Newcomer's Handbook for Moving to and Living in Portland: Including Vancouver, Gresham, Hillsboro, Beaverton, Tigard, and Wilsonville

by Geon, Bryan

  South of Interstate 5, the gently hilly, mostly residential Markham neighborhood has a mix of housing, with plenty of daylight ranches, split-levels, contemporary homes and small, nondescript cottages, along with some large, relatively new homes, particularly on the curving streets in the southern part of the neighborhood; 17-acre Maricara Natural Area provides the only significant open space. Freeway noise can be a problem in the northern part of the neighborhood. The hilly Far Southwest and West Portland Park neighborhoods border Portland Community College’s Sylvania campus. The area around the campus features some apartment complexes, but most residential areas are comprised of fairly large, well-kept contemporary and ranch-style single-family homes. In West Portland Park, the area around Jackson Middle School and south to Lake Oswego has some large, newer homes, as well as pre-existing homes that have been subject to high-end remodels. These neighborhoods border the Mountain Park neighborhood of Lake Oswego, and are very convenient to that city’s Kruse Way business district. Some homes have good views south over the northern Willamette Valley and west to the Coast Range. Freeway noise is a potential problem near Interstate 5.

  Bus service in most parts of outer Southwest Portland is spotty to adequate, with frequent service along Barbur Boulevard and to the Portland Community College campus.

  Southwest Portland Neighborhood Information

  ZIP Codes: 97219, 97221, 97239

  Post Office: Multnomah Post Office, 7805 SW 40th Ave

  Police Station: Portland Police Bureau, Central Precinct, 1111 SW 2nd Ave, 503-823-3333 (non-emergency)

  Emergency Hospitals: OHSU Hospital, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd, 503-494-8311, www.ohsu.org/xd/health/; Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, 9205 SW Barnes Rd, 503-216-1234, www.providence.org

  Libraries: Capitol Hill Library, 10723 SW Capitol Hwy, 503-988-5385; Hillsdale Library, 1525 SW Sunset Blvd, 503-988-5388

  Parks: Parks throughout area; major parks include Gabriel Park, George Himes Park, and Woods Memorial Park, www.portlandparks.org, and Tryon Creek State Natural Area

  Community Publications: Southwest Portland Post, www.swportlandpost.com; Southwest Community Connection, www.swcommconnection.com; SW News, 503-823-4592, www.swni.org

  Public Transportation: TriMet, 503-238-RIDE, www.trimet.org; frequent bus service along Barbur Boulevard and Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway between downtown Portland, Beaverton, and Tigard. Additional bus lines with standard or peak hour–only service serve most neighborhoods. Portland Streetcar, Portland Aerial Tram, and MAX light-rail (beginning in fall 2015) serve the South Waterfront district.

  Northwest Portland

  Boundaries: North: Unincorporated Multnomah County; West: Unincorporated Multnomah County; Unincorporated Washington County; South: Burnside Street (official); West Hills (unofficial); East: Willamette River

  It’s a bit of an understatement to call Northwest Portland geographically diverse. This part of the city includes the state’s most densely populated residential neighborhood, a major industrial complex with port facilities for oceangoing freighters, and a 5,000-acre expanse of virtual wilderness—all within a few minutes of one another. The close-in Northwest neighborhoods are among the city’s most desirable and dynamic areas; at the same time, much of Northwest Portland is effectively uninhabited, and large tracts of unincorporated rural land lie just to the west, while historic Linnton on the lower Willamette River was an early rival to Portland. On the west slope of the Tualatin Mountains, the relatively new Forest Heights neighborhood attracts professionals to a master-planned slice of suburbia. Whatever you’re looking for in a neighborhood, someplace in Northwest Portland is likely to have it.

