Portland Neighborhoods: Tanasbourne

Frontpage/Areas Map Pictures of Tanasbourne Portland Scenic Photos Portland Neighborhoods Mapper

Pros:

Close to Intel, PCC Rock Creek Campus
Many modern apartment choices
Many retail businesses, including trendy Streets of Tanasbourne

Cons:

Suburbia at its best (or worst?), meaning you won't find much in character
A nasty commute into downtown Portland on Highway 26
Car-oriented; far from the MAX stop at Willow Creek

Tanasbourne is not a town or neighborhood but a large, modern mixed use (housing and retail) development located mostly the northeast corner of Hillsboro but several miles from downtown Hillsboro. Tanasbourne saw huge growth particularly in the 1990s when Intel Corporation hired thousands of people, many of them young professionals who could afford modestly upscale apartments. There are a half dozen large apartment complexes here that offer modern conveniences if not a ton of character (they mostly look alike). Because large complexes tend to have more vacancies than smaller apartment buildings, you may be able to rent from places over the phone from out of town if need be - they are all in For Rent Magazine. There are even more apartments north of the Sunset Highway (26) in Rock Creek.

The area has pretty much all the suburban retail you could ever desire (or hate): gas stations, a Safeway grocery store as well as a Trader Joe's and a Whole Foods in the area plus big "box" stores like a Target and a Best Buy, numerous chain restaurants and fast food stores, and nearly a dozen individual Starbucks stores. There's a Barnes & Noble book store, too. All the national "chain" gyms have locations here - a Bally Total Fitness gym, a 24-hour Fitness, an LA Fitness. The Regal Evergreen Theatre multiplex movie theater is here, too. In short, if you're not big on high culture, you can meet most of your living needs within a few square miles in Tanasbourne; otherwise you'll be going into Portland.

The newest retail development in Tanasbourne is the trendy Streets of Tanasbourne outdoor mall; like Bridgeport Village in Tualatin, this newer outdoor mall has a variety of slightly upscale stores and restaurants.

Tanasbourne is very car-oriented; public transit options are poor. Unfortunately the MAX light rail is a bit too far to the south to walk to, and the bus connection options to MAX (#47 and #48 buses, which you can take west out toward Intel too) seem to get worse every year as TriMet keeps cutting back bus service. You could ride your bike to the MAX station and get downtown that way; most of the roads in the area are wide and have bike lanes. The #52 TriMet bus up busy 185th Avenue will take you north up to Portland Community College Rock Creek Campus. The streets actually have wide sidewalks though if you care to walk around the area, but it's not particularly quaint; it reminds one of living in suburbia in California, other than the pretty Oregon trees.

Otherwise, Tanasbourne is most attractive if you want to live in modern housing close to Intel or another nearby business and don't want a long commute to/from Portland. Orenco Station might be a more desirable area for that reason (closer to a MAX station, perhaps even walk to Intel), but you will probably find more apartment options at Tanasbourne and probably cheaper rents. Students attending nearby PCC Rock Creek might find the area convenient as well.

Tanasbourne is close to the 185th Avenue on-ramp to the Sunset Highway (26), which would provide an unpleasant rush hour commute into Portland, if you hate urban neighborhoods or something, but it's an option. Driving into Portland on occasion for events or culture isn't too bad after rush hour; you could always park-and-ride at a MAX station and take the MAX train into Portland for, say, basketball games and concerts.

Links:

Streets of Tanasbourne

Pictures are all copyrighted by Andrew Hall and may not be used or copied without permission.

Portland Neighborhoods Guide: Tanasbourne