Nice area around Vancouver/Portland? (Salmon Creek, Sunnyside: for sale, real estate, renting)

[occdn]

Hi all!
My wife and I are considering a move to the Vancouver/Portland area for cost of living and family reasons. I am from the Victoria BC area originally, and we've spent a lot of time in the region so we know what to expect in terms of weather, pace, wages, etc.



The one thing we aren't sure of is the Vancouver area in terms of where we want to actually live. We'd like an area that's a little bit outside of the city in a slower community. We're looking for somewhere quiet, with young families and kids. The kicker is we don't want to be too far away from major amenities, shopping, etc. If the wife has to drive 20 minutes for eggs, she'll go insane.



I will be working in healthcare, and so I'm not too concerned about finding work as an RN most places. My wife plans to take on part time work for now so we can focus on building a family.


As I look around the Camas, Vancouver, Gresham, Portland areas I can't get a good feel for the neighborhoods or outlying cities using real estate sites because we are currently in the Long Beach area of CA. I'd love to hear some feedback on good spots. We'll be renting initially while we get going, and then hope to buy within a few years.


Thanks!

[izzy2017]

You're going to have to come and visit and see what works for you. If you can get a job in Washington, I would, to avoid income tax and for the public schools.

Camas and Ridgefield would be the usual recommendations. Camas is more of a small town feel, Ridgefield a little more rural but growing like crazy. Ridgefield is getting a grocery store this year I believe. There's nowhere within Camas city limits that you would have to drive 20min for eggs. Now, good clothing shopping? That's over the bridge Restaurants, bars, movie theaters, grocery stores, Walmart? We have all of those.

If you wind up working for Legacy in Salmon Creek then Ridgefield is closer, PeaceHealth in Vancouver, I would pick Camas.

[texasdiver]

First of all, outside of the very small downtown Vancouver core that is right across the I-5 bridge from Portland, you'll find that most of the greater Vancouver area is pretty suburban and there are quiet family neighborhoods found all over. The nicer areas that most people in your position consider would be (from east to west)

Felida and Salmon Creek areas which are mostly east of where I-5 and I-205 converge. These areas have lots of newer subdivisions and a mix of pricey and more modest homes. It is all in the Vancouver school district although parts are outside the Vancouver city limits. This are feeds into the Skyview and Columbia River High Schools which are good schools.

Ridgefield. This is the exurban edge as you go forther north. Growing super fast with a bazillion new subdivisions and very popular with families but you are further from services. But groceries and other development is coming. Has its own school district.

East Vancouver, mainly the Cascade Park and Fishers Landing neighborhoods which are east of 205 and mostly south of Mill Plain. This is a mix of older and newer subdivisions that tend to get newer and nicer the further east you go until you hit Camas. This area is in the Evergreen School District and feeds into Mountain View and Union high schools which are both good schools. This area is kind of the sweet spot if you are looking for nice but smaller houses and townhouses. Especially the Fishers Landing area.

Camas. This is an older mill town with lots of higher end newer subdivisions on the hills to the west and north of the downtown area. It is the most affluent area in the greater Vancouver area and because it is hilly and has a lake there are lots of expensive view houses and lakefront houses that are more like you would find in places like Lake Oswego than anywhere else in Vancouver. Camas has its own school district. It's very popular with corporate types who fly a lot because it is very close to PDX airport

Washougal is the next town east of Camas. The two cities basically merge together. It is a bit more modest and working class than Camas with a smaller school system. But a lot of newer subdivisions with expensive view houses are popping up now in Washougal so it is changing. It is an actual town with groceries and stores so even though it is further out, you have all the shopping nearby.

Hockinson is basically north of Camas along the edge of the mountains. It has gotten popular lately because there are a lot of new subdivisions out there with larger lots so it is where people go when they want their acre in the country. The schools are decent. But there really isn't an actual town of Hockinson, it's just a wide spot in the road where there is a gas station and mini mart surrounded by subdivisions so Hockinson is not where you want to go if your wife doesn't want to drive 20 min for groceries. Youwill be driving into Battle Ground or East Vancouver for every errand.

Battle Ground is tempting because there are a lot of new subdivisions and a lot for sale out there but they have longstanding funding issues with the schools and can't seem to pass bonds so it wouldn't be the first choice if you have kids and care about finding the best schools.

[texasdiver]

For the Portland side, and I can't emphasize this enough. Find your job first then decide where to live. Traffic is horrendous throughout the entire Portland area and you do not EVER want to commit to any kind of cross metro commute from one side to the other. You can still do this in most of the Vancouver area as long as you aren't co-mingling with the Portland-bound commuter traffic on I-5 and I-205. So, for example, a Camas to Ridgefield commute is no big deal. About 25 miles and 30 minutes because you are doing the reverse commute from most of the traffic. But a Ridgefield to Camas commute would be MUCH worse and could take a lot longer because you'll be driving in most of the Portland-bound commuter flow on I-205 south.

