A young couple thinking of moving from SF to PDX

[missclinks]

Housing in suburbs is cheaper. Suburbs are suburbs - anywhere USA. But if you are in the suburbs of Beaverton, Tigard, Milwaukie, Hillsdale or Lake Oswego (latter can be pricey but good schools) which are not so far out, you'll be in Portland in about 20 minutes except during rush hour. An important note: Portland schools have notorious budget problems which affects the total eucational experience. I know people who move to the suburbs for the schools as their sole purpose and then move (back) to the city when the kids graduate.

Rentals are very competitive in Portland proper. No sooner do you apply then you find - more often than not - that there are already applications pending. Having lived in San Francisco, I think you will find Portland to be a wonderful surprise. Transplants and those born here love their city even though it is dark and rainy in winter.

[vpatanka]

Thanks Miss Clinks for your reply.
Because we currently don't have any kids and I think when we do have kids n get to a point of thinking about their schools, we'll probably do what you're saying i.e move to one of the good suburbs with good public schools but right now we're only thinking about Portland proper at least for the next yr or year n a half after we move to PDX. Moderator cut: snip

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by missclinks

Housing in suburbs is cheaper. Suburbs are suburbs - anywhere USA. But if you are in the suburbs of Beaverton, Tigard, Milwaukie, Hillsdale or Lake Oswego (latter can be pricey but good schools) which are not so far out, you'll be in Portland in about 20 minutes except during rush hour. An important note: Portland schools have notorious budget problems which affects the total eucational experience. I know people who move to the suburbs for the schools as their sole purpose and then move (back) to the city when the kids graduate.

Rentals are very competitive in Portland proper. No sooner do you apply then you find - more often than not - that there are already applications pending. Having lived in San Francisco, I think you will find Portland to be a wonderful surprise. Transplants and those born here love their city even though it is dark and rainy in winter.

Just one slight correction. Hillsdale isn't a suburb. It is a nice little SW Portland neighborhood. It's maybe about ten-fifteen minutes from downtown. Much closer than the suburbs mentioned.

[davemess10]

Yes, at $1500 you'll find small bungalows in a fairly wide variety of neighborhoods, they just won't be within two miles of downtown.

Remember though, that small bungalows with yards for dogs and gardening are in really high demand in Portland, as that's many people's dream in this city. SO it does inflate prices a good bit. If you can survive in an apartment for a year and scope out there area, and are truly interested in a house and will be here for at least 3 years, buying a house here is definitely they way to go right now.

[missclinks]

Originally Posted by Minervah

Just one slight correction. Hillsdale isn't a suburb. It is a nice little SW Portland neighborhood. It's maybe about ten-fifteen minutes from downtown. Much closer than the suburbs mentioned.

Still learning, here. Another place to check out.

[vpatanka]

Thanks davemess10.
I have started bookmarking property management companies and have also started looking at postings on CL. We still have time but I want to get an idea and research the market a bit. We'll be in Portland actually next month for about 5 days (from Aug 9th to Aug 13th) to attend one of my friends wedding reception so will get to explore more during that time.

We'll certainly check out the food co-ops and may be some rental properties available at the time so looking forward to the trip for sure.

[Nell Plotts]

Yes, you will be working remotely for your current employer BUT that may not be your last employer. In addition you will want to build a professional network locally. Locate in a target rich environment.

[vpatanka]

I totally agree. That's why we dropped the idea of moving to Bend (which we were thinking of originally when we started looking into various options in OR) as tech jobs are very tough to find there in case if I want to switch my job or lose my job (knock on wood) where as in Portland and around Beaverton, Hillsboro or even Seattle, Redmond etc. there are a ton of options if need be in the future so it made sense to move to Portland and most importantly I went to school in PSU from 02-04 and loved the town even though I didn't explore it much as I was living on campus and didn't have a car so my experience with Portland was very limited to downtown

[Nell Plotts]

In that case look for housing west of Portland's downtown.

[sacramentosally]

Did you guys end up moving? I can provide you with more info if needed?