Portland Apartments for Rent

The media makes fun of Portland for its hipster aesthetics, its alternative lifestyle friendliness, its fixie bike riding, vegan shoe wearing, artisanal product making residents. But alternative transportation in Portland is no joke -- Portland might be the most walking, biking, and public transit friendly city on the West Coast. Bus routes, electric car charging stations, Amtrak, and a gentle topography crisscrossed with miles of bike lines make Portland a city that almost dares you to find a reason to drive your car.

Sure, you might want to drive out to the coast or up to the Cascades for snow sports, but when you’re in the city, it’s rare you’ll have a reason to drive. Don’t own a bike? The bike share program will start in Spring 2014. There’s no shortage of car share stations – Portland claims to be home to the country’s first car share service.

It’s hard to pick the best neighborhood in this easy to live in town. You’ll never be far from the city’s famous food cart pods (designated parking areas for the food trucks). Most neighborhoods have good supermarkets, movie theaters, restaurants, and a café that’s got the vibe you’re looking for, be it kind of hippie or aggressively hip.

Even Downtown is super livable, it’s not just a business district that closes up after banking hours. The Portland Art Museum is downtown, as is the famous sculpture of the goddess Portlandia. There’s a beautiful park lining the waterfront of the Willamette River and of course, it’s got a bike trail through it. Portland State University is downtown. Parking can be a challenge here, but since there are supermarkets in this part of the city and you’re right on top of TriMet, you really don’t need a car to live here. Most of the housing downtown is in apartments, a mix of older brick buildings and brand new highrises with amenities.

The neighborhoods closest to downtown offer maximum density, but if you’re looking for a single family home, in Portland, you don’t have to sacrifice walkability or transit service. You can find attractive Craftsman style bungalows with off street parking, back yards, hardwood floors and remodeled kitchens in neighborhoods with great schools – try Healy Heights or Sylvan Highlands. Sylvan Highlands borders Washington Park, home to the Arboretum, the Portland Zoo, the Japanese Garden, the Children’s Museum, and it’s on the MAX line.

Hollywood has great public transit – you’re never far from a bus or light rail line. Northwest is super hip, has some of the city’s best shopping, and offers the kind of density that creates a makes for vibrant street life. NW 23rd street is a popular hangout for window shoppers. There are one and two bedroom apartments in remodeled Victorian style buildings, but there are brand new green built complexes with indoor parking for your bike here, too.

Thank to the extensive coverage by the MAX light rail and TriMet bus service, you can live in the Portland suburbs and still have car-free access to the city. The neighborhoods in Tualatin or Beaverton are a bit more traditional and you may need to drive for groceries and other services, but you still won’t need a car to get into the city proper. Beaverton has lots of townhouses on the light rail line, as does Gresham, to the East. Sellwood isn’t on the light rail line, but it still makes a great home base -- there are beautiful historic homes, a cute shopping and restaurant district, and one of Portland’s famous food cart pods.

Further out, you’ll probably want a car, though there are some nice walking districts. Forest Grove and Hillsboro have a mix of apartments and larger single family homes. Milwaukie and Lake Oswego, offer more of the same – there are some denser central neighborhoods where you can find brand new one and two bedroom apartments, some with nice views of the water and large, three bedroom homes with two car garages.