advice on relocating from Chicago to Portland

Re: advice on relocating from Chicago to Portland

• patrico14 member

  March 2014

  Beaverton abd Tigard are both great areas for families. Portland area is set up based on the river so Beaverton and Tigard are on the west side of the river. That's important because if your DH is working in SE or NE you're going to need to factor in a commute to the east side of the river. I come from the Midwest and a ten mile commute there is easy but here, it's much different because of the river and just the way the area is set up is not quickly navigable so be wary of what google maps will tell you for distance or time. I'm not familiar with family friendly areas on the east side but I can tell you that that's generally the side you'd want to live on if you were in your early 20's to early 30's and single because it's much more "Portland" than the west side. Either way, it's a wonderful city/area to live in and good luck to you and your family!

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• chardonnay24 member

  March 2014

  I'm not a huge fan of suburbs in general, but I'd definitely stay away from Gresham, Troutdale, Fairview, and Wood Village. They are full of crime and poverty and not very family friendly (but they are very cheap!). Happy Valley is very nice but expensive. We have several friends in Happy Valley and they love it. Very "small town" community feel but with all the amenities, shopping, and restaurants you'd expect in a suburb. Lots of things to do and the schools are great. I don't know much about the west side, but I'd look into Beaverton, Tualatin, Tigard, or Lake Oswego.

  
  

  If you don't want to live downtown but still want a family friendly neighborhood in the city itself, I love some of the close in east side neighborhoods: Hollywood, Laurelhurst, Sellwood, Eastmoreland. Older homes, walkable, lots of parks and green space, little shops and great restaurants.

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• nonoemily member

  March 2014

  I would agree with pp that you don't necessarily want to live In The suburbs unless that is your thing. You can live in close in east side and be in some great, family friendly neighborhoods. I live in North Milwaukie and I really like it. I've lived in Sellwood and that's nice, too. Like pp mentioned, you don't want a cross town commute if you can help it. My husband works on the west side and his commute is 1+ hour in the evening.

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• JSwinford member

  March 2014 edited March 2014

  I'm from the Chicago suburbs and Portland is great.  I'm in Beaverton and it's nice.  Traffic isn't great, but nowhere near as bad as Chicago.  I had my heart set on living in SW PDX, but we really like Beaverton/Tigard.  It's very family friendly and quiet.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

   
  

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• AmyM72 member

  March 2014

  Just wanted to add that you can look up all the various neighborhoods on Portland maps.com. in comparison with crime stats etc. I would choose something close to work and don't rule out any one area until you check it out yourself.

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• purplestarz member

  April 2014

  I agree with the votes on Beaverton (I live in Hillsboro, which is fine for us now but we won't be here forever). Honestly, I agree also with choosing somewhere close to work. There are good and bad areas in every suburb. Traffic is horrendous coming from the west side (beaverton, etc). My husband commutes to NE Portland everyday and it takes an hour, and he's not even going during rush hour.

  
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