Where are some good places to live in/near Portland, OR?

My wife and I (and soon to be daughter) are planning on moving to the Portland area in about 2 years or so. We are looking for an area that has good schools, reasonable home prices (200-225k), low crime rates, and a lot of things to do. We are quite liberal, we enjoy diversity, art, music, good bars, golf, and nice, easy-going people. She is an accountant and I am a soon to be high school science teacher. What kind of help can you offer? Thanks a lot

Where are some good places to live in/near Portland, OR?

Well, welcome soon!!

I would recommend you taking a close look at these areas across the river in the Washington side. Yes, WA has sales tax... but cost of living is lower and it has much better schools, lower crime, mellow people, it is cleaner, prettier, etc. And the %26quot;city%26quot; of Portland is 25 minutes away. I recommend: Vancouver, Camas, Battle Ground, Rigdefield.

Where are some good places to live in/near Portland, OR?

There are a lot of nice areas in Portland to live with good schools, low crims, and things to do, the problem is that most of these places are not near reasonably priced houses.

I%26#039;ve known several people who have either purchased or are renting a home in the farther our SE area of Portland, like south of Powell st maybe between 30th-75th street, housing prices are still reasonable and with the bigger influx of young married families with children moving in I%26#039;m hoping it will get nicer with time. You might have luck finding a fixer upper in a more popular neighborhood depending on size for $200,000 to $300,000, but a decent sized nicer house will easily cost $350,000 in one of the more established neighborhoods.

Where are some good places to live in/near Portland, OR?

Hard to find houses in the 200-225 range, unless you are talking about town homes. But I would recommend Tigard, Tualatin or Sherwood. Hillsboro is also nice, it%26#039;s growing, but would have the best home prices. These areas have good schools, good housing prices, great neighbors, and close to berry picking! Our area is 14 miles south of portland. It%26#039;s a perfect blend of liberal and conservative, but everyone is open minded.

Check out www.rmls.com for housing ideas and areas. If you have questions, just email me through my avatar. I work in HR, and I help people relocate here sometimes.