Very mixed feelings about Breaverton, not best pla
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1/2/2008
My husband, our son, and I moved to Beaverton for a bout 3 years (we just finally left to return to MN). I didn't think I'd miss it, but I do miss some of it. The convenient location of everything in town for one, I didn't have to drive into Portland for anything I needed. There are plenty of grocery and retail stores, as well as restaurants. The microbreweries in Oregon are amazing and beer any where else is just not good enough. The weather, while dreary, was very mild. Unlike my experiences in Portland, most people were generally nice. In addition, you were sure to find a great "special" on your pick of apartments. Plus, no sales tax!
On to the negatives. The schools were incredibly overcrowded, in my son's Kindergarten class, there were 32 students. No one wants to pay taxes, especially not for the children. One of the first articles I read in the newspaper was an article about why people don't want to pay to put fluoride in the water (which many cities around there don't) and that people who want them should buy drops. This is the general opinion seen on most subjects except for the welfare of animals, and trees.
It is next to impossible to get health care. Very few jobs offer anything that is affordable (they pay far less than 50%) and most that do offer insurance have very high deductibles and co-pays. There is a state health program for children, and if a family of 3 makes less than $1500 gross a month there is a small chance your child might be covered. Keep in mind that average rent for a 2 Br in the area is around 750 a month.
The State takes large amounts of income tax, but still doesn't make ends meet because no sales tax. So instead, the cost of moving violations is at least triple that of other states. All of this is a waste because the State can't manage it's money. They can't operate snow plows, and everyone uses chains so when it does snow, it is impossible to drive with out chains, and the roads really get torn up. This leads to year round road construction. Did I mention the hundreds of strip clubs on every corner? If all that weren't enough, there is a chance you may leaver Beaverton and go into other parts of the Portland Metro (I wouldn't advise it) where people are in general very rude (believing they are superior), often stoned, many times dirty and homeless (very often by choice rather than circumstance.) Meth is a serious problem in Oregon. Also, police officers have been known to shoot first and then try to justify why the pregnant black woman who was pulled over for speeding or the 15 year old kid who was suspected of being depressed (suicide concern) were seen as threats.
april | West St. Paul, MN