There are plenty of good places to live near most of the big job centers in the Portland area. So find the job first then look for housing nearby. If you find a job at an east side hospital like Kaiser Sunnyside then find a place to live nearby in Clackamas or Happy Valley. Don't do something ridiculous like find housing in Tualatin or Beaverton on the west side. Likewise, if you find work in the west side like in Beaverton or Hillsboro then find housing out there. Don't be ridiculous and look for housing in Happy Valley or Camas. That would be the LA equivalent of living some place like Thousand Oaks and commuting to Long Beach. Or living in Riverside and commuting to Santa Monica. Portland isn't nearly as big as the LA area, obviously. But traffic is every bit as bad and there are far fewer freeways so a lot more surface street driving.

[Jane917]

I am biased, but don’t count out Ridgefield. The population is booming, but I think the rapid growth is slowing. We have lots of new developments going in, but many are sold as soon as they are built. I do not see any new big developments on the horizon. The high school remodel should be done by next Fall. A new big grocery store will be open in the spring. A couple of strip malls are being developed which should bring us more services. Close to Felida and Salmon Creek. A straight shot into Portland, though I would not like to have to commute for work. I agree with Texasdiver about the traffic. Commuting across the River makes a huge difference. A new Vancouver Clinic is being built in Ridgefield, so I assume new jobs will be opening. Find the job, then the home. You have lots of options.

[StealthRabbit]

I am biased too, as we all are... (Lived in Hazel Dell and East Vancouver and Camas, and now in CGNSA) restricted building / growth and no commercial allowed.

Beautiful view, no (few) neighbors... and 6 minutes to shopping (eggs and milk), 20 min to PDX airport. (I have made it from home to my boarding gate in under 30 minutes).

Water sports / mtns / hiking / nature reserve (2) picture spots =5 min
Skiing Wind Surfing Downtown Portland <1hr
Coast / Volcano 1.25 hrs away.

Being from WY, ... the gorge winds are just a stiff breeze (and it keeps out the rif-raf (wimps))

only one significant problem...

$46/day property taxes (up from <$3 / day) same house / improvements... just all worn out now.

Most of that increase came AFTER I retired / left employment, so... income has been negative and high property taxes definitely erode the quality of life for retirees. Assessor has the usual advice... "Sell to a Californian". I built it brick by brick, shovel by shovel, and nail by nail to LIVE in it, not to sell it.

Home equity is of no value to me... it all goes to charity (unless the county gets it first due to past due taxes).

[182pilot]

Stealth, maybe if enough of us Californians move in we can get a Prop 13 for WA that will actually stick.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by 182pilot

Stealth, maybe if enough of us Californians move in we can get a Prop 13 for WA that will actually stick.

Haha, doesn't hurt to dream, I guess.

But without all that property tax where would their money come from? If not from income, its gotta come form somewhere.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

Haha, doesn't hurt to dream, I guess.

But without all that property tax where would their money come from? If not from income, its gotta come form somewhere.

Unlike in CA, education funding in WA is guaranteed in the state constitution and we just went through a long lawsuit in which the legislature lost in the courts and had to find billions of new dollars for education. If you squeeze property taxes the result will be new taxes elsewhere. Already some state sales tax revenues goes towards education programs. There are proposals for a new capital gains tax for education (targeted at all those tech billionaires in Puget Sound I guess). And if pushed enough the legislature could go through the constitutional amendment process to consider a new income tax which would require ratification by voters. So more likely they would look to come up with income tax-ish sorts of taxes that don't actually meet the technical definition of an income tax. Hence the proposed capital gains tax.

Meanwhile don't complain and enjoy your unique geographic opportunity to tax arbitrage by working tax-free in WA and shopping tax-free in OR. Judging from the percentage of OR license plates I see around Camas parked in the same driveways month after month I'm guessing there are a lot of locals who push the envelope even further by keeping an OR address for car registration purposes to evade the higher registration and sales tax fees on autos. That is a step WAY to far for me. I will shop at IKEA and Powell's but I'm not going to use my parent's address in OR to fraudulently evade car taxes. Interestingly when I'm out walking the dog I think I see higher percentages of OR plates in the highest priced neighborhoods. The million dollar view homes seem like the most likely ones to have expensive cars sitting in the driveway with OR plates.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by 182pilot

Stealth, maybe if enough of us Californians move in we can get a Prop 13 for WA that will actually stick.

I-747 was the voter approved Washington version of Prop 13...

When it got tossed my property tax in WA increased 80%... very sobering to say the least... $36 a day for paradise...