Before you rent a place in Portland there are several things you should do before signing a lease:

1. Check crime stats (Portland-area only, not suburbs) on PortlandMaps.com (run by city of Portland). Just type in the address or intersection.
2. Walk around the neighborhood at night, if you can. See what it feels and sounds like. If you can't actually be there ahead of time, view pictures of the streets using Google Maps Street View. Just type in an address there and click on "Street View" and take a look around!
3. Check the bus/train commute and (if you drive) the driving commute to work or school via Portland Mapper. Add points to My Locations and then select Get Point to Point Directions to view Google Transit maps of bus/train connections or driving directions
4. Check utility costs. In Portland, your electric company will be either Portland General Electric (PGE) or Pacific Power. Your gas company will be Northwest Natural. You can call them and check the billing history at any address, so you can figure out if your power bills will be cheap or sky high. Note that Portland's electricity is generally not super expensive in part because of the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) hydroelectric power subsidies.
5. Check out internet options at that particular location. Cable internet is generally available everywhere in Portland - Comcast is the provider for almost everyone. DSL via telephone companies (Qwest in Multnomah County, Verizon in Washington and Clackamas Counties) may or may not be available, depending how far away your residence is from a Central Office (CO). You can check with Quest or Verizon based on the address to see if you can get DSL. Also, Clear offers WiMax wireless internet service.

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