Saying goodbye to California, and hello to Portland!

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Permalink Reply by Lorri E. on July 4, 2008 at 12:39pm

Wow, where do I start? Yes, Portland has a myriad of neighborhoods. So, there is bound to be one where you will fit right in and feel comfortable. List a couple of things (quality of life) that would make a "perfect neighborhood" for you, so we can help you zone in and target some to check out.

Live anywhere along the TriMet MAX or bus lines for easy transportation (This is a very bike friendly town as well, although not everyone is up for bike commuting during long wet winters, so keep that in mind.)

The closer into the city you live, typically, the more expensive it is. The Pearl District and NW Nob Hill are popular, but fairly expensive areas to live. Less expensive are North and Northeast, although it depends. Funkier areas are SE (like Hawthorne) and NE (like Alberta Arts), and more mainstream suburban-ish family type areas are found West of Portland (like Beaverton and surrounding areas), North of Portland over the river in Vancouver, Washington, and SW Portland. I could go on, and on...there is a neighborhood for you, just describe a bit more about what you are looking for.

Crime stats for every area can be found by searching the City of Portland crime mapper website. Visit www.portlandneighborhood.com for neighborhood profiles and more info. You will need to get an idea of cross streets or an address before searching the Portland crime map, so use the Zip Code map on our site to target specific areas. You can also use google maps to target an area and find cross streets, then use the Portland Crime Mapper to search that area for crime reports.

There are lots of job search sites (don't overlook craigslist, either), including our own Portland Job Search at:
http://www.portlandneighborhood.com/portland-jobs.html

Hope this helps!

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Permalink Reply by Chris on July 5, 2008 at 5:14pm

I really appreciate your reply, even though my questions were very very open ended!
I'm scouring the area with Google maps to find out some of the referenced neighborhoods on this page. (This site is a wealth of knowledge! Thanks soo much!!) Hopefully the next questions will be asked in a much more knowledgeable way.

I'd have to say my 'perfect neighborhood' would be something like a small community in itself. Nothing very suburbia like though. An area with smaller pubs, grocery stores, and 'mom 'n pop' type shops. Being close to some sort of city transportation would totally rock.
The Alberta Arts neighborhood sounds rather interesting. The neighborhood page says they have a monthly 'art hop', we have the same thing here in our area of Fresno. Awesome!
I'm going to continue to research and research.
Thank you very much again for your reply and all the information.

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Permalink Reply by Lorri E. on July 5, 2008 at 7:29pm

Check out Multnomah Village in SW Portland, and Sellwood. Alberta is a great area, as well. You might also like the Belmont District, and Hawthorne District. If you are into the art hops, check the Pearl District downtown, and Alberta arts also features regular art events.

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Permalink Reply by René Gillette on July 7, 2008 at 10:53pm

Hello Chris,
It seems funny to me that people have been leaving California to come up to the Portland/Vancouver areas for years for the same reason.. SMOG!! My parents made the trek 35 years ago and have never regretted that decision.
As regards to allergies though... ha.... that is something that will follow you everywhere!!!! Damn grass and tree allergies. Probably completely different from the types down there.
Lorri has given you some great information. When you mentioned that you like the small kind of community feel with still being with in arms length of Downtown Portland. Sellwood, and Multnomah Village would be suggestions of mine. Alberta area is great as well. I think you will find it very interesting to come and experience the different neighborhoods in Portland. They can vary greatly by just traveling a mile or a few blocks in a different direction.
Question.. How important is location to your next potential job? Will your wife be looking for a bartending position as well? How does your ideal job look to you? You never know what kind of connections we may come up with.
Also, what kind of housing would be preferable? Condo, townhouse, single family, and any particular styles that you are partial to? That will also assist in pointing you in more detailed neighborhoods.
Look forward to chatting more with you. Take care.
René

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Permalink Reply by Chris on July 8, 2008 at 8:11am

Hi René!
Thanks for your reply!
I'm ready to get out of the central valley....well have been ready for a looonng time! With all the fires in CA at the moment, all the smoke and junk is falling into the valley. On the way to work this morning it was hard to see some buildings downtown that was only a few miles away from the freeway. I'll deal with my allergies if I can just breath some cleaner air. lol.
To answer your questions....
Ideally I would love to work within bike riding distance to a job in the area. With having to move after securing a new job I think that might be a pipe dream at this point. It would be nice to be within a good distance from some sort of public transportation to use as a daily commute. My wife has mentioned finding another bartending job once we are able to move up. She said that bartenders in Oregon need to have some sort of license, so we're going to research this.
My ideal job would be something in the IT field. I mainly focus on systems and network administration in a Windows and Linux environments. I have a gadget on my google homepage to show all the Craigslist posting in Portland in the Systems/Networking Jobs categories. (http://portland.craigslist.org/sad/) I really don't do any programming other than basic systems administration scripting.
As far as housing goes. Honestly anything thats not in a shady neighborhood. Once we are living up there it will be easier to find a place more to our liking. At this point, I just want to get up there! Again to hit that pipe dream though..I'd love to rent a small house or an apartment with the normal stuff like fridge, stove, dishwasher, etc. We have two cats too, so we'll have to take that into consideration.
One thing I need to read up on, is the rental laws in Oregon.

René, thanks again for your information and taking the time to reply. It's greatly appreciated!!
I'm going to research those neighborhoods that you mentioned above.

Thanks again!!


Chris

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Permalink Reply by Chris on July 17, 2008 at 1:46pm

Had a phone interview today with Northrop Grumman and I'm having another next week! Not trying to get my hopes up yet, but it's definitely encouraging!

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Permalink Reply by René Gillette on July 17, 2008 at 1:49pm

That is great! When will you know?

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Permalink Reply by Chris on July 17, 2008 at 1:58pm

No clue yet.
I'm outta town for work on Monday and Tuesday coming up, so he said probably Wednesday or Thursday for the 2nd interview.

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Permalink Reply by René Gillette on July 17, 2008 at 6:19pm

Cool. Keep me up to date. I am excited for you and your wife.

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Permalink Reply by Carla on July 31, 2008 at 12:27am

Let us know what happens. We are considering Portland too (also from CA)

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Permalink Reply by Chris on July 31, 2008 at 7:55am

I've got my 2nd phone interview today!
We'll see what happens. Either way, after the phone interview I'm heading out of town for camping for the weekend. yay!

Everyone have a good weekend!

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Permalink Reply by Carla on July 31, 2008 at 8:35am

Keeping my fingers crossed!

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