Well after being laid off recently I have decided to make a big move while I have the opportunity - careerwise -anyway to portland OR from Pittsburgh, PA. I'm relatively in the dark about the city other than misc searching online for a couple weeks. so does anyone here live there and know the lay of the land as far as neighborhoods and liveability goes? I'll be sharing a place so rent overall I'm looking for $1000 to $1200 just to give a frame of reference. from initial searches downtown, the pearl district, and one other are out of my range. nob hill to the northwest, and hawthorne on the other side of the river on the east both look like good areas to look more into, but can anyone chime in with opinions. we will both be mid- late 20's with the tpyical social life and misc activities wanted in close proximities to also add to what would be ideal for us.
also, I've read a few posts here about portland firms, but anyone have any specific recommendations or contacts or know of any places that are hiring?
Being an archinewbie, I've got no idea about that slice of the pie, but I live in downtown Portland and I dig it. Cars are for the poor schmucks who have to commute whilst I take a walk through the park, maybe step on the streetcar that delivers me to Powell's (for those trips to Costco there's Zipcar). My short answer is that downtown is worth the cost of falling out of love with my car and ditching it. The Pearl is bad if you have trouble walking by posh boutiques or that preppy modern sofa store day and day and not being able to restrain yourself. Prices in this area are higher, but it's all an exchange.
People of your demographic seem to like Hawthorne and Alberta quite a lot. Alberta is called the "art district," which could easily be bullshit, I don't know. A mate of mine just found a place for a nice deal in Hawthorne--better than my rent, that's for sure.
I think you just need to check out the scene. You might find some killer modern digs in the west hills that you've gotta have. On the flip side, the great-on-paper place in Hawthorne could be a dump. There's some cool places in St. John's Landing and some other cute niche neighborhoods off Barbur Blvd and even down in Lake Oswego. There are some newer places along the waterfront that are less expensive than you'd think, and some places just west of downtown that you could check out. You could do $1000-$1200 anywhere, it just depends on amenities, obviously.
As far as the rain, it's depressing the way an Elliot Smith song is depressing. Just relax and appreciate it. (Or stab yourself a few times in the chest.) (Maybe that's just LA.)
hey, coming from pittaburgh I know all about the gloom and couds and rain and typical winter/BS weather. so I'm not terribly concerned.
oh, and thanks, I'll have to check out alberta.
are the st johns/lake oswego places all pretty connected via public transit? and do you by chance know general travel times from the neighborhoods to town?
thanks
Jun 5, 08 2:32 am ·
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portland neighborhoods/firms
Well after being laid off recently I have decided to make a big move while I have the opportunity - careerwise -anyway to portland OR from Pittsburgh, PA. I'm relatively in the dark about the city other than misc searching online for a couple weeks. so does anyone here live there and know the lay of the land as far as neighborhoods and liveability goes? I'll be sharing a place so rent overall I'm looking for $1000 to $1200 just to give a frame of reference. from initial searches downtown, the pearl district, and one other are out of my range. nob hill to the northwest, and hawthorne on the other side of the river on the east both look like good areas to look more into, but can anyone chime in with opinions. we will both be mid- late 20's with the tpyical social life and misc activities wanted in close proximities to also add to what would be ideal for us.
also, I've read a few posts here about portland firms, but anyone have any specific recommendations or contacts or know of any places that are hiring?
thanks as always
as far as architecture firms, this was recently hashed out, check the search option.
for a pretty in-depth look at the scene, check this blog
cool, I must be doing something right. I've seen both of those so far. any help on the neighborhood aspect appreciated.
go pens.
Being an archinewbie, I've got no idea about that slice of the pie, but I live in downtown Portland and I dig it. Cars are for the poor schmucks who have to commute whilst I take a walk through the park, maybe step on the streetcar that delivers me to Powell's (for those trips to Costco there's Zipcar). My short answer is that downtown is worth the cost of falling out of love with my car and ditching it. The Pearl is bad if you have trouble walking by posh boutiques or that preppy modern sofa store day and day and not being able to restrain yourself. Prices in this area are higher, but it's all an exchange.
People of your demographic seem to like Hawthorne and Alberta quite a lot. Alberta is called the "art district," which could easily be bullshit, I don't know. A mate of mine just found a place for a nice deal in Hawthorne--better than my rent, that's for sure.
I think you just need to check out the scene. You might find some killer modern digs in the west hills that you've gotta have. On the flip side, the great-on-paper place in Hawthorne could be a dump. There's some cool places in St. John's Landing and some other cute niche neighborhoods off Barbur Blvd and even down in Lake Oswego. There are some newer places along the waterfront that are less expensive than you'd think, and some places just west of downtown that you could check out. You could do $1000-$1200 anywhere, it just depends on amenities, obviously.
As far as the rain, it's depressing the way an Elliot Smith song is depressing. Just relax and appreciate it. (Or stab yourself a few times in the chest.) (Maybe that's just LA.)
hey, coming from pittaburgh I know all about the gloom and couds and rain and typical winter/BS weather. so I'm not terribly concerned.
oh, and thanks, I'll have to check out alberta.
are the st johns/lake oswego places all pretty connected via public transit? and do you by chance know general travel times from the neighborhoods to town?
thanks
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