Anyone near Portland who can give me transplant advice?

"Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street." (demon-xanth) 10/19/2018 at 20:11 • Filed to: None

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In light of recent events, my entire family is basically done with Virginia. I had wanted to retire west of Portland, but it seems like the electronic tech jobs are far more common there than out here, and higher paying. Housing prices seem higher, but not unfathomable. We are hoping for the Forest Grove area. But I hoping to get some local insight on the areas to aim for and where to avoid. As well as other tips and tricks. Like not mentioning I spent most of my life in California.

Future Heap Owner > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 10/19/2018 at 20:34

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I am in Portland, but have never lived anywhere but in Portland itself.  I can’t speak from experience about the surrounding area, but I know some things.

What are your highest priorities? House prices? Schools? Commute time to a tech job? Proximity to the ocean? Proximity to the mountains? Local culture? Bikeability?

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Future Heap Owner 10/19/2018 at 20:39

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Housing prices and jobs is #1, schools not much of an issue since the youngest will graduate high school before we move. I miss the mountains though, I grew up in the Sierra Nevada foothill.

Spaceball-Two > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 10/19/2018 at 20:40

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I manage a real estate portfio basically running up the I5 corridor from the Portland area up to the Canadian border. You’re in luck because the Portland market is currently in decline. Homes would sell in a week are now sitting for months. It’s not as hot as the media says and there are some good deals out there. What area are you looking at?

gettingoldercarguy > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 10/19/2018 at 20:45

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Across s the river in the armpit, Vancouver or C amas with Camas having excellent schools. It’s more conservative leaning, if that affects you either way.  Plus no state income tax.

someassemblyrequired > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 10/19/2018 at 20:49

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Vancouver: no state income tax in WA, no sales tax in OR. Best of both worlds...

Boise is the new hot spot, still pretty reasonable, lots of tech (though mostly hardware).

someassemblyrequired > Spaceball-Two 10/19/2018 at 20:57

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Holy smokes. Just looking at the Washington side near 205, and wow, things have sure hit the wall.

Here’s 3500 sq.ft, 3 car garage, big lot, less than $500K. That wouldn’t get you a townhouse in suburban DC.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/13307-SE-Angus-St-Vancouver-WA-98683/23250969_zpid/?fullpage=true

Kim Jong - Healthy > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 10/19/2018 at 21:01

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i’m gonna go 0-real, real quick.

the portland area is “tolerable”, having lived in beaverton when i first arrived in the state.  outside of portland, it gets racist real fucking quick.

i’m hispanic, and I lived in Astoria. Aesthetically, it’s a gorgeous town, but it has a deep-seated racist background, just like the rest of oregon (google “oregon black exclusion laws” for a real treat about the history of oregon.)

i’ve lived in california, nevada, oregon, and arizona. i have never experienced more racism, intolerance, pretentiousness, localism, and just plain ignorance like i did when living in oregon. my girlfriend and i moved from the state after 7 months.

sucks such a BEAUTIFUL state was wasted for white people to escape minorities back when slavery was abolished, literally.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Spaceball-Two 10/19/2018 at 21:02

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We're aiming for a nine month plan at this point. So time is on our side it seems! Forest Grove was the place that popped out on Google maps for us.

someassemblyrequired > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 10/19/2018 at 21:10

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Really depends where you’re working, that side of Portland can be a slog to get into town . Plus you’ll pay nearly as much as if you lived on the Washington side (which has interstate access instead of having to drive in on surface streets).

Spaceball-Two > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 10/19/2018 at 21:16

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Forest Grove is fantastic. As things get closer let me know and I can put you in touch with an agent or broker.

Spaceball-Two > someassemblyrequired 10/19/2018 at 21:18

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There are some prime deals  to be had. I’ve actually got a few guys in trouble because they banked on the market pushing hard through winter

camarov6rs > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 10/19/2018 at 21:24

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Move to Vancouver. If Portland house prices don’t instantly send you running then Vancouver will get you more for your money with a decent commute IMO. Haven’t been to that side in a while though, your mileage may vary.

someassemblyrequired > Spaceball-Two 10/19/2018 at 22:20

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Yeah I figured it would level out, but didn’t think it would pull back so quick. 

wafflesnfalafel > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 10/19/2018 at 22:27

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Portland is very nice - you will enjoy it. It’s a little on the hipster side, but still good. 2 hrs from the ocean, nice community, beer, metropolitan but not huge, Mt Hood, Columbia Gorge, solid economy, Portland International Raceway, etc

wafflesnfalafel > wafflesnfalafel 10/19/2018 at 22:36

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it is an income tax state - but the tax load is more progressive than Washington to the north

Spaceball-Two > someassemblyrequired 10/19/2018 at 22:39

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Winter, elections and then  tax time. Things slow between November and April.

someassemblyrequired > Spaceball-Two 10/19/2018 at 22:41

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Yeah, that’s normal, but that’s not been the pattern the last four years.  Everyone in a panic to buy, even in the winter.

