Portland Heights / SW Hills questions (Beaverton, Tualatin: fit in, car registration, insurance)

[milwaukee_guy]

Currently considering a move to Portland, and my search is centered on the Portland Heights / Southwest Hills area. I like the landscape, the housing options, the proximity to both downtown and nature, and the school district. I have two small children so have some other questions about the area.

I note a tremendous lack of sidewalks. Do people raise kids over here? Is it safe to walk around, or are cars flying around corners?

Given that most homes over here are built on a hillside, is the general impression among locals that these places are all just going to collapse when a big earthquake hits? Is it considered safer to live east of downtown where the terrain is flatter? I'm aware of the earthquake risk maps on the portlandmaps site, just also wondering what people who actually live here think about the issue.

Anything else you can tell me about this area is appreciated. Thanks.

[SlideRules99]

We lived in SW Hills for 5 years, just moved out a couple years ago. Beautiful area - our “likes” were the same as yours.

From my recollection (and confirmed via Google maps), the winding roads with homes tucked in the hills/forest do not have sidewalks. Such was the case with our home/street.

Many of the more “neighborhood”-ish, semi-gridded areas in the hills do have sidewalks…e.g., Council Crest, the streets near Portland Heights Park, Ainsworth, etc.

There are exceptions obviously, and from your post, you’re likely keying in more-so on the winding type streets without sidewalks.

To answer your question, yes, plenty of kids around and about. Not to the extent of some other areas (‘burbs and such…), but common enough where we used to live.

On our street, traffic speed was constrained by the terrain and narrowness of the road. Further, it was off the beaten path, and the only ones really driving the road were locals and not pass-through commuters. So people didn’t speed so much in our neighborhood, and kids played and moved freely around the streets. Many times I’d patiently wait for bike ramps or waffle ball games to clear so I could drive past…lol.

Now, people do speed on roads like Patton, Vista, Dosch, Humphrey, etc - so that’s a different story. Beware the knuckleheads.

That said, if you’re lucky (as we were…), you have close access to the walking and hiking trails that meander through the hills, so those are excellent for taking walks or even multi-mile hikes.

Views on the earthquake risk will vary. We lived in a landslide prone area, and we did get both earthquake and landslide insurance coverage (via DIC policy) for peace of mind on the asset protection. (I think we were unusual in this regard.). We also had an emergency kit with a stash of water, food, and supplies. Some people do nothing and sleep well at night. We wanted to at least have a couple weeks of survival rations should the big one tear loose off the coast. I’d say where we lived it was about 50/50 on people who had preparedness kits, and those who did nothing.

Other things. I was snowed/iced in for several days on multiple occasions. A little altitude makes a big difference on snow accumulations, and let’s just say snow removal was a bit slow in coming. Also lost power a handful of times…once for 3 days as I recall. Winds smack against the hillsides, and heavy snow or ice will drop tree limbs onto the lines with some regularity. Small potatoes compared to “real” mountain dwellers, but eye-opening given we lived in the city proper. So you should be aware of that.

It would stay about 7 degrees cooler in our neighborhood, compared to the city floor, due to elevation and shade. A nice benefit in the summer.

All this said, loved it in the SW Hills, wouldn’t have had it any other way. Hope this answers some of your questions.

[milwaukee_guy]

I really appreciate all of that helpful information. It confirms a lot of my thinking but helps give it some color. Do you mind my asking why you left the area?

[SlideRules99]

Originally Posted by milwaukee_guy

I really appreciate all of that helpful information. It confirms a lot of my thinking but helps give it some color. Do you mind my asking why you left the area?

We had made the decision to leave Portland at the end of 2020.

At the time, it was a combination of things.

- a growing discomfort with the city’s direction on law & order…homelessness, riots, anti-police sentiment.
- a desire to be closer to an elder parent in the Great Lakes region.
- a desire for a true four seasons climate which, surprisingly, we missed after decades of living in an increasingly hot and arid west/PNW.

Item #1 seems to have already bottomed out, and based on my conversations with PDX friends, may be shifting back to a more rational approach. I dunno, I leave that to the PDX locals, of which I am no longer one.

