Beaverton

Positioned between Portland and the quickly growing tech sector in Orenco Station, Central Beaverton is the beating heart of the city of Beaverton, a trendy and happening area just over eight miles west of Portland. Home to many local businesses and stores, residents of Central Beaverton "Enjoy having a diverse array of shopping and dining within walking distance, from strips of live music to bakeries and tons of mom-and-pop-type places" says Darryl Bodle II, the #1 selling agent throughout the Portland area. While there are plenty of stores and restaurants nearby, the residential parts of Central Beaverton are still "laid-back, quiet and peaceful, which makes it great for families and young professionals alike," says Bodle. Central Beaverton characterizes a swath of the Downtown Beaverton area that "Homebuyers find attractive" for its juxtaposition of "a cornucopia of amenities" with a "tight-knit, smaller town kind of feel," says Bodle, explaining that residents have access to an expansive public library and "Quality parks" that are also close to or within the neighborhood. The area is also quickly growing, and residents and homebuyers alike will notice contrasting styles of older, low-slung shops with vintage facades next to newer, sleek and modern multistory buildings. Bodle recommends the neighborhood for "Anyone looking to live in a diverse area or wanting to pay lower taxes than they would in Portland since Beaverton is in Washington County," and also notes that the neighborhood is popular with those working at the Intel or Nike headquarters, which are both located west of Beaverton. With a wealth of creative shops and community amenities, it's easy to live a fun and active, yet laid-back kind of life in Central Beaverton. Central Beaverton, in its residential areas, is largely composed of single-family homes built from the 1940s to 60s. Walking through its quiet, residential streets, homebuyers are likely to notice creative, well-cared-for front yards, well-connected sidewalks and tall trees gently shading the neighborhood. Most homes vary between midcentury bungalows and traditional ranch-style homes, with a healthy mix of 21st-century, modern and Craftsman constructions thrown in. With an average sales price of about $445,000, homes in Central Beaverton sell for almost $100,000 dollars less than those in the surrounding areas, making them much more affordable than homes downtown. And, while homes here aren't known for having expansive footprints, they are "Appreciating quickly as Central Beaverton continues to grow as a bustling hub for commerce and culture," says Bodle. Two-bedroom, midcentury cottages can be found in Central Beaverton selling for as low as about $350,000 dollars, while more common three-bedroom Craftsman homes usually sell in the mid $400,000s and modern, custom-designed homes can sell for up to $900,000 dollars. Unique to the Portland area, there is a limited selection of modern homes known colloquially as "Rummers" in Central Beaverton. First designed by Bob Rummer in the 1960s, this style of home is highly sought-after for its beautifully designed exteriors and open, airy interiors. At the heart of Central Beaverton is its shopping and dining area, located within walking distance and just northeast of the neighborhood's residential parts. Home to many local businesses and stores, residents have access to a diverse array of restaurants, shops and entertainment, all right out their front door. With so many options nearby, "You can find whatever you want in Central Beaverton," says Bodle, explaining that residents can "just take a walk and you'll find 15 different places that interest you." When residents aren't quite sure what they want to eat, head over to BGs Food Cartel, home to over 30 international food trucks and a speakeasy-style bar, all in an open-air market setting. When the sweet tooth strikes, try Beard Papa's, a bakery chain from Japan known for its signature cream puffs, which are baked fresh daily and Bodle describes as "The best in the world." Cooking at home is also made convenient with a local New Seasons not too away and other smaller grocers around like Ranchito Super Store, which sells Mexican specialty goods. For some entertainment or a fun night out, try Super Champ, where patrons can enjoy fun drinks while playing retro games like Pac-Man and Galaga. For other goods, the Cedar Hills Crossing complex features a WinCo Foods supermarket, a Best Buy and a branch of the independent Portland bookstore, Powell’s Books. This Powell’s Books location features more than 500,000 titles to peruse. Beaverton Town Square, meanwhile, includes a Trader Joe’s and a Mud Bay pet supply store. For community events and seeing neighbors, the acclaimed Beaverton Farmers Market is the place to go on Saturdays from February to November — “It’s really, really nice,” says Jo Lavey, a Portland real estate broker with John L. Scott Real Estate. The farmers market draws well over 100 vendors, plus live musical performances. Additionally, the City of Beaverton organizes multiple events over the course of the year, including the Fourth of July celebration and concert at Veterans Memorial Park and the Beaverton Celebration Parade, which dates back to 1957 and is full of floats, marching bands and more. Thanks to the Beaverton School District, school is also close to home for Central Beaverton students, with local options from Fir Grove Elementary, which is just south of the neighborhood and receives a B-minus rating from Niche to Highland Park Middle, which receives an A rating. Beaverton High School is just slightly beyond the neighborhood's eastern boundary and receives a B-plus rating from Niche. Beaverton High's percentage of students who progress to college outpaces the state average and the school is known for being Oregon's oldest public high school that is still in its original location and building. When trying to get outside, locals can easily walk over to neighborhood greenspaces like Evelyn M. Schiffler Memorial Park to stroll along its paths, let their dogs off leash or find areas for kids to play. Dubbed a “park for everybody” by the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District, Schiffler Park seemingly has a little bit of everything throughout its 10 acres: a playground, basketball courts, open field space, a dog park and a skate park. Eichler Park, to the north, is about a quarter of the size of Schiffler Park, but is unique for its community garden plots and off-road bike park, also called a pump track, which has a series of dirt jumps tailored for a range of skill levels. And, dedicated to those who served in all branches of the military, Veterans Memorial Park is a 1-acre plot that serves as the site of annual Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day ceremonies as well as "Farmers' markets during day and movies at night during the summer," says Bodle. Central Beaverton also stands close to Oregon Route 217 (also known as Beaverton Tigard Freeway), which can connect commuters with Sunset Highway and other roads heading towards Portland. Just over eight miles from downtown, driving into the city usually takes about 15 to 20 minutes, but often takes longer due to traffic. There is also a nearby MAX light rail station that goes to Portland, making car-free commuting or transportation easy. For international travel, Portland International Airport is about ten miles past downtown, while, to get to the nearest hospital, residents can head just a few miles up Beaverton Tigard Freeway to find Providence St. Vincent. To find a quiet study space or tap into some local resources, the Beaverton City Library main branch is also close by. The 69,000-square-foot facility holds thousands of items available for checkout and includes a fairly new makerspace that’s perfect for creative types. The makerspace, located on the library’s second floor, features equipment like a 3D scanner, sewing machines and button and sticker makers in addition to a range of art supplies, from easels to crayons.

Greenway, 3 miles from Beaverton and 10 miles from Portland, is known for its popular Greenway Park. “The park’s the big draw,” says area Realtor Matt Booth of RE/MAX Equity Group. Greenway Park is 87 acres, which makes it one of the largest park facilities out of the 90 total that fall under the purview of the Beaverton area’s Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District. The park includes more than 3 miles of trails, including a portion of the Fanno Creek Trail, a popular paved path. Weaving through the park, Fanno Creek Trail offers wildlife spotting opportunities, from birds to beavers. Some of Greenway’s private residential homes back up against Greenway Park, too, making the expanse like a backyard. All the neighborhood’s homes are about a half-mile from the park. On the other side of the park is a collection of shopping centers and eateries just off Route 217 that borders the neighborhood. “One of the most overlooked things about Beaverton is Downtown Beaverton,” says Paul Clem, a broker at Oregon Relocation Team. “It’s really going through a big transformation. It is just adjacent to Greenway and has really great local restaurants. Most of Greenway’s retail can be found on the neighborhood's east side, anchored by the large Cascade Plaza shopping mall. Cascade Plaza features Old Navy, Nordstrom Rack, Ross, PetSmart and more. Another location with popular shopping and dining is the Washington Square shopping mall. Other dining options can be found just north of Cascade Plaza, including Panda Express, Dutch Bros Coffee and Einstein Bros. “Scholl’s Ferry Road goes into Progress Ridge, which is a new entertainment area,” says Clem. For more localized options, residents enjoy Muchas Gracias Mexican Food, Falafel Express and Society Pie. The pizza parlor is popular in part for its freshly made crusts. The Greenway Neighborhood Community, a Beaverton City recognized neighborhood, hosts a monthly meeting, sometimes over Zoom, but more recently in person at the Beaverton Public Safety Center. There are also local tree plantings to help preserve the area. For more events and festivals, residents visit Downtown Beaverton or Portland. For services and religious communities, locals visit the Muslim Educational Trust. Most of the houses in Greenway date back to the 1970s, constructed in an assortment of Craftsman-style ranchers and second-story overhang layouts. Properties in Greenway tend to come with at least a small amount of lawn space. The neighborhood’s streets are lined with well-kept cement sidewalks and mature evergreen and deciduous trees, making for a walkable landscape. Single-family homes in Greenway usually go for $250,000 to $700,000. The Beaverton School District serves Greenway, which is listed as the best school district in Washington County and receives an A on Niche. Children attend Greenway Elementary School, receiving a B. Students continue to Conestoga Middle School, receiving an A. Southridge High School, receiving an A-minus, is listed as one of Oregon's best public high schools. Connected to Greenway Park is the Koll Center Wetlands, where residents may find otters, ducks and other local wildlife. Greenway Park includes multiple playground structures, basketball courts and a nine-hole disc golf course. Also, adjacent to Greenway Park sits the Fanno Farmhouse, a home built in 1859 by an early area settler named Augustus Fanno. The Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District restored the structure and it now houses a preschool program. The Westside Express Service commuter rail station is located right by Cascade Plaza. The commuter rail service features trains every 45 minutes in the morning and afternoon on weekdays and can be used to get around Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin and Wilsonville. Bus stops can also be found around the area, mainly near the shopping centers and dining locations off Route 217 and along Southwest Hall Boulevard.

