cbender

It's official. I am moving to Oregon. We'll be showing up in Portland for a house hunting trip around the first of August and (hopefully) moving around the first of September. Any advice for neighborhoods (working in Beaverton, but don't want to be far from downtown), good Honda dealerships, good aftermarket shops and tuners, and general newbie information for someone who's never lived in the area (beyong the obvious one of bringing gortex!) would be most helpful. Thanks for the welcome, and I look forward to meeting some of you in the months to come.

Best,
CB

ltweintz

Welcome.

Beaverton Honda seems to be the dealership most take their cars to. I'm not too familiar with neighborhoods on the west side, but there are others who are. Ask spapdx about aftermarket tuners. Hopefully you like the scenery green!

Luke

brantshali

CB, I don't know that I will have the answers to your questions since I don't live in Portland, but I have a few questions of my own that might help someone else help you.

What are you looking for in a neighborhood (house/apartment/condo, rent/buy). Also, what do you consider to be close to downtown and what's more important to you...proximity to downtown or short commute?

Where are you coming from in Northern Virginia and where (location, not company necessarily) do you work? I used to live back in the Fairfax area, so knowing your current living/working situation might help give perspective to helping you find a place out here.

As for what to consider when moving out here...humidity is essentially non-existent in the summer months when compared to the east coast. The rain factor is a bit overplayed. It's grey a lot of the year (9 months or so), but the actual amount of rainfall is less than what you get in the DC area...it just takes longer to get it here.

Also, there is a TON to do out here if you like the outdoors. Hiking, biking, skiing...all kinds of stuff.

If you fancy beer, the Northwest is home to a large number of fantastic microbrews and Portland hosts a Brewers Festival every summer that is

Before I sign off I just want to say welcome to the Northwest.

cbender

Luke and Brandt,

Thanks for the kind words and welcome.

I've relocated a few times now, so I've a reasonably good idea of what we're looking for and some sense of the tradeoffs, generally, but not necessarily as they apply to Portland. Commuting, for example, seems far less painful there than it is in NoVa. Property values seem reasonable, actually, which is a nice surprise.

I was more soliciting general advice -- and I appreciate the thoughts. It's all very good -- the greeness, the proximity to outdoorsy stuff, the fact that the rain is, perhaps, overplayed a bit, the microbrews (I used to brew my own until I discovered Sierra Nevada in the late 1980's). It's getting me pretty excited about the move.

Thanks, again.

Best to you both,
Christopher

enguyen7292

Luke's right, Beaverton Honda is were most of us go...but like lot of places, the service you get often times correlates to the service manager you get.

You'll soon get spoiled on microbrews, I read a few years ago that the Portland area has the most number of breweries outside of Munich!

The skyline area is a nice westside location....easy access to Beaverton, quick access to downtown over the hills (no highways)...and ultimately, you're in the hills surrounded by lots of twisty roads!

cbender

Thanks, Enguyen.

Is there a particular mechanic at Beaverton Honda that you like. Here in Virginia, there's only one guy I'll let work on my car, and most times I pay him directly, not through the dealership, as he's their resident "guru", and they give him some latitude. It's been a good arrangement, and given the mods I've done to my car, I'm nervous to let anyone touch the thing... :-)

From the web-shopping we've done, we've been talking about looking in Raleigh Hills. I like the feeling of being close enough to keep it from becoming a slog to get downtown without the feeling of being in the immediate suburbs. Twisty roads, of course, are an added bonus. Are there any neighborhoods you'd especially recommend?

Thanks for your help.

Best,
Christopher

enguyen7292

The tech I usually work with is Ric...always knows his stuff. This issue which Service Manager you get (or request). Bruce Wagstaff was great, but I don't think he works there anymore. My last time there, I worked with Mike Bonny (sp?). He was great.

Raleigh Hills definitely has nice neighborhoods, older neighborhoods with big trees and "grown in" landscaping. The Skyline area has newer development, which to some is a negative due to the smaller lots, fewer trees, more burb looking. But there are some nice areas with larger lots and greenspaces.

Start with the Forest Heights area and work your way east/west along Skyline Rd for diferent neighborhoods. Skyline Rd. is towards the top of the hills, so as usual, the $$$ of house usually decrease as you move down the hill.

My wife and I live at the bottom with the other peasants!

cbender

Thanks, Enguyen,

Have you ever crossed paths with a guy by the name of Sean McElderry? I'm thinking of hiring him to tune my EMS. He lives in Portland and is in the process of setting up a shop to do fuel tuning somewhere near PDX.

Best,
Christopher

spapdx

hey cb! Welcome to the pacnw

tuning shops are a laugh around here . If you have a civic or intregra you are in luck, but w/ the s2000 you are out of luck . My cousin has an integra type r and he does all his hondata tuning at ground zero (503-256-3278). They finally got a dyno, so tuning is not a problem for them. Talk to paul (the owner), He usually has the best info. Im not sure if I would recommend them though... I will ask my cousin more about it. Im not sure if they have any experience with the ems, though they do sell it so im sure they can tune it . There are lots of dyno's in the area that alot of people don't know about. When I had my supercharger on (sold it for $$ ) I just called around and tried to find someone that sounded like they knew what they are talking about

About the house, skyline is great place to look and sounds like a good location for you to be in . I have a buddy who lives up there and I always like to go see him . Good luck!

cbender

Heh, Spapdx,

Thanks for the warm welcome. Combine Portland (from what I can tell, it's one of the friendliest cities on the planet) with S2Ki (definitely one of the nicest communities anywhere) -- and the result is a terrifically cool place. I'm excited about this impending move!

In terms of real estate, I suspect that "peasanthood" is a function more of age than anything else (I'm 40), so I doubt I'm lording it over anyone. I'm glad to hear that Skyline's a good area. We've also been thinking of Sellwood. In any case, plan on a S2K bbq once we get moved in and settled sometime this fall.

Best,
CB