Future Heap Owner > Kim Jong - Healthy 10/19/2018 at 23:17

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Unfortunately, t his is extremely real. There’s a reason most non-white people in Portland live in the suburbs: a long history of racist zoning & housing laws. One notable exception is the cluster of African-Americans in N Portland; they’re there because they were forbidden from living in old, smaller Portland, so they lived in VanPort (halfway between Portland and Vancouver WA). Portland grew to swallow the remains of VanPort up (remains because it was below the Columbia River’s water level, and the dike broke and it all flooded). And then we decided to plumb major highways and a huge hospital complex right through this historically non-white area.

So, yeah, if you’re non-white, be aware that Portland is extremely white, has a long history of racism and exclusion , and the rest of Oregon is worse. I can’t say whether it’s getting “better” because I am white.

Future Heap Owner > wafflesnfalafel 10/19/2018 at 23:17

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Uh... WA doesn’t have state income tax.

Future Heap Owner > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 10/19/2018 at 23:23

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The Western suburbs are a good choice if you end up employed by one of the companies out in that direction. There’s Nike, Intel, and then a whole ecosystem around Intel. However there’s no interstate going that way, so commuting into downtown from there is probably pretty hard (though if you’re not far from I-5, that helps). Though TBH commuting is pretty hard everywhere in the area: it’s gotten about twice as big in a decade and the major highways are still exactly the same.

Another thing to consider is Vancouver, just across the river. HP is a large employer there, of software devs too (they’ve employed a lot of my friends & colleagues), and I *think* the commute to downtown is easier. As many have pointed out, houses are cheaper and there is no state income tax.

If you’re angling for a job in downtown, I’d say look in East Portland & Gresham. Good highways and light rail out in that direction, and houses get pretty cheap out past 100th. Plus, the farther out you get, the closer you are to Mt Hood, too.

wafflesnfalafel > Future Heap Owner 10/19/2018 at 23:37

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yep, correct, OR does - but the WA tax structure is so screwed up it’s still more regressive...  

Spaceball-Two > someassemblyrequired 10/19/2018 at 23:51

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Inventory is getting low. 

someassemblyrequired > Spaceball-Two 10/19/2018 at 23:57

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It’s been a bizarre market there the last four years. Kicking myself for not buying when we moved back in 2014, but 2000sq.ft. house in South Cove for $2500/mo was the kind of screaming deal you couldn’t ignore, especially when we were only supposed to be there 2 years (ended up being 3, but hard to get your money back in normal times with that short of a stay) .

M.T. Blake > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 10/20/2018 at 00:59

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Portland is awesome. Congrats!

Not a local... but I was up there recently for a bachelors party. We stayed in Lake Oswego which is a very nice neighborhood. One night we went to the Acropolis Steakhouse. Great meat for the price.

PS: Do. Not. Google. That. At. Work.

PSS. I did say it was for a bachelor party! :)

Future Heap Owner > wafflesnfalafel 10/20/2018 at 01:49

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How do they manage that?

wafflesnfalafel > Future Heap Owner 10/20/2018 at 09:22

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I t takes skill and hard work! :) L ots of taxes on things normally used most heavily by mid to low income levels, (high sales taxes, tolls, license fees, b&o taxes that hit smaller businesses, tax breaks for large multinationals, large school levies, etc... Even though folks cringe,  WA  would be better off with a progressive income tax and nothing else which is the direction that OR has gone.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Spaceball-Two 10/20/2018 at 11:42

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Is there any way I can get your contact info to keep around? 

Spaceball-Two > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 10/20/2018 at 13:18

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tbs8116@hotmail.com

Keep in touch

Mid Engine > wafflesnfalafel 11/21/2018 at 14:29

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Property taxes are the same in both states, tolls are avoidable. I much prefer sales tax as it’s tied to consumption, as opposed to state income tax. I paid $17k in Oregon state income tax in 2015.. you’d have a buy a shit ton of stuff in WA to ever come close.