Living in Portland

[jaychiz]

i'm going more for the work experience because the job opportunities in my field are becoming less and less locally on top of the education system shooting students ready to work for pennies out its ass every 3 months, saturated market for limited jobs

1 year experience in portland would cost me about 3 years in vancouver

 

[Jayhawk1412]

The Pearl District in Portland is the only area that I'd live in.

I see Portland as a smaller, cleaner, less-cultured version of Seattle.

The downtown area is crammed into small blocks, so walking around is really easy. There aren't very many decent places to shop. The food is really good. There are a million strip clubs. And that pretty much sums it up.

Not the worst place to live, but I'd hold out for a better job relocation.

 

[Eason]

When I lived in Portland, we'd go up to Seattle for a weekend of "fun" a few times a year.

When I lived in Seattle, we'd go to Vancouver (a legitimately fun city).

 

[cez]

i have a college "friend", i use the term loosely, from portland that thinks it's funny and somehow okay to refer to one of her home town friends as "Black James" because he is black.

She all like everyone call's him that it even our parent's. i straight up smh.

 

[Eason]

I saved a filipino girl in my phonebook as "Shirley (the olive one)" because I already have another shirley

 

[jaychiz]

I'm the most white-washed Asian in all of Vancouver, it would be nice not to visibly blend in with 75% of the local population.

 

[MrDaniels]

Originally Posted by jaychiz

where should i be looking for apartments? the office is just between Tigard and Beaverton it seems and i'd like to live somewhere near good food, produce and transit (or a $10 cab ride from all of the fun)
There are some good places right around Cedar Hills mall in Beaverton...also close to the light rail and many bus lines. There is a location of the amazing New Seasons Market and the Beaverton Farmer's Market (a shirt walk) is one of the best farmer's markets in the country. You can get to the heart of Downtown in 15-20 minutes. There is one amazing apartment complex literally right on the light rail.

 

[jaychiz]

what's that neighbourhood called exactly so i can do a bit of googling? Cedar Hills i assume?

 

[MrDaniels]

Originally Posted by jaychiz

what's that neighbourhood called exactly so i can do a bit of googling? Cedar Hills i assume?

Look up the mall and then use its ZIP code to search for apartments.

 

[jaychiz]

anyone know anything about the civic condos near PGE park? i'm trying to find a newer apartment near the pearl that will be under 800, definitely challenging, buying seems to be a much better option since there are some great deals (at least compared to vancouver)

 

[imatlas]

Originally Posted by jaychiz

anyone know anything about the civic condos near PGE park? i'm trying to find a newer apartment near the pearl that will be under 800, definitely challenging, buying seems to be a much better option since there are some great deals (at least compared to vancouver)

You probably want to rent for at least a little while, to figure out the neighborhoods etc, but I think PDX is a great real estate value at the moment. Prices have fallen considerably from their peaks, but the fundamentals are still strong (sound economy, desirable city, stringent urban growth limit), so prices should come back very well when the national housing market starts to improve.

 

[jaychiz]

yeah most definitely, i was just curious because the prices of that building are about half of our downtown prices here

 

[js0930]

don't buy unless you intend to live there for at least 10 years. there are very few jobs, little to no economic growth and the local government is about as business unfriendly as is humanly possible. and there are a million empty condos in the pearl and on the south waterfront. walk around at 9 o'clock at night and see how many lights are on in the buildings. supply has exceeded demand by a gross amount.
The food and beer are great, the people are hipsters and hippies and they all come from somewhere else that wasn't as "progressive" as portland and want to talk about how great the city is. the best part of portland is mt. hood and the oregon coast and all the outdoor activities that exist in close proximity to the city. if you're not interested in those, then you will probably quickly get bored of the city.

 

[jaychiz]

well in comparison it would be so much cheaper for me to buy in that same building than rent

a 700 sqft 1 bed room is 1100 a month to rent

to buy it it's something like 160-170k and i could reasonably put 50-60% down which would be monthly's of 500 and 250 in maintenance, plus at the end of it all whenever that may be, i'll have some sort of asset to sell or rent out at least

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by jaychiz

well in comparison it would be so much cheaper for me to buy in that same building than rent

a 700 sqft 1 bed room is 1100 a month to rent

to buy it it's something like 160-170k and i could reasonably put 50-60% down which would be monthly's of 500 and 250 in maintenance, plus at the end of it all whenever that may be, i'll have some sort of asset to sell or rent out at least

Don't dismiss the opportunity cost of that 50-60% down and the fact you can't pick up and leave that building/neighborhood/city without the hassle of a sale. You're going to do what you want to do but renting for a year any time you change cities is a good idea IMO.