  Northwest–Nob Hill

  Neighborhood Association: Northwest

  When Portlanders refer to “Northwest Portland” they generally mean the busy commercial and residential district centered on Northwest 21st and 23rd (or “trendy-third,” in ironic hipster parlance) Avenues, north of Burnside Street at the foot of the West Hills. The area is sometimes known as Nob Hill, after the San Francisco neighborhood, and rarely as the “Alphabet District,” the semi-official name that appears on street signs. This neighborhood is one of the oldest in the city: Captain John Couch claimed the land just north of the incipient settlement of Portland in 1845, and platted the area in 1865, with the east-west streets designated by letters of the alphabet in ascending order (i.e., A Street, B Street, and so on) moving north from downtown; for this reason, the area came to be known as the Alphabet District. In 1891, the streets were given names—Captain Couch’s name now graces his original C Street—but the alphabetical street order remained. (Simpsons fans may notice that Flanders, Lovejoy, and Quimby Streets—formerly F, L, and Q Streets—have lent their names to prominent characters on the show.)

  Nob Hill

  Although it is small, the Northwest district is arguably the most architecturally diverse and interesting part of the city. The early industrialists’ grand Victorian houses—some of which have been turned into offices, while others are still used for residential purposes—stand amid modernist residences and offices, uninspired 1960s commercial buildings, apartment buildings and condominiums that span a century of styles, grand 19th-century churches and cathedrals, and the imposing 1928 temple of the Beth Israel congregation. The neighborhood has a particular abundance of vintage apartment buildings, many of which are quite ornate and retain their period features; they are found throughout the district, and the concentration of apartments is such that Nob Hill has long had the state’s highest population density. The blocks west of 23rd, and especially west of 25th near Wallace Park, have more houses than apartments; east of 23rd, apartments dominate. Some of these apartments have been converted to condos in recent years, and rents have increased dramatically, but the area still exerts a powerful draw for newcomers, especially young singles and couples, both gay and straight. In general, homes are pricy here compared to homes in much of the city, but are less expensive than in the West Hills or the Pearl, or some of the most sought-after Eastside neighborhoods.

  A large part of the district’s appeal lies in its stunning variety of shops, bars, and restaurants. For years, before the Eastside commercial districts became the hotspots they are today, and before the Pearl District was even a gleam in a condo developer’s eye, Northwest Portland was the place to go for nontraditional shopping and dining. (The late lamented Zefiro, which opened in 1990 on Northwest 21st Avenue and closed 10 years later, is widely credited with starting Portland’s foodie revolution.) Now that other parts of the city have found their commercial legs, Northwest Portland is still going strong. It would be pointless to try to pick out highlights—Northwest 23rd, and to a lesser extent 21st, are lined with temptations all the way from Burnside to Thurman Street. (Remember, that’s B Street to T Street, or 18 blocks.) Just wander down the street and see what strikes your fancy. If you need some visual entertainment, Cinema 21 (www.cinema21.com) on 21st Avenue screens art house films, foreign films, classic films, edgy documentaries, and animation festivals, while the Mission Theatre on Glisan Street shows second-run Hollywood movies accompanied by pizza and beer; CoHo Productions (www.cohoproductions.org) puts on plays at its performance space on Raleigh Street.

  It is possible—desirable, even—to live in Northwest without a car. Because so many old apartments lack off-street parking, on-street parking is hard to find. Even though resident parking permits are required in some parts of Northwest, you might have to park several blocks away from your apartment, which is probably not a big deal if you’ve moved from New York City but may be a shock if you’re coming from, say, Fargo. On the other hand, public transit is frequent and comprehensive; in addition to several bus routes along the main streets, the Portland Streetcar serves the northern end of the neighborhood. It is also quite feasible to walk to downtown Portland. Moreover, unlike many neighborhoods, Northwest Portland has a full crop of markets within walking distance: Fred Meyer and Zupan’s supermarkets are on Burnside, the upsc
ale City Market is on 21st (just down the street from Ken’s Artisan Bakery, www.kensartisan.com), and a Trader Joe’s occupies the site of the old Thriftway supermarket, at 21st and NW Glisan (long known to many neighborhood residents as “Theftway” for its perceived high prices). If a craving for expensive organic products strikes you, the Whole Foods supermarket in the Pearl District is just a few blocks away. Need to get out of town or run a far-flung errand? Zipcar and Car2Go station vehicles in the neighborhood. In short, if you want to live an urban, car-free lifestyle without paying Pearl District rents, Northwest Portland might be for you—if you can afford it. Northwest Portland seems about as developed as it can possibly be, but the district has a last frontier in charmingly named Slabtown, generally east of 21st Avenue and north of Lovejoy Street (or NoLo, as some would have it, tongue not entirely in cheek). This zone of formerly (or currently) dilapidated warehouses and commercial structures, much of it owned by Conway Freight Company, is slowly being redeveloped into a dense urban neighborhood, with scattered condos and apartment buildings already rising. A New Seasons supermarket, frequently a harbinger of revitalization/gentrification, is slated to open at NW 21st and Raleigh in 2015. Stay tuned for new development(s).

