Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Moving to Portland in July...
Hi! 
I've been somewhat lurking on this board since the end of Feb. when I found out that my husband and I will be moving to Portland this summer. (He will be doing his clinical psychology internship at OHSU). I've noticed it's kind of slow here, but I thought I'd introduce myself anyway, and also ask for a bit of advice.
We're going to visit PDX (is it okay to abbreviate it to that? hah.) in a few weeks to try and find an apartment to rent. We're hoping to live downtown (want to get the full PDX experience since we might only be there for one year), and by a TriMet stop (by a bus 8 stop would be preferred since that's what the H will be taking to work every day, but not a necessity.) I have a long list of apartments that we're planning on visiting, but I thought I'd ask for recs here (or places we def. shouldn't live in). Any advice would be appreciated!
I'm really looking forward to moving... I've heard nothing but great things about Portland, and I can't wait to experience it for myself! Also, (and I realize this is a bit forward, and maybe even weird) I would love to meet any of you when we finally move... I'm going to be working from home, so I'm really nervous about meeting people and making friends!
Okay, I think that's long enough for my first post here. 
Thanks if you made it this far! And, please feel free to ask me any questions if you want to "get to know me"! Hah, that's funny.
Re: Moving to Portland in July...
Welcome, and good luck with the move. You can say PDX, that's ok
. I would stick to the West side of Portland to find an apartment. When I met DH he was living in a complex at the far end of the South Park Blocks near PSU. They're called the Park Plaza apartments. They were pretty decent apartments although I only ever saw his and it was on the ground floor near the front entrance so not ideal.
A colleague of mine lived in an older building on SW Clay and SW Park. That was a nice place as well. Both are centrally located so you can check out the Farmer's Market on Saturdays, you're close to the restaurants and Art Museum and there is a Safeway super market on SW 10th between Columbia and Jefferson. You're also close to the Streetcar. I have no idea how much these types of apts go for these days.
You could also check out the Goose Hollow area and the Lair Hill area near SW Barbur Blvd which are both pretty close to OHSU.
I work FT so I have limited opportunity for meeting up with people but let us know when you're in town and we might be able to organize something.
My amateur photo blog
I don't know of many apartments, but wanted to say welcome! I work at OHSU and love it! One bit of advice, though. If you're looking for a place downtown and have a vehicle, make sure and ask about parking. It can be a bit rough to find parking spots in Portland and would be super convenient to have a parking spot at home.
Oh... there are some apartments right on the water front - check those out. I've heard great things, and it'd be a fantastic location.
Good luck with the move! I moved here a few years ago as well.
FET - transferred two embryos (boy and girl) - Nov 2014 - BFP!
Thank you all for your warm welcome and recommendations, I really appreciate it!
Esther, Park Place is actually on our list (a maybe right now, but we were at least going to visit it.) The only thing we weren't sure about was its proximity to PSU - a lot of reviews said it was overrun with college students, so we weren't sure how to feel about that. Did you experience that when your H was living there? It sounds like your colleague lived in a great place - I would love to be by all of those things! We're also checking out Goose Hollow places, but hadn't thought of Lair Hill, so thank you for that rec! P.S. I love your photography blog - you're so talented!
ILRV (I do too, and am so happy to hear about all of OR's vineyards/wineries!), happy to hear that you love OHSU! My H loved it when he interviewed, so I'm sure he'll really enjoy working there. Thanks for the tip about the car - we are planning on bringing one, and will definitely have to keep that in mind. We have thought about not bringing a car since we'll be living downtown, but think that we'll want it for weekend/day trips and such. As far as the water front goes - do you mean the south water front? We've been looking there a bit, and some of those places look so nice!
bunchkie, thanks for the Hillsdale rec! We have really been debating whether we want to be right in the middle of downtown or not, so we'll be sure to keep that in mind! It probably would be a lot more cost effective, and easier with the car, like you said.
Welcome!
We lived near PGE park (Goose Hollow) for 2 years and loved it- so close to everything and since I have a hear of driving- was able to take public transportation everywhere.
