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Portland (OR) |OT|

Our move is coming up in a couple months, and we've narrowed down our search for apartments. We're looking at two apartments in the Tualatin area around here. Any opinions on the area? When we visited back in June, we only drove through Tualatin. A lot of stuff seems to be in walking distance, and Portland isn't too far away. We'll probably buy a house after a couple years of renting, once we get comfortable with our surroundings.

Thanks in advance.

That's really close to where I live, at least if Maps Street View opened to the right spot.

It's a suburban area, lots of development going on, pretty fast growth. A Cabela's was just put in that spot about a year ago that is massive.

I'd say as far as suburbs go it's a pretty good one. Portland downtown isn't far at all from there as well. Convenient freeway access.
 

jfoul

Member
That's really close to where I live, at least if Maps Street View opened to the right spot.

It's a suburban area, lots of development going on, pretty fast growth. A Cabela's was just put in that spot about a year ago that is massive.

I'd say as far as suburbs go it's a pretty good one. Portland downtown isn't far at all from there as well. Convenient freeway access.

Awesome, It's pretty much exactly what we're looking for. The plan is to move at the beginning of February. It's a huge move for us (2,500 miles), but it's exciting and a fresh start.

Thanks for the info.
 

brau

Member
Awesome, It's pretty much exactly what we're looking for. The plan is to move at the beginning of February. It's a huge move for us (2,500 miles), but it's exciting and a fresh start.

Thanks for the info.

A year and a half ago we made probably around the same move. We moved from upstate New York all the way to PDX. We were gonna do a road trip, but with the amount of time before i started worked we ended up shipping everything with movers including the car, and just flew out. Really saved us a lot of headaches.

I can share with you my moving estimates if you are still figuring out how much to pay.

It is exciting, and PDX has been great so far. Really enjoy the area, i think you guys will like it here.
 
Our move is coming up in a couple months, and we've narrowed down our search for apartments. We're looking at two apartments in the Tualatin area around here. Any opinions on the area? When we visited back in June, we only drove through Tualatin. A lot of stuff seems to be in walking distance, and Portland isn't too far away. We'll probably buy a house after a couple years of renting, once we get comfortable with our surroundings.

Thanks in advance.

If the suburbs are where you're looking at this is definitely a good area to be. Good public transit options into the city from there during the weekdays, but it's a bit of a hassle on the weekends. Still doable though. So long as the place you're settling in to isn't too far west from I-5 you'll have good access to the freeway and on most days only takes 15 mins to get in to Downtown PDX. Mashita Teriyaki and Roxy's Island Grill are awesome little spots in the area for a quick bite and there are a few different pubs nearby like Three Mermaids and Hop N Cork when you don't want to head in to PDX.
 

jfoul

Member
A year and a half ago we made probably around the same move. We moved from upstate New York all the way to PDX. We were gonna do a road trip, but with the amount of time before i started worked we ended up shipping everything with movers including the car, and just flew out. Really saved us a lot of headaches.

I can share with you my moving estimates if you are still figuring out how much to pay.

It is exciting, and PDX has been great so far. Really enjoy the area, i think you guys will like it here.

We're trying to decide if we want to sell everything and start over right now. I'm leaning more towards keeping our furniture, since it's all nice high quality hard wood. Driving a truck, while towing a car is going to stress me out though.
 

jfoul

Member
If the suburbs are where you're looking at this is definitely a good area to be. Good public transit options into the city from there during the weekdays, but it's a bit of a hassle on the weekends. Still doable though. So long as the place you're settling in to isn't too far west from I-5 you'll have good access to the freeway and on most days only takes 15 mins to get in to Downtown PDX. Mashita Teriyaki and Roxy's Island Grill are awesome little spots in the area for a quick bite and there are a few different pubs nearby like Three Mermaids and Hop N Cork when you don't want to head in to PDX.

I'm more open to downtown living, but my wife would rather live in the suburbs. I'll be taking my job with me, and working from home for awhile, so I'm okay with either. Like you mentioned, this area passed our requirements checklist for the burbs. Excited, and terrified with such a big move. In the end it'll all be worth it.
 

xxracerxx

Don't worry, I'll vouch for them.
Snow mixed with rain right now....I could see this year being pretty snowy if the weather holds like this.
 

brau

Member
Snow mixed with rain right now....I could see this year being pretty snowy if the weather holds like this.

