Relocating to Portland -- need input on couple areas. (Beaverton: schools, live in)

[skiffrace]

The Mormons knock on your door here and the mega church Christians have a new strategy which is recruitment in social situations. You think you have met someone nice until they bring up Jesus. Tigard residents are notorious for that.

Sorry, but that's BS. In my 12 years in Tigard some "church" tried to recruit me once which, I'd say, is not a very frequent event.
My friends who lived nearby did not report any unusual religious recruitment either.

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by skiffrace

Sorry, but that's BS. In my 12 years in Tigard some "church" tried to recruit me once which, I'd say, is not a very frequent event.
My friends who lived nearby did not report any unusual religious recruitment either.

Call it what you want but I witness recruitment especially by a certain church whose actual mission is to go into unchurched areas like Portland and recruit. Like Tammy Faye Baker in hipster clothing. They try to infiltrate school events and mommy groups as well. After living in NE Portland I can tell you it's way different in the west side burbs.
Back to the OP- staying IN Portland is your best bet.��

[jjpop]

The Atwell off Main in Tigard is the beginning of what Tigard is hoping is a revitalization of the downtown area to be a more urban residential/commercial center. There are some nice things within walking distance (a couple of brew pubs, some restaurants, coffee house, post office, Rite Aid pharmacy, etc.). It's also close to the TriMet bus terminal, the WES stop, and will be close to the new MAX stop when/if that goes in. That said, it's a long road ahead to really revitalize the downtown. I'm thinking 5-10 years before we see it really catching on, if it ever does. Downtown Tigard still has some trashy looking properties.

There's some talk in this thread that paints Tigard with a pretty broad brush. I've lived here for 8 years now and can tell you that it is a real mix of people of quite varying socioeconomic levels. There are dilapidated duplexes in some older parts of town and there are million dollar view properties on Bull Mountain. We have a great library that is always brimming with activity. There are some pretty conservative people here who want to keep the new light rail line out (fortunately, a city measure passed last year allowing the light rail planning to continue, so they didn't win that one). We get some knocks on our door from religious people--seems like it's pretty evenly split between the Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and "generic" Christian churches. I just say we're not interested and they've never, ever been pushy. We have Muslim, black, and latino families in our neighborhood, so it's not a sea of whiteness. Well, actually it is pretty white in my immediate block, but a 10-minute walk to the local strip mall (restaurants, Whole Foods, pet store etc.) really reveals who lives in the general area and it's quite a mix.

But I can't extrapolate my experience in my neighborhood to the entire 12 square miles of Tigard city limits and the belief systems of all of its inhabitants. Maybe there are locations that are like what's been described in the posts in this thread. I think that downtown location where the Atwell is would actually be pretty quiet at night, but I don't live there so I don't know what goes on 24/7. Hwy 99W that runs near there is a commercial strip, and its not particularly pleasant visually, nor is it pleasant to drive on during rush hour.

Bottom line, like others have said, is that you should locate nearer to OHSU. There are plenty of housing options in Hillsdale, Multnomah Village, and Raleigh Hills that would make for a more pleasant drive than Tigard.

[Leisesturm]

Isn't Dignity Village or Right to Dream being moved to the Moda Center? That would directly impact 304 Multnomah, I would think. I'm pretty certain its a done deal by now.

[Metlakatla]

I have two cousins who grew up in Tigard who've picked up some extremist views along the way. To put it bluntly, they're ignorant bigots of the type who spend most of their time on Facebook regurgitating the latest alt right meme du jour. They certainly didn't get this world view from their parents.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Originally Posted by Yankeemama

Call it what you want but I witness recruitment especially by a certain church whose actual mission is to go into unchurched areas like Portland and recruit. Like Tammy Faye Baker in hipster clothing. They try to infiltrate school events and mommy groups as well. After living in NE Portland I can tell you it's way different in the west side burbs.
Back to the OP- staying IN Portland is your best bet.��

Churchianity versus Christianity.

A friend of my wife tried to get us to attend their big church, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

I always wonder what those big mega-churches do to actually help out in their local communities?

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

Churchianity versus Christianity.

A friend of my wife tried to get us to attend their big church, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

I always wonder what those big mega-churches do to actually help out in their local communities?

They actuallly are charging people for "classes" and their demographic they target is younger, white people who have no religious ties. They do not want poor people and they have no real mission to help the needy. At least Catholic Charities does good work. We go to a Catholic parish here now and again but nobody hounds us down and the community outreach is quite impressive. The Mormons have stopped knocking on my door. Maybe the word got out that I am not interested.🙄 But the Mornom community is very involved in the greater community in Beaverton area. The hipster mega church is a bit cultish. I am not overreacting. My parents met Jom Jones in the 70's and they used to talk about cult leaders and not to be taken in by their charming ways. The mega church thing is huge out here in the west suburbs so I have been careful when meeting new people.

[jjpop]

Originally Posted by Yankeemama

My parents met Jom Jones in the 70's and they used to talk about cult leaders and not to be taken in by their charming ways.

Really? I've always been fascinated by the People's Temple story--not from a religious standpoint, but more from a "true crime" aspect. And being a coastal NorCal boy this always was especially interesting since we saw a lot of Bay Area news. Did Jones try to get them to join the church?

Incidentally, Powers Boothe who played Jim Jones in the 1980 TV movie just passed away. Great actor.

[jjpop]

One other thing--I think we know some people who attend the hipster mega church you are referring to, Yankeemama. The one that's in the office park? Their kid invited my kid to go to the Evergreen aquatic park on a church outing a few years ago. He went and everything turned out fine. But I did get an inside view into the church, and it was pretty flashy for my (fallen Catholic) sensibilities. We never got the hard sell though, at all. Maybe they could see they wouldn't be able to penetrate--I think my kid is more agnostic than I am and has no time or patience for that kind of stuff.

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by jjpop

Really? I've always been fascinated by the People's Temple story--not from a religious standpoint, but more from a "true crime" aspect. And being a coastal NorCal boy this always was especially interesting since we saw a lot of Bay Area news. Did Jones try to get them to join the church?

Incidentally, Powers Boothe who played Jim Jones in the 1980 TV movie just passed away. Great actor.

So, my mom started out Catholic and my dad was a non- practicing Jew and they raised us, kids, as Catholics until they joined Glide Memorial in SF. We were able to choose our own faith. So, Jim Jones spoke at Glide on a Sunday and my mom remembered meeting him once his "church" was starting to be runoured to be a cult. My mom said JJ was charismatic but often cult leaders were very charismatic and when things seem too good to be true. Well, you know? Many single moms and their kids and very good people were taken in by JJ. My parents lost friends to The Moonies in the 80's, actually but only knew aquaintences who joined the PT. I went to a mega church in The Bay Area with a friend and her family every once in a while. My parents were not thrilled but let me go. The stuff that I witnessed by some of the adults was terrible especially since these people proclaimed to be SUPER Christians. I have always kept those memories close in my memory so I will never get duped again. The late 70's- early 80's saw many lost people "looking for something". The religious fanatics took advantage of this.