Portland vs. Beaverton (Tigard, Tualatin, Wilsonville: motels, house prices, safe area)

[mwieser]

I live on the east coast and am weighing a possible move to Portland due to a job offer. The job is actually located in Beaverton. If I accept, I'll be looking to purchase a single-family home somewhere in the $250K-$400K range. (I know that's a pretty large range but house prices are ridiculously cheaper than they are here in Baltimore and I'll want to check all of my options.)

Are there any "hip" areas in Beaverton like there are in Portland?

For instance Hawthorne and Belmont in Portland... Cuter communities with locally-owned shops, cafes, non-chain restaurants... green living... etc?

Or is Beaverton just a stale suburb?

I'm used to urban living... I'm currently in a single-family home in a city neighborhood. But again, want to check all options.

[sayulita]

I know both Portland and Beaverton pretty well so I'll give my 2 cents worth. I would say no, there really aren't any "Cuter communities with locally-owned shops, cafes, non-chain restaurants... green living... etc?" in Beaverton. It's suburb and so much more sprawled out. If you could say where approximately in Beaverton your job will be, it would help to give you better advice. If it's fairly close-in, then I would suggest some of the neighborhoods around Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy. between Raleigh Hills and Hwy 217.

[h8n]

fyi, i worked in Beaverton & lived in the Lloyd district..... the commute was worth it.

to keep it simple:

Beaverton is burbs.
Portland is the hip city.

nothing else needs to be said.

[hamellr]

I live in downtown Beaverton. The entire area is suburbs. You have to go into Portland for any night life, non-Chain dining. It's a good place to live, but not for recreation. The only real plus is that I live close enough to MAX that it's possible to get downtown in a reasonable amount of time for fairly cheaply.

[TechmanOR]

Uh, Beaverton is very uptight about traffic regulations.
The "hip location", would have to be the Starbucks by the liquor store and Fred Meyer where cops always hang out.

[philwithbeard]

Someone else has posted before that Portland is more of a collection (collective?) of neighborhoods. Some are "hip", while others are way more into young families (or at least young children) with bicycles pulling two wheel baby carts with a small lap-yap dog inside the cart.

As someone who has recently moved to Portland from the Mid-west, I will tell you flat out, there are neighborhoods very close to Towson, one that is almost a Glen Burnie, and a couple similar to Columbia with associations and community school and park lawn care committees you have to deal with. Don't expect a Dundulk type of neighborhood in Portland.

Keep in mind, this is the West Coast! A "hip" neighborhood is judged by Pacific Northwest standards, not East Cost cities. The definition of "hip" as a code word for social / street / after-hour activities is just not the same as in Chicago, Detroit, and I presume Baltimore as well. (I haven't lived in Baltimore for more than 20 years.)

Here's the point: until you actually get here, it is difficult to judge any neighborhood, the style of homes, shops, etc. Plus you should consider your level of desire to live eco-friendly car ownership-wise. The public transportation system is really that good here. One car used on weekends and such is do-able for a young family here.

Two place you may want to look at is Hillsdale, or small trendy neighborhood called Multnomah Village on the SW side of Portland. Both are accessible by highway 10, Beaverton-Hillsdale highway. Family orientated housing, shops, restaurants, and taverns. Very few street people and pan-handlers. But you must see for yourself, and judge for yourself.

When you look at maps of Portland, watch the scale of the maps. Portland has a smaller footprint than you would expect.

Good luck.
Phil

[meltinjohn]

Originally Posted by h8n

fyi, i worked in Beaverton & lived in the Lloyd district..... the commute was worth it.

to keep it simple:

Beaverton is burbs.
Portland is the hip city.

nothing else needs to be said.

You took the words out of my mouth. I visited Beaverton one time since I stayed in Portland a month, but I got the weirdest pit in my stomach when I was in Beaverton like I knew I didnt belong there right away and after seeing lots of Portland and going there, it felt like the plague really to show up in Beaverton.

It seems the more city that you experience, the less you want to go to the burbs.

The burbs are only good to work in but then return to the city, the other way around is just an awfully uneasy feeling.
This holds very true in the Northeast as well.

[Durian Beach]

Well to put it frankly, Beverton is for Squares and Breeders. If your looking for "hip" the inner east side of Portland proper is the place. The neighborhoods just to the west of downtown are very pricey, sort of Portland's Malibu with homes precariously stilted to the mountainside. Multnomah Villiage is more for middle aged hipsters, very quiet, it can't even compete with the Hawthorne area. I'd commute, it's not too bad from Portland to Beaverton, nothing like some of the crazy 80 mile commutes people attempt in Chicagoland or So Cal. Look around before you settle in, there are some cheap long stay motels on Barbur Blvd. near W. 35th St. that are in a relatively safe area where you can stay a bit while you look around. If you want suburban living there are also a heck of a lot nicer places than Beaverton to do that. Beaverton is filled with Nazi photo camera traffic enforcement devices and I dreaded going there with a passion. Tigard, Tualatin, Sherwood, Wilsonville are all much nicer areas to live if you want to do the suburban thing. I lived accross the street from where I worked in Tualatin for 6 years mainly to save on gas and wear and tear on my car. I do have to say I regreted it though as I was absolutely bored out of my mind there with a 2 mile walk to the nearest bar that was little more than a watch the game hole in the wall. Bottom line, if your young and single live in the city.

[juggler]

Originally Posted by Durian Beach

If you want suburban living there are also a heck of a lot nicer places than Beaverton to do that. Beaverton is filled with Nazi photo camera traffic enforcement devices and I dreaded going there with a passion. Tigard, Tualatin, Sherwood, Wilsonville are all much nicer areas to live if you want to do the suburban thing.

I won't defend Beaverton when comparing it to the oh so "hip" city of Portland. But I've been to all the other suburbs you listed and they certainly don't have anything over Beaverton. They're all typical suburbs...single family lots, strip malls, lots of auto traffic. In fact, if you want to be close to Portland, Beaverton (and maybe Tualatin) is the place to be.

There are only 6 red light cameras in Beaverton, and most of them are not even functional. If you don't run red lights, there's no reason to even be concerned. Why the dread?

[Élan vital]

seriously I still can't tell where one starts and the other begins.
Seems like everything just runs together.