Gresham or Beaverton ??

I'd say, if I had to choose, Beaverton is the better of the 2. But, really it depends on what you are looking for. I live in Tigard, and I love it. Beaverton is a little crowded and Gresham is a little out of the way. Tigard, Tualatin and Sherwood may be the happy medium.

i personally like beaverton better, depending on where in beaverton. i like the western side of it better, around 185th and cornell and stuff. the other side of it has a lot of traffic. and gresham, i knew someone that lived over there that didnt' like it. there's def more traffic out there, and i think more crime. there must be a website that shows crimerates and stuff. all i can say, is i like it better here (i'm actually in hillsboro now, and like it even more than beaverton). there is a lot of new things going up, and a lot of nice shopping areas. although there is a walmart on the other side of town lol. in all of portland, there is only one for some reason. good luck with your move!

In my opinion, (and many others), Beaverton is much nicer. It is has nicer neighborhoods and the best school district in the Portland area. I've lived here my whole life, but I have had family in Gresham. There are plenty of parks, great shopping and we are really close in to downtown. I know the area well, if you need advice when you get into town feel free to drop me a line.

Good luck on your move!

I lived in So. Cal for 22 years before moving here and when I moved here it was the greatest decision I had made. I lived in Wilsonville and then moved to Beaverton. My dad lived here for about 12 years before me and told me to stay away from the east side of the river, so I did. I did however move away from Oregon to Las Vegas to go to school for a little bit and during that time I met my hubby and had a son. We had our apartment door kicked in and had a lot of stuff stolen and decided that raising a family there just wasn't going to go cut it, so I moved back!! My hubby had never been here before and trusted me to make the decision of where we would be living and he thanks me everyday. We currently live in Aloha which is pratically Beaverton, the two towns share a lot of the same zipcodes. I get mail that says Beaverton and some that says Aloha. I will never move out from this side of town, EVER!! The schools are great and the atmosphere is a lot nicer and the commute to downtown is not far. No matter where you decide to live moving to Oregon is a great decision. Good luck!!

Well, I live in NW Portland and the Beaverton School District is the best. Funding is great and we have music and pe in our schools. You can check out their website at www.beavton.k12.or.us. You can also check http://www.familywatchdog.us/ for a national sex offender list of the area. Just type in your relative's address.

I have lived here most of my life and we stayed away from the East side of the Willammette River whenever possible due to high crime rates and such. So, Gresham is on the one end of the East side and Beaverton is on the other. There is a lot of crime in between. I guess the choice is yours, but I love this school district. Don't get stuck in Portland school District, no matter what. They are having problems. :)

Good luck!

Best bet with a big move like this is to check out the school district first. I know that both are big cities but I would personally move to Beaverton. It has a better family atmosphere than gresham. I would also look into the work commute. If you will be working in beaverton, you may want to concider one of the smaller towns outside of the city. The thing about oregon is there is almost always a back road to keep you off the interstate. I used to live in Newberg and my commute to beaverton was only 45 minutes with traffic. I then moved to an area where I needed to you the interstate and doubled the time it took me to get home. I don't know much about the gresham area. But either way, I would like to welcome your family to the beautiful state of Oregon.

R.,

really look into the schools before deciding where you will live. i moved here one year ago from california too and i have a 4th grader. my son goes to the "best school" in milwaukie and according to oregon statistics it is ranked "exceptional" but it is clearly behind his former school. the state of oregon's requirements are quite lower than the state of california. for example, oregon only expects 4th graders to know 0-9 times tables with very little division by the end of the year. my son was already doing large number multiplication and simple division at this time last year. california expects it's 3rd graders to know how and to use cursive writing by the end of the year. here, my 4th grader is just now being asked to start using it. with that said, i still think oregon is a great place to raise a family and there are so many other things that it can offer our children. i just have more accademic work to do with my son than i'd planned.

good luck, K.

Hi R.,

I live in Hillsboro, OR which is near beaverton. I love it out here. I also came from Cali and would not want to go back. I am a mother of a 6,4,2 year old. I have been to Gresham quite a few times but don't like that area, it reminds me of Cali. The beaverton and hillsboro area are nice and so is the tanasbourne area.

I live in the Beaverton area and moved from Cali 9 years ago - whooo hooo! I have family here, and some live in Gresham but most are on this side of things. I think Beaverton is head and shoulders better than Gresham for raising a family, but of course I'm impartial...Gresham has quite a bit of gang activity and crime. Our schools here in Beaverton are super and my kids are very happy. Good luck with your move - I haven't regretted moving from Cali (where I spent my whole life until here).