Hey everyone

I will be moving to Oregon and working in Hillsboro starting in August.  The only experience I have with Oregon and the PNW as a whole is the two days I was there for my interview.  The area is beautiful and was sunny while I was there, but I know this is not the norm.  I have begun to look at places to live and could use any helpful advice.

Details:
8-5 working in east Hillsboro
Married, both in late twenties no kids, 1 cat
Wife is a chemist working in the pharmaceutical industry and is currently looking for a job (any tips super helpful here)
Previous commute is 1.25 hours each way and would like to avoid that, can tolerate up to 40-45 minute commute
We enjoy beer and outdoor stuff like camping and hiking, bonus points if we can walk or bike to a brewery
Renting until wife gets established, would like to buy something eventually

So far I have heard to avoid the bridges if possible and that NW Portland is where all the trendy stuff is.  I am open to living in the city for a short time to experience the city life.  Ultimately, I think we would enjoy being a bit outside the city but in an area that we can still easily access everything in Portland.  Portland looks like it has a decent public transportation system as well and getting into the city isn't difficult if we don't want to drive.  I will be visiting Portland with my wife for a day in June so she can see it and explore neighborhoods a bit, and I will probably come back sometime again to finalize renting a place.  Any tips you guys can give on areas to avoid, areas to look at, and general Oregon tips would be greatly appreciated.

If you can, live on that side of town. Highway 26 is a nightmare to commute on.

I'd look at orenco area for an apartment, I think it's on the Max line, there's a lot of stuff to do there.   Fuck living downtown, I avoid downtown as much as I can.  I'm a 'I hate Portland but love oregon' kinda a guy.  We moved here when we were about your age and have been here 4 years

Don't know what NC is like but rent and housing are bonkers here, I Live in ALoha which is inbtween Beaverton and Hillsboro.  It's not great but not bad as I work in Hillsboro and my commute is 20 minutes and we found a house with a price we were comfortable with.  First year we were here we rented a house in SE(Milwaukee) and both worked on the west side, don't do that.

When I lived in Ohio a 1.5 hour commute was like 90 miles, here it's like 20 miles max.

Do you plan to hunt ever out here? We do a lot of camping and drinking beer too, I don't think you'll have a problem finding a place to do do either.
There's tons more but I'll cut it off for now.

Stay in Washington county.  Avoid Portland and Multnomah county at all costs.  The taxes and traffic will kill you.

Rock Creek and Bethany area are pretty nice.

Genentech is in Hillsboro.  Your wife should have no problems.

This nails it.

Everything you wrote spells Beaverton.

Listen to the above advice. Hope you didn't accept a job with Solarworld. Rock Creek and Bethany both nice. Kinda upper middle class. Orenco would allow you to ride a bike to work. The large South Hillsboro complex will be building soon. Really, why commute in heavy traffic for nothing? Portland may be "trendy" to some but not worth the travel hassle. Everything you would really want is in Washington County.

Thanks for all the replies, I'll start looking at whats available in Washington county.  I have looked a little bit at Beaverton and was in Orenco briefly while I was out there.  Housing is more expensive then I am used to but I expected this going in.  I'm not huge on living in the city, it would all depend on where my wife finds a job to split the commute.

So much this. Or live further west on 26, towards North Plains or Banks.

When in August are you moving?  On the 21st there will be a solar eclipse and the path of totality which is about 70 miles wide passes over the area just south of Salem.  Different state agencies are putting the estimates for the influx of eclipse viewers into Oregon anywhere between 60k to 1.5 million people.  Seriously.  They're talking about turning several state highways into one-way loops and projecting traffic delays somewhere between 7 and 12 hours depending on where you might get stuck.  If you are here at that time, be aware that anything over the low estimate of 60k people will put a strain on supply chains for things like gasoline and groceries (i.e. plan ahead).  If you're moving that weekend, consider moving that date one way or the other.

Thanks for the heads up.  I plan on moving into a place the last week of July and be fully settled by August 10.

This x1000000.  Portland is trying to become the bay area (as most of the people moving here are the ones that ruined it there, like a bunch of ideological locusts).  Rent is ridiculous in Portland, property taxes just jump about 10% for a lot of folks.  Hillsboro isn't too bad.  Rent is a bit cheaper but still kind of high.  I live in cornelius on the west side of hillsboro and its not terrible, but the rentals and apartments out here are crap IMO, but cheaper.  I would avoid unless you can rent a house in a nicer neighborhood.  Hillsoboro has a lot of nice areas and nice apartments.  Beaverton isn't bad, but there are a lot more people over there and it can be a bit hectic.  I think the orenco/streets of tanasbourn area is a good place to be.  Lots of food and shopping.  Not a lot of things to do like music and such, but you're less than 20min from portland and you can have all that stuff and more.  If you get sick of the keep portland weird crowd, the burbs have a bit more sanity and less stupidity.  And holy crap is portland full of idiots.  No offense to those unlucky enough to live there that are on here, but you know what I am talkig about.

You might think about the northern end if Yamhill county. Commuting is not as easy but should be doable at your 45 minute limit.

Other downsides are less transit options, less $ for county roads and less people to spread a tax burden over.

Upsides are less people, generally more house for your money, and it's not a Metro or a DEQ county.

You are moving to an area that you will be getting fucked left and right on bills, taxes ect. And unless you're rich good luck buying a house!

Not to mention its the new commie capital of the west coast.

We just moved to Boise. Portland was too insane for us so we split. Nothing but constant bullshit, bums, druggies, antiffas, and a local and state gov that is fucking insane!

You better walk the line! Good luck.

Done that commute everyday for 15 years. Its not great but it could be way worse.

A commute to hilsboro in the am is going opposite traffic.

Cool, I moved here recently too.  Get thy wife's butt over to Intel, especially if she happens to have a degree from UofF.  They are interested in any chemist from what I understand.
What County of NC are you from?  My ancestral homeland is Wilkes County.

Rock Creek, Oak Hills, Terra Linda. Homes move fast, but quick access to freeway, 30 min to coastal range, 1 hour to beach. Skiing is 1.5hrs to Mt Hood. Stay in Washington County. Orenco is decent and probably a good place to get your feet wet. Personally, not a fan of SW Beaverton, Aloha or anywhere near HWY 217.

Curious to know how things turned out for you.

Ended up renting an apartment in Orenco and just recently bought a house in the Cedar Hills area after looking around for a few months.  My wife got a job in Clackamas county so she has a bit of a commute but its not to bad all things considered.  We both love Oregon so far and have been exploring every chance we get.

Glad to hear things are working out for you and yours.  This is geographically a beautiful state and it has so much to offer from the Ocean to the Mountains and desert.  I’s just the politics that is ruining it.