  Northwest is perhaps most attractive to the young and stylish, but it also appeals to families; Chapman Elementary School, on Northwest Pettygrove, is one of the best public elementary schools in the city, and Northwest feeds into equally high-quality middle and high schools. The entire area is walkable, although you’ll have to dodge the occasional junkie or homeless person, especially east of 21st Avenue. A potential downside of the neighborhood for families, besides the traffic congestion, is the relative dearth of parks: the area’s two city parks, Couch Park and Wallace Park (next to Chapman Elementary), both have playgrounds, but they can seem painfully far away on a rainy day when junior is melting down in your third-floor, two-bedroom walkup apartment.

  Forest Park and Environs

  Neighborhood Associations: Forest Park, Linnton, Northwest Heights, Northwest Industrial

  Most of the land west of Forest Park, along Skyline Boulevard and Thompson Road, is rural, hilly, wooded terrain that is lightly populated and generally outside city limits; the homes that do exist here tend to be mid-century outposts, relict farmhouses, or large, custom-designed houses, often with spectacular views. The exception to the area’s sparse development is Forest Heights, a vast newer neighborhood created from scratch in the 1990s. Forest Heights spreads across the western slopes of the West Hills, west of Skyline and north of Cornell Road. While Forest Heights could have become a standard suburban cookie-cutter development, an attempt was made to create a community with varied architectural styles and with such neighborhood amenities as walking paths, common areas, and open spaces. The result won’t fool you into thinking you’re in a traditional urban neighborhood, and the newness of it all creeps some people out, but Forest Heights is arguably one of the better-executed suburban developments in the Portland area.

  Home styles in Forest Park range from townhomes and single-family structures built in quasi-traditional “Craftsman” or English Tudor styles to bold contemporary houses and custom-built luxury homes (with not a few McMansions thrown in). The entire neighborhood is part of one homeowners association (www.fhhoa.com) and an architectural review committee must approve all building plans and color schemes, so the neighborhood may not be the best place to try out that nautical crow’s nest addition you’ve always wanted; townhouse and condominium owners also belong to homeowners associations of their own, with monthly association fees. Home prices range from quite a bit above average to way above average; median rents are among the very highest in the metro area. Many homes have outstanding views to the south and west, over the Tualatin Valley to the Coast Range. While the neighborhood is almost entirely residential, there is a small commercial zone that features a small grocery, a Starbucks, a bakery, a wine shop, a day spa, and other essential community services. Forest Park Elementary School, a new school in the middle of the neighborhood, has an excellent academic reputation but suffers from enrollment levels that substantially exceed its design capacity: several classes camp out in portable classrooms.

  Forest Heights is not especially close to anything (other than a few other suburban developments), and it feels less like an integral part of Portland than perhaps any other neighborhood in the city. Still, it is a reasonable commute from downtown Portland via Cornell Road or to the employers of Washington County’s Sunset Corridor. (The neighborhood seems to be a particular favorite of Intel employees, who can live here with a Portland address but still avoid a grueling commute on the Sunset Highway.) There is no public transit, but the homeowners association operates a private shuttle between Forest Heights and the MAX stop at the Sunset Transit Center.