Its been feeling a lot colder as of last week. Got pretty drenched today too, which is not usual. I hope its not like last year where it snowed, thawed, froze and then caused all kinds of accidents.
 

xxracerxx

Don't worry, I'll vouch for them.
Its been feeling a lot colder as of last week. Got pretty drenched today too, which is not usual. I hope its not like last year where it snowed, thawed, froze and then caused all kinds of accidents.

Man, all the people who actually took the time to shovel snow from their sidewalks really made an error because then it was just a thick sheet of ice.
 

brau

Member
Man, all the people who actually took the time to shovel snow from their sidewalks really made an error because then it was just a thick sheet of ice.

Downtown you could see lots of that haha. Tons of people hurrying to work stumbling or slipping. Never seen that many people fall on their backs and i've been in cities with a lot more snow. But maybe that is precisely why so many people fell.

Also, is it true that the city of Portland only has 2 snow plows? :O

I guess as a rule of thumb. If the weather is real bad don't go out if you can avoid it. You think is a given, but i see so many trucks and cars that think they can handle it only to see them later on the ditch when it snows a lot. smh.

A Black Ice in Montreal thread just sprung up, haha. Saw some of this here in PDX on the new year.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1322445


EDIT:

Already snowing in Camas i guess.
Cy70-LGUQAEjmyC.jpg
 
Yo, PortlandGAF! Driving up from Corvallis this afternoon to the Embassy Suites at PDX, in advance of flying out tomorrow morning. Assuming we survive the drive into Portland, what's the condition of the I-5 and related streets going to be when I get up there? Are they maintained pretty well at this point?
 
Yo, PortlandGAF! Driving up from Corvallis this afternoon to the Embassy Suites at PDX, in advance of flying out tomorrow morning. Assuming we survive the drive into Portland, what's the condition of the I-5 and related streets going to be when I get up there? Are they maintained pretty well at this point?
Not sure about I-5 but in Portland you should be fine. Roads are fairly clear. I would try and have chains for any back-roads if you go that route, but it sounds like you'd be staying on pretty main streets coming in.

I would definitely try and avoid 'rush hour' so if you can leave now, or at least earlier, do it.

Most of the roads are still 'slippery' so just be wary. I would definitely try and leave earlier than 'afternoon' though. I-5 sucks normally coming in and out of Portland around 2:30-3 and onward.

You 'should' be fine for your flight. If possible I'd just leave early and take the MAX to the airport though (assuming flight isn't delayed) because out closer to the Columbia it gets pretty slick. Have a co-worker that lives there and she's working from home because it's still pretty bad around her place (she's on the river though).

My fiance went in this morning and was downtown just a few minutes ago. I just asked her how the roads were and she said "Everything is icy everywhere".

But they do still have cars/traffic so just be careful.
 
Can I just tell you guys how glad I am to be in Hawaii this week? Sounds like hell over there, people needing 5 hours to get home on a typically 15 minute drive...??
 

xxracerxx

Don't worry, I'll vouch for them.
Roads are fine, even the side streets, just drive slow and leave extra space for everything.

I was out last night and this morning riding my bike around...fun stuff.
 

brau

Member
Its fine out here. Just drive like you know what you are doing. Like they said, slow, leave space between cars and be mindful of your surroundings and the road.

Its nothing compared to the thaw ice shananigans from last week. I got stuck for 3 hrs on the MAX trying to get home on top of the yellow line pinball bridge. That one sucked.
 

Ketch

Member
Icepocalypse 2016

Two trees down in my front yard, one in the back. Downed trees all along the road out of my subdivision.

One landed on the neighbors jag, but luckily no damage.
 
Took a day trip down yesterday with my wife and daughter so we could hit up Afuri. Last time we were in Tokyo there was an Afuri in the neighborhood we stayed in and my wife loved their yuzu shio ramen.

The ramen was killer and the space was gorgeous, but I'm starting to get annoyed by this movement to turn ramen into something it's not. Ramen is the people's food. It's affordable and fast. The addition of sushi to a ramen place and this desire to turn it into destination "high dining" is annoying as fuck.
 

Sumidor

Member
Took a day trip down yesterday with my wife and daughter so we could hit up Afuri. Last time we were in Tokyo there was an Afuri in the neighborhood we stayed in and my wife loved their yuzu shio ramen.

The ramen was killer and the space was gorgeous, but I'm starting to get annoyed by this movement to turn ramen into something it's not. Ramen is the people's food. It's affordable and fast. The addition of sushi to a ramen place and this desire to turn it into destination "high dining" is annoying as fuck.

Agreed. The food is delicious, and the service is great. But $15+ for a bowl of ramen is ridiculous. It's hard to find any place in town that does it for under $10 now.
 
Agreed. The food is delicious, and the service is great. But $15+ for a bowl of ramen is ridiculous. It's hard to find any place in town that does it for under $10 now.

Yuzu Shio at Afuri in Tokyo is like $8 a bowl. The price hike to $15 is pretty amazing.

The wait staff was great, and the karaage and gyoza were awesome, but it shouldn't take an hour to make our ramen.

It also shouldn't be $85 for my wife, daughter and I to eat ramen.
 
So not worth going?

You guys had me at ramen and lost me at high dining.

It's a bummer. The ramen is awesome and identical to their ramen in Tokyo.

BUT.

It's $15 in Portland when it's roughly $9 back
In Tokyo. They're trying to do too many damn things (sushi, robati grilled sustainable fish, trying to be cool, etc.) instead of focusing on the ramen.

Ramen isn't trendy. Ramen isn't cool. It's delicious food for everyone.
 

jfoul

Member
Alright, we're about one month out from moving, and have started to narrow down our apartment search. We've found one in Beaverton, and one outside of Portland (SW). With Shadow Hills, it's closer to downtown and on the rail line. Monte Vista has superior Amenities. Rent wise, both are very close around $1100 - $1200 & the sq footage is similar as well at 1000 + sq ft. I'm leaning more towards the Monte Vista atm. Anybody familiar with these areas?

Shadow Hills Apartments - Map


  • 24-Hour Fitness Center
  • Covered Parking With Select Apartments
  • Free Movie Rental Program
  • Garages
  • Laundry Facilities
  • Nature Paths
  • On Bus Line
  • Sauna
  • Swimming Pool

Monte Vista Apartments - Map

  • 24 Hr. Fitness Center
  • BBQ/Picnic Area
  • Bike Trail
  • Clubhouse
  • Covered Parking
  • Dry Cleaning Drop Off
  • Hiking/Jogging Trails
  • Indoor Pool and Outdoor Pool
  • Night Patrol
  • Package Service
  • Pet Washing Station
  • Racquetball Court
  • Spa

I can't believe it's almost time to move. All of the planning and saving is finally going to pay off.
 

brau

Member
Alright, we're about one month out from moving, and have started to narrow down our apartment search. We've found one in Beaverton, and one outside of Portland (SW). With Shadow Hills, it's closer to downtown and on the rail line. Monte Vista has superior Amenities. Rent wise, both are very close around $1100 - $1200 & the sq footage is similar as well at 1000 + sq ft. I'm leaning more towards the Monte Vista atm. Anybody familiar with these areas?

Shadow Hills Apartments - Map


  • 24-Hour Fitness Center
  • Covered Parking With Select Apartments
  • Free Movie Rental Program
  • Garages
  • Laundry Facilities
  • Nature Paths
  • On Bus Line
  • Sauna
  • Swimming Pool

Monte Vista Apartments - Map

  • 24 Hr. Fitness Center
  • BBQ/Picnic Area
  • Bike Trail
  • Clubhouse
  • Covered Parking
  • Dry Cleaning Drop Off
  • Hiking/Jogging Trails
  • Indoor Pool and Outdoor Pool
  • Night Patrol
  • Package Service
  • Pet Washing Station
  • Racquetball Court
  • Spa

I can't believe it's almost time to move. All of the planning and saving is finally going to pay off.

When you do move and are all settled. Lets meet up for lunch or something.

:D

Outisde of this, we've been looking for a new apt or home. Search is slow, but i guess we're not in a hurry. Not particularly familiar with those places tho. But reviews always come in handy. I can ask around at work and let you know what i find.
 

Cat Party

Member
Alright, we're about one month out from moving, and have started to narrow down our apartment search. We've found one in Beaverton, and one outside of Portland (SW). With Shadow Hills, it's closer to downtown and on the rail line. Monte Vista has superior Amenities. Rent wise, both are very close around $1100 - $1200 & the sq footage is similar as well at 1000 + sq ft. I'm leaning more towards the Monte Vista atm. Anybody familiar with these areas?