I have friends living in The Cyan- love this building. It was initially built to sell as condos but changed into apartments due to the condo market. The building quality is great- materials are really nice and if we considered moving into a unit before we finally bought in SE. There's a nice mix of PSU students (older set, mostly not undergrad due to the price point) and yuppies. Not many older women with small dogs (ie The Pearl) which is nice. It sounds like your DH will be working at the Hill- did some research and from the Cyan, he would walk 0.1miles to 5th & Market to catch the 8 for an 18-minute commute. lol. The building usually runs lots of specials so definitely check them out. My friend got free parking for 2 years and a $50 rate increase for the second year (after the 1 free month deal, I think he paid net $900/month for a nice studio). It's more modern so if that's not your style it may not work.
Another building is The Indigo - a bit longer commute, still downtown- he would have to get on the streetcar then transfer for the 8.
I'm not sure how many cars you're planning on bringing with you- parking is definitely a premium downtown/goose hollow/alphabet district/pearl- so if these are the areas you're looking at definitely ask about how much parking will cost. If you're only bringing 1 car and public transportation will be used a lot- I would discourage living in the suburbs. Time is of the essence- public transportation requires planning and takes a bit longer than driving so living in the suburbs will definitely increase commute times.
GL!
Yes, I meant South Waterfront. There are some gorgeous places there. I am fairly new to The Nest (so I don't know the local Nesties), and don't know a lot of people in Portland. I'd be up for getting together when you arrive!
FET - transferred two embryos (boy and girl) - Nov 2014 - BFP!
Thanks for your welcome and thoughtful response!
Goose Hollow does seem like it would be a wonderful place to live.
Re: Cyan... that's one of the few at the top of our list! I love the pictures and everything I've read about that place. And how awesome that your friend got free parking... that would be amazing if we could get that! We're planning on bringing one car. I've noticed them having a lot of move-in specials right now, so hopefully they still will when we have to move in July. The only downside I've seen there is that the apts seem to be pretty tiny, so we'll see how that translates in person. (We're moving from a 3br house with way too much crap, so we're really going to have to downsize!) I feel like we'll fall in love with it when we see it, though... we really love the modern feel.
The Indigo looks amazing... unfortunately, it's a bit out of our price range.
(OSHU interns are paid crap! haha...)
Thanks again for your help!
That's what I figured, but I just wanted to clarify since I'm still not very familiar with Portland! I would love to get together, I'll make sure to post again when we finally move.
Welcome! I don't know much about where to live in Portland, but my friend lives in the McCormick Pier condos on NW Naito and they are very nice! She loves living on the water and walking her pup on the surrounding paths. Good luck with the move!
TTC #1 since May 2010. BFP #1 - 5/31/10; m/c on 7/22/10
Started seeing RE in August 2011
5 IUIs: BFN; IVF #1 - Success! BFP - 7/25/12
Yay! We're moving to PDX in late June/early July. We were s'pose to move in Feb, so it's been quite frustrating waiting around & trying to plan!
Good luck in your move & I'm all for getting together when we both arrive. :-)
Thanks! Those condos look really nice!
Ugh, yeah... that's how we'll be too! But, you're right about the blessing in disguise... I'm secretly so happy that we're going to have to get rid of most of our useless/cheapo stuff, even though it will be a major pain.
Thanks! It'll be nice to go through the move "with" someone... good luck with yours as well! And sounds great for a gtg!
Check out Riverplace Square. They have townhouses (garage = free parking + storage) and are located right on the river which is beautiful to walk along (especially in the summer). They're right next to the street car and only one stop away from the OHSU tram (or a 10 minute walk). We lived there for 2 years before we bought our house. The ladies in the office can be a bit annoying, but you don't deal with them often. Portland is a FABULOUS walkable city with so much to offer, so I'd avoid the suburbs if possible.
http://www.riverplacesquare.com/
http://www.walkscore.com/score/2183-SW-Harbor-Place-Portland-OR
That's on our list - thanks! We were a little worried about all of the negative reviews about living there, but hopefully it comes across better in person! Thanks for the rec!
Welcome! We absolutely love Portland and don't plan to leave.
If you wanted to live in SE, I could help with a rental as we just got 30 days notice from our renters today ;-) Unfortunately, I don't think we can move the house! I hope you find something you love!
Thanks for the welcome! I'm glad to hear that you love Portland!
I wish we could help you with your rental, but I think we're set on being west of the river... sorry!
But, I will definitely let you know if we change our minds.