  Forest Heights

  On the other side of Forest Park, and in sharp contrast to Forest Heights, Linnton is an old, mainly industrial neighborhood. Founded about the same time as Portland, Linnton and Portland were originally rivals; the larger city, having won the battle for pre-eminence, absorbed the smaller one in 1915. Most of the houses here perch on the hills or are tucked into wooded canyons west of Highway 30 on the edge of Forest Park, high above the tank farms and other industrial facilities that line the Willamette riverfront. Many homes overlook the river, which is a busy maritime thoroughfare at this point. The bulk of Linnton houses are old, and many have been lovingly restored, but there are also some ranch homes, some newer contemporary or custom homes, and even a few condos. A small commercial district along the highway has a few taverns, convenience stores, gas stations, and a community center. (The district used to be larger; the state bulldozed half of it to make way for extra highway lanes in the 1960s.)

  Although Linnton no longer has the job base it once had, it is centrally located for commuting to downtown Portland, zipping across the St. Johns Bridge (which connects Linnton directly to North Portland), or even for winding over the hills to Washington County. Despite the industrial character of the lower parts of the neighborhood, Linnton has a strong community spirit. A decade ago, Linnton residents proposed a rezoning and redevelopment plan that envisioned a mixed-use development—shops, a park, offices, and row house condos—in place of a derelict lumber mill on the waterfront. The City Council put the kibosh on that plan in 2006, citing multiple dangers from earthquakes, landslides, explosions, and other industrial accidents. Some community leaders, bitter over the rejection of their efforts, called for Linnton to secede from the city, but that particular brouhaha seems to have died down.

  Linnton

  South of Linnton, the Northwest Industrial neighborhood is, as the name indicates, a predominantly industrial neighborhood. A few houses huddle forlornly under the eaves of the forest west of Highway 30, overlooking the area’s industrial facilities, but these dwellings are really only appropriate for trainspotters and fans of industrial chic.

  Northwest Portland Neighborhood Information

  ZIP Codes: 97210, 97229, 97231

  Post Office: Forest Park Post Office, 1706 NW 24th Ave; Portland Post Office, 715 NW Hoyt St

  Police Stations: Portland Police Bureau, Central Precinct, 1111 SW 2nd Ave, 503-823-3333 (non-emergency); North Precinct (for Linnton), 449 NE Emerson St, 503-823-5700 (non-emergency)

  Emergency Hospitals: Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center, 1015 NW 22nd Ave, 503-413-7711, www.legacyhealth.org; Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, 9205 SW Barnes Rd, 503-216-1234, www.providence.org

  Library: Northwest Library, 2300 NW Thurman St, 503-988-5560

  Parks: Major parks include 5,000-acre Forest Park and Linnton Park; see www.portlandparks.org

  Community Publication: Northwest Examiner, www.nwexaminer.com

  Public Transportation: TriMet, 503-238-RIDE, www.trimet.org; frequent bus and streetcar service to Northwest Portland–Nob Hill and vicinity; standard bus service along Burnside/Barnes Road to Beaverton and to Linnton, St. Johns, and Sauvie Island via St.
Helens Road. Forest Heights neighborhood has a private shuttle to Sunset Transit Center (bus and MAX).

  The East Side

  Northeast Portland

  Boundaries: North: Columbia River; West: North Williams Avenue; South: East Burnside Street (official); Interstate 84 (unofficial); East: 82nd Avenue (unofficial)

  Northeast Portland offers some of the city’s most distinctive and desirable neighborhoods, ranging from the grand homes of Irvington and Alameda Ridge to the family-friendly Grant Park neighborhood and the quirky, self-consciously hip Alberta Arts District. Most neighborhoods in this part of the city have tree-lined, walkable and bikeable streets, attractive parks, and easy access to vibrant commercial districts. The southern half of Northeast Portland is only a few minutes away from downtown or the Pearl District. All these advantages come at a price—median home prices in the most desirable neighborhoods are much higher than the citywide median, and rents are no bargain, although there are still a few pockets of (relatively) affordable houses—but many newcomers who can afford to live here fall in love with this part of the city.