Shadow Hills Apartments - Map


  • 24-Hour Fitness Center
  • Covered Parking With Select Apartments
  • Free Movie Rental Program
  • Garages
  • Laundry Facilities
  • Nature Paths
  • On Bus Line
  • Sauna
  • Swimming Pool

Monte Vista Apartments - Map

  • 24 Hr. Fitness Center
  • BBQ/Picnic Area
  • Bike Trail
  • Clubhouse
  • Covered Parking
  • Dry Cleaning Drop Off
  • Hiking/Jogging Trails
  • Indoor Pool and Outdoor Pool
  • Night Patrol
  • Package Service
  • Pet Washing Station
  • Racquetball Court
  • Spa

I can't believe it's almost time to move. All of the planning and saving is finally going to pay off.

The area where Monte Vista is is mostly newer development, very much a suburban paradise. There's good and bad to that, depending on what you want. One thing to keep in mind is that right now, commuting from that area to downtown is pretty dreadful. The freeway capacity is nowhere near sufficient to handle the 10s of 1000s of people who have moved out that way over the last decade.

The area where Shadow Hills is is definitely cooler and more Portland-y. But it is pretty cramped. I've actually had to park at these apartments to go to Sasquatch Brewing before because there is so little parking, lol. But the commute to downtown is not bad at all (by Portland standards), whether you drive or take public transit.
 

jfoul

Member
Thanks for all of the info, it's helped a lot. I think we've settled on the Monte Vista in Murray Hill/Beaverton. It's close to what we need for day to day, and has Cinetopia pretty close. the move might be moved up to mid January depending on unit availability.
 
How is Oregon (general Portland region anyway) in mid-March? I was thinking about taking a trip out there this summer, but it looks like March may be more likely at this point. If it's preferable to wait until summer months I'd just come next year.
 

brau

Member
How is Oregon (general Portland region anyway) in mid-March? I was thinking about taking a trip out there this summer, but it looks like March may be more likely at this point. If it's preferable to wait until summer months I'd just come next year.

March might still be too wet and cloudy. With some sparse sunny days here and there. Goes all the way through april too. I would say summer is a nicer time to come visit. Just more things to enjoy, hike, visit, swim, and take pictures all with a warm sunny day.

If rain doesn't bother you you should be able to still do all of the above.
 
March might still be too wet and cloudy. With some sparse sunny days here and there. Goes all the way through april too. I would say summer is a nicer time to come visit. Just more things to enjoy, hike, visit, swim, and take pictures all with a warm sunny day.

If rain doesn't bother you you should be able to still do all of the above.

Thanks for the advice. We'll probably hold off until next year then.
 

jfoul

Member
Everything is starting to fall into place. My wife was approved for a $2,000 tuition reimbursement through work, and has a transfer interview today. We're pretty much all packed, with 2-3 weeks to go until we move.
 
Cool stuff jfoul, that Cinetopia has reserved seating too which makes it nice. As far as suburbs go it's pretty nice in that area. Close to a rather large mall (Washington Square), too.
 

brau

Member
ANOTHER snow storm. At least this one had the courtesy to hit on the weekend.

It wasn't as bad as Tues, Weds and Thurs winds of chilling doom. Had trouble walking to work with all that cold wind chill.

We'll see how slick things look tomorrow. You guys keep dry, warm and safe tho :)
 

Doombear

Member
Roads looking pretty decent already. I am not far from Powell on the SE side closer to the river and traffic has been pretty steady. Ventured out earlier and it seems like it's the sidewalks that are the worst. Ice everywhere if you are walking. Hopefully tomorrow some of that is gone too.
 

brau

Member
Yea... had to walk pretty slow to not slip, even tho its not thick ice. Hope that by tonight most of it is thawed.
 
Just like that, another 6 inches of snow. I'm starting to have flashbacks to my brief time living in Massachusetts. Stay safe out there. And if you happen to have abandoned your minivan in the middle of the street over in NoPo, that's not a parking spot, but I'll forgive you, because that thing clearly isn't moving under its own power any time soon.
 

brau

Member
Just took some pics. I didn't think we would ever get this much snow around here. Tempting to not go to work tomorrow. I bet if i do i'll get stranded on the MAX just like last time.


You guys stay safe and warm. Just saw some dude rocking his truck on the parking lot and almost running into the cars around it. smh.
 

Hop

That girl in the bunny hat
Normally when there's snow, I'm like "bah! I lived in western NY for years, I can handle it just fine!"

looks outside

Yeah, fuck this.
 

brau

Member
Im debating not going to work, i really don't want to take my chances on the MAX.

It looks soooooooooooo pretty outside tho. Totally going out at some point to take pictures.
 

Cat Party

Member
This snow is really fucking annoying but jesus it is beautiful outside.

I can work from home today but I'll have to go downtown tomorrow. I just hope MAX is operating.
 
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