Areas with good public schools one hour outside PDX?? (Portland: appointed, condo)

[BlueMare1967]

I should have said UP TO one hour outside of PDX!

My search continues for some direction.

I have a 250K budget, need to drive into PDX only a couple of days a week (between 11 am and 2 pm)...and I need good schools for my kiddo. Is that a lot to ask?.. I'm open to Washington or Oregon.

Schools are really important to me. Hoping to find out more than just high test scores...but some personal knowledge where kids and parents are happy. (Website called Great schools is pretty limited as far as more than one or two recent reviews usually for each school...so I have tried that route but not getting me far.)

Thanks everyone.

[PNW-type-gal]

Might get more responses in the Portland forum or the Vancouver, WA forum.

Up to one hour commute from PDX is still inside the Portland metro area. Generally, the schools are considered good in parts of Lake Oswego, West Linn, Tualatin, Beaverton, with good schools in other areas as well.

[jjpop]

When you say "drive into PDX", do you mean right downtown? Lloyd Center? Gateway? It makes some difference in commute time.

[wanderbygrace]

Originally Posted by BlueMare1967

I should have said UP TO one hour outside of PDX!

My search continues for some direction.

I have a 250K budget, need to drive into PDX only a couple of days a week (between 11 am and 2 pm)...and I need good schools for my kiddo. Is that a lot to ask?.. I'm open to Washington or Oregon.

Schools are really important to me. Hoping to find out more than just high test scores...but some personal knowledge where kids and parents are happy. (Website called Great schools is pretty limited as far as more than one or two recent reviews usually for each school...so I have tried that route but not getting me far.)

Thanks everyone.

We live in the North Clackamas School District's Clackamas High school grouping of schools (they have three high schools in the NCSD). This is the Happy Valley area. Although there are better school districts (WL-Wilsonville, Lake O, etc.), it's a fairly good district. However, parental involvement is obviously key.

$250k would get you some of the older and/or smaller homes. Most anything 1800'+ and more than 2BR will be well above $250k if they are newer (generally $350k+).

[Larry Caldwell]

Yeah, it can sometimes take an hour to get from Pill Hill to the Airport, and never leave the city. Even in good traffic conditions it will take half an hour. What kind of schools are you looking for? Elementary? High school? Community colleges? Reed is one of the highest rated private universities in the country, ranking alongside Princeton and MIT. That's in SE, so you could live in the trendy Hawthorne area and your kid could bike to school. For high schools I think there's a highly rated one just outside of Portland along the Columbia, but I forget what town. You can look up the rankings online.

[texasdiver]

Like everywhere else, school ratings in the Portland area are almost perfectly correlated with income. In other words, the most highly rated schools are going to be in the wealthiest areas with the most expensive housing. $250,000 will probably not buy you more than a 1 br. condo in the top school districts or attendance zones around Portland.

That said, Washington has done a better job than Oregon in funding its schools in recent years. The funding mechanisms are different in Washington where the schools get more state support. So you are likely to get more bang for your buck in Vancouver than the Portland area. Generally speaking, Vancouver schools will be higher rated than Oregon schools for neighborhoods with the same income levels and housing costs.

Here is a list of the most highly rated high schools in the greater Portland area (in terms of standardized metrics like test scores, class size, and graduation rates). https://k12.niche.com/rankings/publi...or-metro-area/ You'll notice that Vancouver schools such as Union, Mountain View, and Columbia River HS that draw from relatively modest cost areas are right up there with the most expensive neighborhoods on the Portland side.

[ThanksABunch]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

Might get more responses in the Portland forum or the Vancouver, WA forum.

Up to one hour commute from PDX is still inside the Portland metro area. Generally, the schools are considered good in parts of Lake Oswego, West Linn, Tualatin, Beaverton, with good schools in other areas as well.

Lake O an hour out of PDX at 11 am? I drive from Lake O all the time and it takes me about 25 minutes. I'm not going to be driving in during peak times. And I cannot get a house in Lake O or West Linn for 250K. A small condo, maybe.

But thanks for the ideas.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell

Yeah, it can sometimes take an hour to get from Pill Hill to the Airport, and never leave the city. Even in good traffic conditions it will take half an hour. What kind of schools are you looking for? Elementary? High school? Community colleges? Reed is one of the highest rated private universities in the country, ranking alongside Princeton and MIT. That's in SE, so you could live in the trendy Hawthorne area and your kid could bike to school. For high schools I think there's a highly rated one just outside of Portland along the Columbia, but I forget what town. You can look up the rankings online.

You are thinking of Corbett. They have the highest ranking of any Oregon high school in the nation.

[backdrifter]

How much home do you need for $250k? That can make a big difference. I would honestly look to the Washington side as housing is a bit more affordable and there are a number of very good schools. Anything in the Camas, Hockinson, or Ridgefield districts are a good bet. Vancouver and Evergreen schools are hit and miss it seems, so you need to look for into individual schools in those districts. You can easily find a 3 bed/2 bath home or townhome for that price in an area with good schools like East Vancouver, Salmon Creek, or Ridgefield. It may not be huge home or very nicely appointed, but it's more than what you could find on the Oregon side for that kind of money, and you'll most likely be in a nicer, quieter, safer neighborhood than you would be on the Oregon side for that price. An off-peak commute into downtown Portland usually isn't too bad from any of those areas either. I work in Beaverton/SE Portland/Gresham and commute off-hours and I rarely have any issues with traffic, though I give myself extra time just in case.

[Nell Plotts]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

You are thinking of Corbett. They have the highest ranking of any Oregon high school in the nation.

Use one of the Realtor sites and select Corbett schools.

Keep in mind the fact that homes in that area are sometimes subjected to weather coming down the Columbia River Gorge (strong cold winds) and you will be driving I-84 to Portland which can be icy in the winter.