What is within reasonable commute distance to Portland? (Salem, Detroit: to rent, home)

[earlyriser62]

We are planning to move to Oregon in the future. I currently work for the VA Medical Center in Indianapolis and would like to transfer to the VA Med. Center in Portland.

Currently I commute 40+ miles one way. Can anyone help me out with where we should be looking for property?

thanks

D

[Silverfall]

Why wouldn't you just look in the Portland area? Do you want to commute that far?

[Steve Pickering]

Having lived in both places, you won't find a lot of difference in traffic.

When I lived there I tried to live in the opposite flow. When everyone else went west, I went east. When everyone went north, I went south. Get the picture?

[juggler]

You didn't say what you consider to be a "reasonable" commute. Is anything less than 40 miles fair game? I'd go more by time than distance in determining what is reasonable.

[Steve Pickering]

You also need to let us know where you live now and what kind of neighborhood you are expecting. Since I know Indy, I can tell you the similarities.

[Nell Plotts]

There is no reason to commute 40 miles. The other issue s/he will need to deal with is parking near the hospital.

Home prices in Portland metro are still dropping. My advise is to rent and after you get to know the community find property where you will want to live for many years. The cost of that move will dwarf what you will save in your home purchase. Check the Portland Housing Blog for their observations.

[Brenda-by-the-sea]

I don't really understand this either. The whole purpose of getting a job in Portland is so you can live IN Portland. You'll be losing livability if you get much outside the city. Portland isn't some sprawling urban hell hole like Detroit or Denver. It's a city full of wonderful and varied walkable neighborhoods with excellent public transportation and cultural opportunities. Mother Nature was never evicted from Portland. It is full of parks and woods with hills and streams, lots of wildlife.
If you want to exile yourself to some far-flung burg where you'll become dependent on a car for daily access to the marketplace, then you truly do not understand the energy future that the 21st century is about to slam in our faces.

[earlyriser62]

Thanks for all the input.
Let me clarify a few points:

I want to work at the VA and take care of our veterans. I love my work.
I do not want to live in the city limits. I don't have anything against Portland, but I don't think they'll let me have my cow, horse, heritage hogs, chickens and my huge garden.

I commute just over 40 miles now with a drive time of 1h to 2.5 hrs depending on weather. I work nights so rush hour isn't an issue here. However, there is traffic delay on the days that the Colts play.

I'm comfortable with commuting. I have a fuel efficient vehicle. I need to know more what is within and hour to an hour and a half drive time. We'll be looking for property in the country.

As for access to the "market place". I work in town .I live in the country by choice. We grow most of what we consume. I want to continue that way of life.

So if anyone has any other suggestions I'd be glad to hear them.

Thanks for your thoughts

[Steve Pickering]

Again it depends on which side of work you are. It can take a couple of hours to go ten miles up in that area. There is rural all over Portland and animals too. But the city goes across the border to the north for 20 more miles or so, and almost to Salem to the south.. The 99/I-5 corridor is a mix of city, suburbs, and farms. The further you get in any direction from the VA Hospital area the worse the traffic gets. (Except for Downtown).

I have a friend by Indy who has horses and wanted to move to Oregon. They ended up in Arizona as horse property here is small and over ten times the cost of horse property in Indiana. They raise miniatures and I will put you in touch with them if you doubt what I say.