Give me the scoop on McMinnville/Newberg please (Portland, Hillsboro: apartment, rent)

[JenMc]

Hi all,

I grew up in Philomath (near Corvallis) but have spent the last 16 years in San Diego raising my family. Needless to say, I'm ready for a change!

My best friend lives in Sherwood and suggested we look at Newberg, so my search starts there. After so many years away, these are all names I recognize, but have no recollection of at all. So I'd love any information I could get about the area.

With three active boys still at home, we want to be somewhere with plenty of things to do, good schools, good sports programs, bike trails, parks. From the looks of it, Newberg is a bit more expensive than McMinnville, but the schools appeared to be much better (according to greatschools.net). I love the downtown look of McMinnville though and am concerned about Newberg eventually being swallowed up by the urban sprawl of Portland. We've done sprawl and we're over it.

Any input would be appreciated! Thanks

Jen

[Nature Girl]

Jen,
We are currently in Tigard and are planning a move to Sherwood next summer. Is there a reason your best friend didn't suggest Sherwood for your move? I checked the test scores and they are wonderful! Top schools is important for us as well. When we are ready to buy our next home (will rent in Sherwood for a while) we were also looking at Newberg and McMinnville. We have spent many weekends at both spots checking them out and I can give you my opinion on both areas so far.

Newberg- Older, small town feel, more older homes than newer, more on the rural side, pretty, clean, safe, has a cool little drive in.
McMinnville- Trendy, has that small town feel as well, very friendly, safe, great downtown shops, closer to the beach.
McMinnville has more to do in it's city limits, but Newberg is appealing because you feel like you are even further away from all the hustle and bustle when you are still pretty close to Portland. But I agree, I am worried too that it will sprawl in the next 10 years.

[Nature Girl]

Oh, one more thing. Dundee looks nice as well. We were just there last weekend and really liked it. Rural like Newberg, and VERY pretty! It's between Newberg and McMinnville.
~Jennifer

[JenMc]

Thanks for your posts! I've looked at Dundee too and though we're not ready to move yet, found the PERFECT place for us there. What's the chances it's still available next year?

I know my girl friend really likes Sherwood, but I think she realizes it's not right for us. It sounds like it's just a suburb of Portland, with houses that all look the same. We're living like that now and REALLY tired of it. We're looking to be more rural, get a few acres so those boys can wear themselves out, be close enough to a big city to enjoy it on occasion, but not have to deal with it on a daily basis.

Sounds like we're definitely looking in the right area. Keep it coming if anyone else has any thoughts!

[Nature Girl]

I hear ya on wanting some land. That's the way we want to go too. We are hoping to find at least an acre. We found a perfect house for us too in Newberg and it has been on the market for a long time so we are hoping it will stay that way! Not likely, but we are hoping! Good luck, I am sure when you're ready to move you will find that perfect home!

[JenMc]

Any other opinions about the area? Thanks!

[pdxtex]

If you want acreage but still want to be close to Portland, you might look into west Hillsboro, Cornelius area, or even out by Forest Grove. These are all in Washington County. You might even consider Sandy (half way between Portland and Mount Hood.

[lifes2short]

I live in Sherwood, and highly recommend it to anyone with a family. The schools are excellent, and we just passed a new $98 million bond for two more schools and a significant expansion of the high school. Yes, there are the cookie cutter neighborhoods here, but there are also plenty of neighborhoods with custom homes. There is also quite a bit of rural areas for homes as well.

I know quite a few people that moved from Newberg to Sherwood, and their comments about the schools in Newberg are pretty negative. I don't know anything about the schools in McMinnville, but I really like the town. I am down there several times a week and enjoy it.

Sherwood though was a perfect fit for us. The community is pretty tight knit (can be good or bad, depending), very welcoming of new people (has to with the huge growth here), and more youth centered activities than you can imagine.

[JenMc]

Thanks, Lifes, I appreciate your input.

I was actually on the phone today with my girlfriend that lives in Sherwood and while she feels it's the right place for them right now, she's hoping to eventually move somewhere more rural. I'm sure Sherwood's a great place, but it's not the right place for us.

It's interesting you mentioned the tight community, because my friend is definitely "Ms. Social" but has had trouble fitting in with her neighbors. She feels a bit excluded, but as I mentioned, sees Sherwood as a temporary stop so isn't boo-hooing too much about it.

It's obvious the husband and I are going to come up to Oregon for a visit soon and get a feel for the place. Lots of great information on all of these threads!

[busone]

My wife's family grew up in Sherwood and my wife and I lived in Newberg for 3 years. We also rented an apartment in Sherwood for 1 year before moving to Newberg.

As far as schools maybe Sherwood has improved but if you have a child with any learning disabilities avoid Sherwood. They are not tolerant and will fight the parent all the way.

Sherwood is full of tract houses and the kind of people that live in them, if that is what you like then it might be for you. The taxes are very high and the police department is about worthless.

When we lived in the apartment (4 years ago) my neighbors car was being broken into. I called 911 and they said the police department was closed (2 AM) so they would have to dispatch the county sheriff. 30 minuets later they showed up. I ended up turning on my porch light and yelling at the thugs so they left. It may not seem obvious but Sherwood also has a big drug/gang problem. My brother in law was assulted in the McDonalds parking lot and then the gang banger followed him home and put a gun to his head.

After living in Newberg for 3 years I am glad I am not there anymore. It does have some nice points though. Compared to Sherwood it is cheap to live and is not stuffy at all. You can work on you own car on your driveway and the city will not hassle you.

Newberg has a great coffee stand "Sip City" If you visit there you must get a coffee there if coffee is your thing. They are in the Ace Hardware/NAPA parking lot.

The police department is much better than Sherwood but they are very busy with all the drugs and robbery.

Newberg is not a place to raise kids. The schools are marginal at best and drugs are easier to get than fast food. If you like to party hard there are plenty of drunks that will keep you happy. The 9th street market will take your food stamps for cigaretts or beer.

The paper mill stinks and the sewage treatment plant next to it adds to the aroma. If you move to Newberg AVOID the south side it literally stinks. The north side is more expensive but smells better. If they ever build the 99w bypass a lot of the south land will be purchased under eminant domain. Don't buy a house near the mill 11th and 12th streets may be buldozed for the highway if it ever happens.

Dundee is a little extension of Newberg with a BIG traffic problem. Getting in or out on 99w is nearly impossible at most hours. There are back roads that you can use. After the police scandal Dundee got rid of it's police department and contracted with Newberg to provide police service. Housing prices are not all that bad. Watch out for water and sewer rates. They need a new sewer treatment plant and a new water resvoir.

McMinnville is a nice town. I always enjoyed visiting Mac. They also have a WalMart if you like cheap stuff. The police are good for the most part and they don't supplement their budget with tons of traffic fines like Sherwood does.

Mac is bigger and getting bigger but it is still a nice town and will be for years to come. If you have to commute to Portland you will either need to take back roads becaues of the bottle neck in Dundee (http://www.dundeeparkinglot.com/ (broken link)) this will make your commute long and annoying. Since Mac is the county seat there are lots of sex offenders living there. It is still a pretty safe town. Mac does have the usual drug problems but not as bad as Sherwood or Newberg.

Mac has very expensive water and sewer the city uses these utilities as a tax. Mac is not served by PGE instead they have a CO-OP so the electric rate is much lower than Newgerg or Sherwood.

Personally I am glad we moved to Idaho. For the most part it is sunny here and the cost of living is very low. Even our car insurance is much lower than it was in Oregon.