE, SE, SW...Portland is a big place.

 

[Bellamia4]

DH needs to cover a territory and it includes the entire Vancouver/ Portland metro area and on down near to Salem, so we're really open to all areas.

 

[MinnieM21]

The West Hills is a really nice area.

They have neighborhoods such as Forest Heights, Portland Heights. They're really nice safe neighborhoods and is a short drive to the downtown area but far away enough from it. I really recommend Forest Heights though.

I recommend going to the website www.movingtoportland.com and scrolling down to where it says "places to live in the city" and clicking on "west hills". It describes the neighborhoods and you'll get a better sense of everything I'm talking about.

 

[Bellamia4]

Thanks for the link. I'm off to take a look.

 

[MinnieM21]

No problem, if you have an questions don't hesitate to PM me.

 

[RadioNate]

We used to live in Portland. I think where you live depends on where your DH's work would be. I read he would have a "territory" but does that come with an office? Traffic in Portland can be a nightmare if you are in an area where there is only one way in/out due to the rivers/hills.

We lived in Tigard and then Lake Oswego. We have a lot of friends that are in Hillsboro/Beaverton and south Tualitin/Wilsonville areas.

NW is the nicest area but I know when I was there they were doing a huge economic redevelopment in the NE area near the Rose Garden and in the area just north of downtown.

We moved away about 4 years ago but my inlaws are still there so we visit.

 

[Bellamia4]

He'll have a home office but have to drive all over so traffic will still play a factor, but it would be better to live in an area that he won't have to sit in traffic in each and every day.

How are those areas you listed in your post, RadioNate?

Thanks again.

 

[ahutton]

DH is from Tillamook (nice place on the coast), and his family is mostly still in Portland. All the suburbs mentioned by RadioNate are very nice. DHs Grandma lives in Lake Oswego, his Grandpa lives in Tigard. Both are very nice. His aunt and uncle lived in Dundee until recently, they wanted to move further away from the city. When DH was working for Intel we looked at the Beaverton area as it is a bit west of town, newer and a little closer to the coast, which if we were ever in that area I would want to spend as much time as possible there! It is a truly beautiful city.

 

[RadioNate]

I know they've done some road work since we've been there so maybe Minnie could correct anything I've gotten wrong. When we lived there 217 and 26 were the worst of it. I worked in east Vancouver when we lived in Lake Oswego and the drive was long but traffic wasn't terrible. I think you'd do well with something that has easy access to I-5. Our friends in Beaverton, which is off of 26, work in Beaverton so they are traveling into downtown at rush hour. It's really just the rush hours that are bad, like most cities, however because of the rivers/bridges and hills accidents and things like rain or snow (rare) can have a big impact.

Where are you moving from? If you are leaving a big city you might not notice a huge traffic difference

Portland has a lot of nice residental areas. I always wanted a house in Eastmorland which is in SE portland. I agree about NE there are some great neighborhoods and some that can be a little spotty though I do know people who live in the Irvington neighborhood. Same with the SE area.

If you are looking into living downton the NW area of downtown is pretty trendy. Lots of young couples and singles.

I loved the location where we lived in Lake Oswego but I know everyone has a something great to say about where they lived.

 

[Alice28]

I live in Oregon City, a suburb south of Portland.

NW Portland is VERY nice, but also the priciest area. There are pockets of nice areas in all of Portland, really! West Linn & Lake Oswego are probably the nicest suburbs, although Tigard, Tualatin, Beaverton are nice too. Also, Gresham, which is a suburb east of PDX is popular. We like Oregon City as it's a larger burb, close to both I-205 and not too far from I-5, and there are both historical neighorhoods (like ours) & beautiful new developments. You might really want to think about Oregon City or Tualatin, maybe even Wilsonville, as they are south of Portland and therefore not as far from Salem, and yet they have easy freeway access to go north. If you live in the West side of either Portland or the burbs (Beaverton, Hillsboro, Aloha) you will be dealing with the worst traffic in the metro area.

One last thing, you may want to even consider Vancouver, WA; far from Salem, BUT, Washington residents do not pay state income tax. And Oregon residents don't pay sales tax. As a Washington resident you can come and shop down here, furniture, appliances, clothes, etc, and not pay tax on purchases AND not pay state income tax! You do have to pay tax on a car though. Just a thought and PM me with any questions. I am a California transplant, been here almost 10 years, and love it.

 

[Alice28]

PS----we call ourselves "Oregonians."

 

[Tigger&Belle]

We had a chance to move to the Portland area a couple of years ago (I'm from southern OR) and I couldn't believe how high the cost of living was. I'm in Montgomery County, MD, and housing is very expensive here, and Portland (at least the places that I saw on internet listings, I believe in the Beaverton area) was almost as bad. Of course we don't have the mountains in Maryland, but we also don't have the rain. I do miss Oregon, though.

T&B

 

[binny]

One last thing, you may want to even consider Vancouver, WA; far from Salem, BUT, Washington residents do not pay state income tax. And Oregon residents don't pay sales tax. As a Washington resident you can come and shop down here, furniture, appliances, clothes, etc, and not pay tax on purchases AND not pay state income tax! You do have to pay tax on a car though. Just a thought and PM me with any questions. I am a California transplant, been here almost 10 years, and love it.

Just what I was going to say!

Were looking into a move to PDX/VAN in a year and a half or so. And Van is looking better and better!

If not it will likely be Beaverton, I lived there for awhile and I really loved it. Good luck with the relo!

 

[VampHeartless]

Hey!! I used to be an Oregonian!!

I would stick with Salem. It's a farely large city, (capital of the state), but it maintains this down home feeling with everyone in the community. The commute isn't bad to Portland...45-60 min straight up I-5.

 

[MinnieM21]

If your husband is going to be working in Portland I wouldn't live in Beaverton, traffic can be a you know what. It really sucks. They seem to always be doing some kind of road work from Beaverton to Portland.

 

[Bellamia4]

Thank you all! Just being able to knock the Beaverton, Hillsboro off of the area that we're considering is a big help.

And I don't know what I was thinking when I typed Oregoners-- I guess that would be people who leave Oregon.

Question about the Oregon/Washington tax situation: If one works in Oregon, but lives in WA, do you have to pay Oregon income taxes? I'm from California and California charges income tax on any income earned within the state.

 

[Bellamia4]

Alice28-- I tried to respond to your PM and it says your box is full.