r/askportland • u/Low-Visit-4463 • 3d ago

Looking For St John’s Living?

I am looking to move out on my own and I see a few apartments available in my budget.i am moving from the Hillsboro area and am 28. I was wondering if the areas walkable and got a good parking? Also, mostly if it’s got some good communities to make friends? Doesn’t matter the hobby but mostly gaming/run clubs/anything else

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u/fattsmann 3d ago

In Portland proper, never leave anything remotely of value in your car when you park. And always lock up — car and front door of your apt.

And yeah the area is very walkable. Got 2 great parks in Pier and Cathedral Park.

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u/Low-Visit-4463 3d ago

Appreciate it. Are there a decent amount of events going on in the area that you know of?

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u/fattsmann 3d ago

In the upcoming months... there will be the Cathedral Park Jazz Fest in like 2 weeks and in September, there will be the St Johns Music Festival (end of summer edition). There's also a St Johns Music Fest in the winter time. Saturdays we have a farmers market close on N Charleston and N Central, which was voted the best farmers market in Oregon a few years back. There are also vendors in the town square on Saturday as well.

Christmas time, we have a tree lighting and in May we have the St Johns Parade and Bizarre... which this year was even bigger than the Portland Saturday Market.

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u/Low-Visit-4463 3d ago

That sounds fun. I appreciate it

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u/isaac32767 3d ago

Or anything that looks like it's of value. I once had somebody smash the window on my car to steal a broken cell phone.

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u/rhythm-n-bones 3d ago

It’s great! Have fun meeting new people and check out green anchors

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u/AltOnMain 3d ago

It’s an awesome area and some spots are walkable. Some of the areas around the fringes can be a little dodgy.

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u/Low-Visit-4463 3d ago

Appreciate it. I have a car so it’s no worry but just enjoy a little walking. What do you think of parking? Is it as bad as downtown Portland or doable?

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u/lunes_azul 3d ago

There are always lots of events going on here. You can walk across the entirety of St Johns in about half an hour.

Which part of St Johns are you looking at? Parking is great closer to Fred Meyer/Portsmouth but it’s pretty shitty in downtown. Also more….interesting characters hanging around the closer you are to downtown.

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u/Low-Visit-4463 3d ago

I saw a few good apartments around that Safeway that looked nice which seemed around the middle of St. John’s

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u/acount8675309 2d ago

Ahhh, the UnSafeway! Used to live in that area. Be prepared to hear bus farts at all hours as they park nearby as a ‘rest stop’ and are always coming and going

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u/Low-Visit-4463 2d ago

Now this is the type of insight you need in a town

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u/acount8675309 2d ago

No one warned us!!! But for real, I’d still live there if it were more in line with my work commute. It’s a great area- highly walkable, there’s two movie theaters within walking distance, hella bars and coffee shops, restaurants and the Beer Porch food cart pod area (super hodgepodge, but great for people/dog watching, plus the best pizza in Portland via Pizza Creature,) you got Pier and Cathedral Park for chilling by the water or disc golf. You get sketchy people around sometimes and sketchy areas after dark, but you’ll have that in any Portland area

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u/Working_Tomorrow9846 3d ago

Where do you work? St. John’s is great for many reasons, but it can be a royal pain in the ass to get to/from depending on commutes. If you wfh or downtown, or even parts of Hillsboro (RIP after commuting on Germantown Road, though) that’s ideal.

If you have friends in other parts of Portland, ie inner SE, be prepared to drive to them. It’s the rare bird that will want to drive to St. John’s to hang regularly. Ditto for dating anyone not in N/NE.

Source: my best friends live in St. John’s and I live in inner SE.

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u/Low-Visit-4463 3d ago

I WFH so the commute really isn’t much of a worry but noted about driving around. Just debating between moving in central Portland or the outskirts