How much of a difference does county of residence make in NW Portland area?

PanchoVilla · Aug 28, 2015

I am expecting that I will be able to return to Oregon next spring. (Yes from CA, but I grew up in Oregon and am OSU alum so don't hate me) I work in tech so I am asking mostly about the west side. That means most likely we are talking about Multnomah or Washington county. Its less likely but still possible that it could also include Yamhill or Clackamas. From what I have read from a 2nd ammendment perspective I think the ranking from best to worst is:

Yamhill
Washington
Multnomah/Clackamas

Is that about right, or does it really make much diff?

What diff will it make with regards to carry permit?
What about NFA items?

Most of the stuff here focuses on state issues, so thought I would ask for opinions at a more local level. Trying to factor that in with school district considerations to narrow down most likely areas.

The Heretic · Aug 28, 2015

Washington co. is most certainly better than Multnomah for a number of reasons; political, legal, demographics and so on. Yamhill is better than Washington county for property taxes and permits/etc. - I am not sure about legal (CHL, sheriff, etc.) - but I don't think that it would be worse than Wa. co.

Yamhill probably has less crime in some areas?

I live right on the line between the two; the county line for Yamhill is 1000 feet from my house. When I retire I will probably move further out from Portland and into Yamhill county, but right now I am as far out as I can be and still have a commute I can tolerate (one hour each way does get old after a while, even with living where I do).

SHPD_Retired · Aug 28, 2015

Columbia County is not too far off. We have lots of people out here who work at Intel, a tech firm. If you come all the way to St. Helens you don't have to have your car checked by DEQ. If you only go to Scappoose you do. We also have a Sheriff that is very Constitution minded, meaning that he respects the Constiturion and follows it.

NWGlockgal · Aug 28, 2015

Yamhill county is very pro 2A, and as mentioned above the property taxes are cheaper than Washington or Multnomah county.
It's very easy to get a CHL. You go into the sheriff's office, fill out the application, and it's usually in your mailbox the next week.

EUGENE the REALTOR · Aug 29, 2015

NWGlockgal said:
Yamhill county is very pro 2A, and as mentioned above the property taxes are cheaper than Washington or Multnomah county.
It's very easy to get a CHL. You go into the sheriff's office, fill out the application, and it's usually in your mailbox the next week.

No fingerprints or CHL class?

Washington County is easy. Mine took about a month I think, after I submitted the app with fingerprints/class certificate.

mkwerx · Aug 29, 2015

Fi

No fingerprints or CHL class?

Finger prints, and training are state law. But the process is quick and easy. Washington County uses a laser scanner for your prints too - no ink.

Columbia County is close to the west side and tech firms - shorter drive than most of Yamhill Co.

Stomper · Aug 29, 2015

Marion County is pro-CHL and is VERY easy to work with, not to mention polite and friendly. The property taxes aren't horrible either (depending on what bond measures the electorate drones vote in). Commuting to "tech sector" areas isn't too bad with plenty of alternate routes to take during the occasional interstate pile-up (mainly lookie-Lou's at a flat tire).

The best part: it ain't Melanoma (Multnomah) County, or Crack-a-my-bubblegum (Clackamas) County.

orygun · Aug 29, 2015

I would avoid Multnomah County like the plague. Washington County would be better, barely. Clackamas and Yamhill would be good, as would Columbia.

The only positive to you moving to either Multnomah or Washington counties would likely be your vote, but would need for you to bring a VERY large family for it to matter...

orygun · Aug 29, 2015

Stomper said:
The best part: it ain't Melanoma (Multnomuh) County, or Crack-a-my-bubblegum (Clackamas) County.

Stomper, what you got against Clackamas County? It's the one county that stood up to Metro and stopped the "crime train" and is fed up with Portland politics...

Member 5605 · Aug 29, 2015

Yamhill.

Stay out of the Pukeland Metro area as best you can for living.

Stomper · Aug 29, 2015

orygun said:
Stomper, what you got against Clackamas County? It's the one county that stood up to Metro and stopped the "crime train" and is fed up with Portland politics...

Used to love it & lived there for years, but the northern population densities are inexorably "Multnomuhfying" it for everybody else.

I would still take it over "Melanoma" County any day of the week, though.

NWGlockgal · Aug 29, 2015

EUGENE the REALTOR said:
No fingerprints or CHL class?

Washington County is easy. Mine took about a month I think, after I submitted the app with fingerprints/class certificate.

Yes to both....but it is done when filling out the application, of course. Yamhill County takes online
courses, which was nice. I understand Multnomah County requires an "appointment" first which
can take several months.

pioneer461 · Aug 29, 2015

mkwerx said:
Fi

Finger prints, and training are state law. But the process is quick and easy. Washington County uses a laser scanner for your prints too - no ink.

Columbia County is close to the west side and tech firms - shorter drive than most of Yamhill Co.

Don't confuse the basic CCW class with training. The required classes presnt the minimum requirements for the permit, but training, it ain't.

I'm also a resident of mostly rural Columbia County, which is for the most part, 2nd Amendment friendly. When our sheriff announced cut-backs in patrol strength a couple of years ago, he advised citizens to rely on themselves for home defense, recommending pump shotguns.

Avoid Multnomah county, and especially the City of Portland.

PanchoVilla · Aug 29, 2015

I appreciate all this input it is very helpful. The areas most likely considered so far are NW above 26, so would need to make sure to stay out of Multnomah if we go that route. (those houses are really spendy so that helps) Far north is probably not a good option as my family is south of Portland and so is OSU. So if I make a longer commute it's likely from somewhere south of Portland. Sounds like if I can push far enough south to Yamhill that's my best bet and Wash County or maybe Clackamas is fallback. Marion sounds like a stretch though as Newberg is probably my hard stop south for commute I am willing to deal with.

I mentioned Clackamas because Lake Oswego has some really great schools as does Sherwood. Of course house prices reflect that and any commute involving 217 is likely terrible. Its been 15 years since I drove that road, but I can't imagine traffic during rush hour has gotten better on that route.

Provincial · Aug 29, 2015

I think Yamhill County got some bad press here lately because the City of McMinnville passed a bogus ordinance prohibiting open carry. The prevailing opinion is that it is unenforcable, but still lurks out there. It is not applicable if you have a CHL.

This should not be an issue for you if you don't intend to open carry there.

EUGENE the REALTOR · Aug 29, 2015

Let me know if you need help finding a home. I'm selling a house in NW Portland (pending) and I'm very familiar with the area . I'd love to help out!

The Heretic · Aug 29, 2015

Sherwood is nice, but commuting along 99W can be a problem during certain hours.

Hwy 217 is a bottleneck much of the time, but if you time it right it is okay. I hit it as early as I can from Scholls Ferry Rd. (Wa. Sq./Progress) but sometimes I am late getting out of the house. Going home I head south on 217 until I can get back onto Scholls Ferry Rd., but almost any time after 1 PM southbound 217 can be bad, but is especially bad from 3PM to 6:30PM.

Hwy 26 starts to fill up going into Portland from about 7 AM until after 9AM, but there are windows in there that if you are lucky and hit them you can drive right in - but it is hit and miss.

My best experience is to get up at 4AM, out of the house by 5AM, hit 217 by 525 to 530, 26 by 530 to 545, then right into Portland and at work in another 10 minutes. But it is hard to get up that early and not putz around the house and lose that advantage.

But early in the morning is the best - not many people are willing to do that and many can't for various other reasons. I am fortunate that I can be into work whenever I want and I my kids are grown and on their own so I don't have to take them to school or anything like that.

I-5 can be a mess going either way.

This all assumes you are commuting into Portland somewhere.

If you are going to live and work on the west side (Beaverton, Hillsboro, etc.) then that makes it a lot easier. There are places outside the growth boundary on the westside that are nice. Just depends on your circumstances.

Wa co. is not bad - the sheriff is Pat Garrett (can't lose with a name like that) and he is very pro second amendment.

mkwerx · Aug 29, 2015

pioneer461 said:
Don't confuse the basic CCW class with training. The required classes presnt the minimum requirements for the permit, but training, it ain't.

I'm also a resident of mostly rural Columbia County, which is for the most part, 2nd Amendment friendly. When our sheriff announced cut-backs in patrol strength a couple of years ago, he advised citizens to rely on themselves for home defense, recommending pump shotguns.

Avoid Multnomah county, and especially the City of Portland.

I used "training" in the sense that there's a required class. Not actual hands on proficiency. Seems like a silly thing to nit pick. By dictionary definition any class you take is "training" - in the case of Oregon's CHL mandate it's safe handling training. Which doesn't need to be hands on - but aside from the on-line classes I have not heard or seen a CHL instructor that does NOT have "hands on" by at least passing around a couple different guns to show the difference between semi autos and revolvers.

etrain16 · Aug 29, 2015

Clackamas County here. Pro gun for the most part (our sheriff is). Our state senator and one of our 2 state reps are pro gun. The further north you go in CC, the more like Multnomah it becomes - mostly spill over of Multonomah influence. But much of the county is pro gun. I've lived here most of my life, it's a far cry different from Multnomah county. South of about Oregon City, things get better - the city itself is a bit split unfortunately. CHL shouldn't be a problem for you. I've never had an issue with them nor has anyone else I've talked to.