Community Chat

[Lindsays Grandma]

My daughter decided she has had enough of Arizona and wants to move to Beaverton, Oregon. I have no desire to stay in AZ and we both would like to move back to Los Angeles but the cost of housing makes it prohibitive. She recently met a woman who lived in Beaverton and raved about it, saying the temps in the summer usually is in the mid eighties and the winters are cool and misty. I believe the woman meant rainy, not misty.

Do any of you have knowledge about Beaverton or Oregon that you can share with me? I would like to get ideas on the cost of housing, weather, schools, etc. Anything you can tell me would be greatly appreciated. TIA

[KLevineFan]

I live in Portland, OR, about 10 mi from suburb of Beaverton. I used to work there. Google Beaverton & Portland, OR for ideas. I was born here & wouldn't live anywhere else. We were in 80-98 temps this past week & coming week is 80-ish, but we always have humidity so it feels warmer IMO. I hate hot weather personally. Our winter was endless rain this year, snowed couple times. Usually just few inches, melts rapidly usually. You probably have a car but I never have & our Tri-Met transporation (tri-county area of Multnomah (Ptld), Washington (Bvtn)& Clackamas counties) is excellent in bad weather - we have 6 different light rail trains/streetcars (3 of which go to Bvtn) & are getting a 7th in 2015. Our jobless rate was one of the highest in the nation, our gas prices are higher than average (around $4 now), I'm retired so don't have to worry about a job. Websites re: specific jobs might be of help for you in that regard. The Oregon coast is 90 min. away, Mt Hood is about an hour away, the Willamette River flows thru downtown Portland & on down the Willamette Valley. We have beer & coffee (like Seattle) & lots of entertainment options, only major league sport is the losing Trailblazers, altho our Portland Timbers soccer team has an avid fan base now. Small Bvtn has their own smaller entertainment options, again, best to Google for that info. I am sorry, don't know about housing or schools (always lived in apts & no kids to put in school).

[seattlegirl98026]

Love the area and visit as often as possible. It's beautiful.

[KLevineFan]

Thanks, SeattleGirl, I love & visit Seattle as often as I can too! Via Amtrak usually.

[seattlegirl98026]

Glad you like it here too, Kathy!

[tansy]

It's a beautiful area but it will be wet.

[Marienkaefer2]

I grew up in AZ, and I've lived in both the Phoenix area and Prescott and Flagstaff as well.

After college I moved to Portland. I lived in the Raleigh Hills area between Portland and Beaverton for ten years.

I think you will love it. Oregon is beautiful. Portland is a great city.

Eta:

One thing to.keep in mind about Oregon: No sales tax, which is great.

But as I recall, the state income tax is high and so are property taxes.

I live in WA now. No state income tax, but property taxes are higher compared to AZ. Sales tax is about the same.

[Lindsays Grandma]

Thanks so much to all of you. I'm retired and I worry about finding my way around in a place I'm not familiar with. Perhaps I won't have to worry about it with the great public transportation you have. I like rain but not days and weeks of it and I heard it rains for days on end in Oregon. We are going to google it to find as much info as we can. Again, thanks to all.

[Marienkaefer2]

If you can't take too much rain then you'd better stay where you are.

Yes, it rains in the winter in the PNW. No getting around that. You could go a week or more without sun.

Lots of people get SADD.

[seattlegirl98026]

As much as I love the PNW, I must say I agree with Marien on this. When the weather cooperates, there are few places more beautiful than the PNW. However, in the winter it can be incredibly bleak!