Still moving & need more advice. Portland or Vancouver?

[Greyhound]

An acquaintance of mine from the area said ideally we should live in Vancouver and work in Portland, because of taxes, fees, etc.

Your opinions? Ms. Greyhound & I are up against the clock now, so we're getting desperate and don't want to make a mistake and end up suffering through a year of hell because we weren't familiar with the ins-and-outs of the metro area.

[Straight Shooter]

1. I've heard the same thing: live in Vancouver, work in Portland.

I can't tell you any more than that, except to say that I think no matter where you live, you'll really enjoy either city, based on what I've heard from people I know who have either lived in or traveled to both cities. I can only speak to Portland, and I think it's wonderful. (Haven't been to Vancouver.)

Good luck, and congratulations! :)

edit to add: I see you're from the Southwest. Okay, I'm self-employed, live in Oregon, and the personal income taxes are among the highest in the nation. FWIW as information.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

6. That's what everyone says, BUT

I now live in Minnesota, and our state income taxes are higher, AND we have a 7% sales tax.

The problem with the Oregon income tax is that it is not indexed for inflation frequently enough, so the tax is essentially flat. Furthermore, corporations don't pay their fair share.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

2. All I can tell you is that the commute is a killer.

If you telecommute or can vary your hours then you'll probably be fine. I actually had most of my work in Portland, but the office was in Vancouver. Ghastly if I had to swing by the office in the late afternoon. And watching the morning news, the traffic coming into Portland looks just as bad.

[Reader Rabbit]

3. Are the taxes, etc., really that bad?

I'd lived in California and Chicago before moving to Portland, and none of the fees seemed all that bad to me. In fact, some of them seemed ridiculously low! If you are planning to stay here for the long term, it might be well worth it to rent for a time before deciding on a permanent location.

[0rganism]

4. "ins-and-outs" are what will kill you -- commuting is a bitch

At this point, I'd have to say, plan to live close to where you work. Value your time off the clock as much as you do on the clock, and you'll find that any tax advantage you gain by living in Vancouver would be dwarfed by the hit to your quality of life -- which is really why you want to move anyway, I'd bet.

There are two major bridges across the Columbia river into Portland from Vancouver, both serving as passage for the major N-S arterials, I-5 and I-205. On the best of days, it gets real crowded there. Now just imagine what it's like if one lane on or around either bridge gets blocked -- trust me, such things happen.

I'll grant you this much: if you can land a swing or graveyard shift, where all your commuting is done in off-hours, and you deeply resent property taxes, it makes financial sense to live in Vancouver but work in Portland. Otherwise, forget it, just try to land a bedroom reasonably close to your job.

[Greyhound]

5. Thank you. The more I think about it, the less relevant taxes are.

I do believe that taxes are the price we pay for civilization, and only object to the chronic waste and corruption of our tax $$ (like the obscenities regularly perpetrated in Sacramento).

[Lydia Leftcoast]

7. Best of all, try to live on a light rail (MAX) line

Then you can read or do sudoku or whatever instead of having to concentrate on the traffic.

[0rganism]

8. Yeppers. Don't plan your life around tax avoidance

FWIW, I just heard on the radio today that the powers that be are planning a replacement of the I-5 bridge between Vancouver and Portland.

Not an expansion, mind you, just a replacement. In roughly the same place. In lieu of repairs.

I probably don't have to tell you what this is going to mean for commuter traffic in the next 3-5 years. Staying on one side of the Columbia river for work & play just got another point in its favor -- a big point, the size of a major bridge construction project and a semi-permanent traffic jam stretching for about two miles in either direction.

[Greyhound]

9. Cool, thanks. Another question, if I may.

What are your opinions on the St. Johns area? There seem to be reasonably priced rentals there and that (perversely?) worries me. On the subject, what neighborhoods should be avoided?

[0rganism]

11. St. Johns is okay -- some parts better than others

try before you buy, as the saying goes

I don't know about any that you'd want to avoid 100% altogether. Most of the hoods have some variation in quality within them, no place is going to be perfect for everything or wrong for everything. I'd say generally, do what you can to minimize commute time and maximize access to things you like. I gather QOL for dogs is an important factor for you, so look for places with large lots and close park or trail access. There are some apartments around NW 30th and Raleigh that might be perfect, cos they back onto Forest Park yet are still basically downtown. But don't get fixated on any particular neighborhood, esp. if you're renting, you might overlook something really awesome outside the boundaries.

Later on, if/when you decide to buy a place and you're more familiar with the metro area, you can pick & choose your interest zones more carefully to fit your needs.

If you could list a few things you'd want to be near and some you'd rather avoid, that would help.

Maybe check this site: http://www.movingtoportland.net/portland_neighborhoods.htm

[Greyhound]

10. Looks like Vancouver is out (I didn't want to be a resident of Washington anyway)

So what are the Portland neighborhoods that you would avoid? We aren't rich by any means, but do have a few nice things we would like to keep and we would die if anything happened to any of our dogs.

[grasswire]

13. have you been checking craigslist?

That might be the best place for you to get an idea about Portland rentals. As far as avoiding certain areas is concerned, I can tell you that some parts of SE have a bit of gang trouble, and some areas have higher crime. And downtown, of course, there's a bit of trouble.

If you have the actual address of a place, you can look on portlandmaps.com and find the actual crime statistics for the neighborhood.

[HuckleB]

14. Downtown is quite safe.

It just gets the headlines when something does happen there.

[HuckleB]

12. You don't want to live in Vancouver and work in Portland.

Then you'll be paying more taxes than you ever imagined.

Besides, what's wrong with paying to keep your community running well?

[Greyhound]

15. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP.

We are here... and loving it.

So far, This city is just great, friendly, helpful people that seem to be genuinely interested and eager to answer questions. We have rented a place in the Gateway/Mayfield(?) park area and are busily learning our way around. I think that we will eventually start looking for a permanent place closer to Downtown, along Burnside.

Again, thank you all so much.

[Trajan]

16. Well heck ... There you are !

NOW you will have to come and join us at one of our patented meetups ...

In fact, we will be meeting this weekend, ... location as of yet: unknown ...

Welcome and hope to meet you soon ...

[Arugula Latte]

17. Welcome to Stumptown!

:toast: