Moving to Portland area, help with job and apartment? [Archive]

Jason H

11-28-2002, 03:45 PM

I actually want to go back, but I'm going to wait until things get a bit better up there, especially in the internet sector (I'm a web designer). There is a large national tech support provider in Beaverton called Stream ( <a href="http://www.stream.com/">http://www.stream.com/</a> ) That has major clients such as Microsoft, that might be a potential lead.

I can't really help much you with the job thing, but I can give you suggestions as to where to look for apartments. If you want the same kind of feel as the east bay suburbs, or the southern suburbs (Menilo Park, Redwood City etc.) then look to the western suburbs of Portland, in Washington County. They are all "close-in" in relation to anything Californians are used to, and although there is what Oregonians call bad traffic (again, it's a relative scale), the Highway 26 freeway runs straight to Portland from the west.

Beaverton and Tigard are the original suburbs, and although they can be nice in areas, they can also feel a bit like a time warp to the 70's and 80's with unattractive strip malls and apartment complexes. In my opinion the area just a little further out, just into The city of Hillsboro are a lot nicer and more modern. The building boom in this area has only been in the last 5 years or so, so the urban planning is a step up from older areas. Also it's nearer to the absolutely beautiful farmland and countryside of the Tualatin Valley. This area is sometimes called Tanasbourne, Quatama or Orenco, it's all actually in Hillsboro. Just look on a map of the Portland area, you'll see all these areas about 10 miles west of Portland. As a plus this is the area where a lot of Intel facilities are, and thus a lot of other tech businesses.

Another similar area is all the way on the east side of Portland, running from Gresham on the Columbia River down the 205 freeway to West Linn.

If you're into trying something more hip and urban, the whole area just north of downtown called the Pearl District is filled with converted lofts and even some new stuff meant to feel loft-like as well.

The SE part of Portland, is kinda interesting, but a little too "Haight-Ashbury"-ish for my taste. The only areas that are "inner-city" like are in N and NE Portland, but even there there is some urban renewal.

The enitre SW quadrant of Portland is a nice mix of older single family homes and some apartments. This whole area is a series of lush hills and valleys. Also to the south, down I-5 there is the wealthy suburb of Lake Oswego, and a bit further the bedroom community of Tualatin. An the seperate city of Wilsonville, but by now you're almost getting halfway to Salem, so that's as far out as I'd look.

My advice is take a trip up there for a week and just explore these areas, find what feels right for you. That way once you decide to move there will already be something familiar about the area you choose. Best of luck, maybe I'll see you in Portland someday.