Relocating - Professional Couple looking for housing advice (Portland: apartments, rentals)

[lasaire]

Hello! My husband and I are negotiating a relocation to Portland for his job. His new office would be near the Lloyd Center on the eastern side of the river.

We're looking for advice on apartment rentals. We'd like something spacious, more than 900 square feet, but would prefer at least 1100 square feet, for at or under $1500 per month.

Access to mass transit would be nice too, as his new office is very close to the MAX line.

We're foodies, so something with a nice kitchen would be a plus.

Any ideas on neighborhoods to start looking in?

(FYI I currently don't have a job lined up in PDX but I am a legal assistant/paralegal, so I would plan on starting my job search in the same relative area as my husband's work.)

[Nell Plotts]

Your budget is too low for an apartment of that size in or around the city center, particularly if you want an upgraded kitchen. Because your husband's place of employment is convenient to a MAX line I would look west, perhaps in the Orenco or Elmonica areas. Here is one on Craigslist that looks like it would work: El Monica Station/Meridian Village... Three Level Town Home/ Work and Live/ with

Does your husband's employer have a relocation package? That provider may be able to help you arrange something in advance of your arrival.

[lasaire]

That's useful information - I'll look west rather than east. I'm not opposed to commuting farther as long as we're close to a MAX line.

Also good tip re: budget. I'm basing our numbers off what we pay here, and it seems we need to factor in something higher.

[SETabor]

You may also want to be sure to check for apartments or houses in Irvington. It's right near Lloyd Center and seems to be getting more restaurants and things to do. Your price range does put you out of your size range but you may get lucky.

[Nell Plotts]

OP, you may want to try a website such as PadMapper.

The Irvington neighborhood is delightful but I got the impression that the OP wants something like a state of the art kitchen with counter space and she wants elbow room for a reasonable price. I haven't seen that in Irvington.

Looking at the OP's profile and using a cost-of-living comparison website I hope her husband is negotiating a substantial pay increase:

Percent increase to maintain standard of living: 27.70%.

Read more: Cost of Living comparison calculator Cost of Living comparison calculator

[Minervah]

You are probably going to have to compromise on an apartment size. They don't come that large for that price. Also, here is the website for the Oregon Paralegal Association.

Oregon Paralegal Association

Legal assistant is one of the most oversaturated job markets in Portland. I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but some of your competition will be recent law school grads who are marking their time while searching for attorney jobs of which there is also an oversaturation. I am speaking from experience on this. After trying to find entry level paralegal work with years of insurance knowledge and a bachelor's degree behinid me, I gave up and went into another related field.

But there is some positive news. If you cannot secure a paralegal position, insurance companies and others with HR departments like to hire people with paralegal degrees. Also, by networking some law firms will value your paralegal experience if you have a unique speciality and you may have just a slight edge over the competition.