Items #2 and #3 are personal and unique to our family situation and personal preferences.

I didn’t want to stray off the post topic, but since you asked, I shared…

Good luck!

[milwaukee_guy]

Originally Posted by SlideRules99

At the time, it was a combination of things.

- a growing discomfort with the city’s direction on law & order…homelessness, riots, anti-police sentiment.
- a desire to be closer to an elder parent in the Great Lakes region.
- a desire for a true four seasons climate which, surprisingly, we missed after decades of living in an increasingly hot and arid west/PNW.

Thanks, i appreciate all of that, as well as your efforts to keep this thread on track. I hope I'm not going too far astray by asking whether any of the crime issues you mentioned ever made their way up to the SW Hills area? My impression from my own visits was that this neighborhood is relatively immune to crime.

[SlideRules99]

Originally Posted by milwaukee_guy

Thanks, i appreciate all of that, as well as your efforts to keep this thread on track. I hope I'm not going too far astray by asking whether any of the crime issues you mentioned ever made their way up to the SW Hills area? My impression from my own visits was that this neighborhood is relatively immune to crime.

We, personally, had no issues with crime in the SW Hills.

There was the occasional homeless person out on the Marquam Trail network, with some congregation of homeless at the Marquam shelter. It may or may not have been cleared out since we left.

And once or twice, there were reports of car break-ins of vehicles parked overnight on nearby streets.

I don’t have stats in front of me, but I’m guessing it’s one of the safest parts in the city of Portland.

My experience is 2+ years old now, but I doubt it’s changed.

[Hans64]

OP may want to consider looking just a little further west in the Raleigh Hills/West Slope neighborhoods. This is unincorporated Washington County, with a Portland address, and Beaverton schools. In this area you get lower taxes and far better services than in Multnomah County, an excellent Parks & Rec district (Tualatin Hills), and Beaverton schools which are generally highly rated. This is not ”deep suburbia”--Portland proper is a very quick commute downtown. Lot sizes are larger and there are less homes on stilts on steep hillsides. I live in Raleigh Hills. Multnomah County is a poorly managed county, to the extent that I would leave the area before I would live there.

[Nell Plotts]

I agree with the poster above. A lot depends on your price point, Portland Metro home prices are high when compared to many cities outside of the west coast. Even Boise is getting 'spensive.

[2bpurrfect]

Originally Posted by Hans64

OP may want to consider looking just a little further west in the Raleigh Hills/West Slope neighborhoods. This is unincorporated Washington County, with a Portland address, and Beaverton schools. In this area you get lower taxes and far better services than in Multnomah County, an excellent Parks & Rec district (Tualatin Hills), and Beaverton schools which are generally highly rated. This is not ”deep suburbia”--Portland proper is a very quick commute downtown. Lot sizes are larger and there are less homes on stilts on steep hillsides. I live in Raleigh Hills. Multnomah County is a poorly managed county, to the extent that I would leave the area before I would live there.

i agree that multnomah county is terrible on services, all kinds of them including public works and social services. I don't advise anyone to move to multnomah county, which is most of Portland. Taxes and fees ( including car registration etc) are higher there, regressive and idiotic in some ways , reflecting many of the people and officials voting them in. Some of the non-tax measures voted in by them are outrageous as well.
as for West Hills, the streets get very treacherous and icy in winter, we are talking some steep hills. The city and county of course do NOT do anything about snow and ice on anything but the main thoroughfares. This creates driveability problems and nope Amazon won't deliver to such streets either when frozen. Luckily the US mail is better about it.

Yes, the flatland 'burbs just outside of West / Southwest Portland are so much nicer in so many ways. While West Side of the city is better, Portland and especially East side are a disaster imo.

[Nell Plotts]

Ainsworth (sw neighborhood) has a Spanish immersion program accessed by lottery, starts in kindergarden.

Chapman (nw neighborhood) is excellant and in the past economically diverse.

Both feed into West Sylvan middle school and Lincoln High School.

Very stable community, involved parents.

No one is happy with the City or County's management of the homeless situation. Most homeless have mental health and/or drug addiction issues. Washington county seems to have less of a problem but I think that is because it is less urban.