Hillsboro, Beaverton
 

Hello. Do you live in or close to Hillsboro and Beaverton? Can you assist me please? My husband & I are considering moving to the rural area of Hillsboro and Beaverton. Area with lots of trees, wildlife and still close to shopping, dining, etc. We want to drive around and check it out. Can someone please tell me the names of some of streets off Hwy SR 26?
Thank You.

Can't help with specifics but it ought to be a home buyers market. Intel just announced 10,000 layoffs company wide, and a huge # of those will likely be in the Hillsboro/Beaverton area.

The way that co has been performing I would not be surprised to see another big round of cuts in 2007 as well.

How rural, and how close to shopping and dining? And what's your price range?

Without knowing those answers, I'd suggest looking north of 26, along West Union Rd.

Beach bum,

I am just starting to look so am not sure about price range. I want to be in the county with alot of trees, wildlife and no homeowners assoc. 30 minutes to downtown Portland. Thanks.

Okay.... I'll stick with my original recommendation, West Union, and maybe add Skyline. Both of these are north of 26, and generally run parallel to it.

Gluvcats, how close do you want to be to MAX and shopping, and what shopping?
My S-I-L has lived around 185th and Cornell for the last 15 years. Lots of Shopping there.
I agree with Beachbum, you've got to look North of 26.

I mostly agree with the others:D But, you might want to also check out Sherwood if you are not set on Hillsboro/Beaverton. We are less than 30 minutes into downtown (dh commutes there, so has the timing down), big shopping is about 10-15 minutes away in Tigard around the mall area, and we have neighborhoods with and without the HOA's, as well as a large rural area.

Where are you coming from?

Hi gluvscats,

Some of the streets off 26 would be Cedar Hills Blvd, Cornell, 185th, Cornelius Pass, etc.

You can email me at [email protected].

Where do you live now?

Thanks.

Farther west of Beaverton are towns that are agricultural seats, particularly North Plains and Banks. North Plains is just north Hwy 26 and of First Avenue in Hillsboro. The town of Banks is southwest of 26.

You can find lots of trees and a rural character very close to Portland. Take the Sylvan exit south to the Garden Home area in Beaverton, or head north from the Sylvan Exit, as well, towards Burnside (in the City of Portland or unincorporated County). This is very forested, near Forest Park, and very close in to Portland.

Where will you be working? You have a lot of choices if you want big trees. They are not hard to find, particularly in many of the older subdivisions. Most of these don't have homeowner's associations.

What exactly are you looking for?

Portland is already a buyer's market for homes - although prices haven't dipped much if at all, there's a huge inventory right now. If you want to haggle with the sellers, you can, in a way you couldn't have a year ago. I doubt there will be many layoffs at Intel in Hillsboro; most of the layoffs will be in marketing and support, whereas most of the Intel workers in Oregon are devoted to engineering and manufacturing. (I used to work there, still have friends there.) FYI, Intel has continued to make profits (not losses like GM and Ford), hasn't lost money in almost 20 years, but for some reason people think of Intel as collapsing if they don't make as many billions in profit as last year!

I agree with beachbum about North of US 26 near about West Union Rd. (this would technically be Portland not Hillsboro or Beaverton). You should know, gluvscats, that Portland has an Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) in place that restricts growth inside the boundary to be dense and outside the boundary to be NOT dense. So they can't build housing developments outside it hence more farm country is preserved, but inside there is less and less open space that you might seek. Hillsboro and Beaverton have become quite built up; you might still find some open space in Hillsboro but it's getting harder and harder to find.

The UGB ends somewhere around Highway 26 and Corneilius Pass Rd; go north/west of there to get homes with a lot of land and trees. You might even consider the small town of Forest Grove about 10 miles west of Hillsboro: it has a nice little college campus (Pacific University) and is a decent little small town but you can get a house with a good amount of land just outside the town.

Andrew

Andrew makes a lot of good points, but one correction, the area near West Union Road off of 26 is not technically Portland, though that may be its postal address. It is actually a part of unincorporated Washington County. I agree with his suggestion of Forest Grove, though it is a haul to Portland or parts of Beaverton from there.
The Aloha area, which is in south Beaverton, also has areas with a rural flavor. It is south of Tualatin Valley Highway, and if you exit 26 around 185th and head south, you will find it.

Thinking more on West Union Road - It actually parallels 26, more or less, and probably runs through Portland, Beaverton and unincorporated Washington County. It is near the edge of the urban growth boundary and is actually part of the border, I believe, as you head west.
Check out Pumpkin Ridge, north of 26 for rural flavor.

Thanks Everyone.

Appreciate your suggestions. My family & I live in WA State. Moved from Houston, Texas back in 2000. Like it here but like the Portland better. Planning on checking out the areas. Thanks again.

Just a suggestion... check out HTTP:\\MAPS.GOOGLE.COM
Do a search on Hillsboro, Oregon. When it pulls up the map for Hillsboro, click on satelite. This will give you a fairly good birds eye view of the area...you can move the map around and zoom in on areas. Keep in mind that the satelite picture is not a current one...my guess is over 6 years old...maybe older. But still it gives you a good idea of the areas others have mentioned.

Since you don't live too far away, you might consider making a trip just to scout out the areas mentioned. Then make another trip once you narrow down your choices.

Hi gluvscats, I assume you know..but just in case..you can check out listings on www.realtor.com to get some ideas of available housing and cost etc. Best wishes with your venture.