Located in the small city of Beaverton, a suburb about 10 miles west of downtown Portland, Highland is a scenic neighborhood sought by architecture and outdoor enthusiasts alike. Homes here enhance the area's natural beauty: they're primarily single-story and unassuming, incorporating elements of mid-century modern architecture like large windows and courtyards to create a sense of indoor-outdoor living. Tall firs surround the homes, giving a sense of seclusion while still existing within a community. "People love Highland because it has a real Northwest feel, with its tall, mature fir trees," says Brian Bellairs, one of the top Realtors in the Portland area for the past three decades. "Its large lots offer elbow room and privacy." Single-family homes are the most common housing option in Highland, and they're available in a range of architectural styles, like ranch-style, split-level and mid-century modern. In recent years, the area's seen an addition of newer constructions, often contemporary traditional-style homes. Housing here blends seamlessly with the forested landscape, with homes often single-story and unassuming to not distract from the natural beauty. Fans of mid-century modern architecture gravitate to this neighborhood as a high concentration of the style is available here, and many homes incorporate its elements like A-frames and large windows. For many properties, the home's wooded surroundings and sliding glass doors create the ultimate indoor-outdoor living: some include elements like patios and courtyards to enhance the experience. Prices here start around $250,000 for a two-bedroom condo, get as high as $1 million for an immaculately maintained mid-century modern home and settle at a median of about $580,000. For most single-family homes, buyers should expect to spend $500,000 to $700,000. Students in Highland attend schools in the Beaverton School District, starting with Fir Grove Elementary School, which received a B-plus rating on the educational review site, Niche. Then, they continue to Highland Park Middle School, which received an A, before graduating from Southridge High School, which received an A-minus. The Beaverton School District offers 33 different Career and Technical Education programs and has an overall graduation rate of 90.5%. Neighborhood private school options include Valor Christian School International, both serving preschool through high school students and receiving A ratings on Niche. On Niche's 2024 Best Schools list, Valor ranked as the fourth-best high school for the arts in Oregon, and St. Stephen's ranked as the second-best Christian high school in Oregon. Fir Grove Park and Channing Heights Park are Highland's primary public green spaces. Fir Grove Park has a playground surrounded by woodlands, where residents can follow paved trails through the trees. At Channing Heights Park, ample grassy fields allow dogs to run and play, and a basketball court beside the playground entertains athletic kids and adults. Highland residents dine at nearby local restaurants like Shari's Café and Pies, an old-school diner; McMenamins Murray & Allen, a neighborhood location of the Portland-famous brewery chain; and Lima, a cozy, family-owned Peruvian restaurant. Residents get groceries at the neighborhood Safeway and the nearby La Norteña, a local Mexican market with a bakery, butcher shop and fresh tortillas. For retail shopping and additional dining options, residents can head two miles north to Cedar Hills Crossing, a shopping complex with over 70 shops and restaurants. Highland is about 10 miles west of downtown Portland, and residents can take U.S. Route 26 to get there. They can also consider taking TriMet, a public transit service with bus routes connecting to downtown. Highland is five miles south of the nearest hospital, Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, and 21 miles southwest of the Portland International Airport. Beaverton hosts various family-friendly community events throughout the year, like Flicks by the Fountain, a movie night in the park; Bike Beaverton, an annual group ride; and a Fourth of July concert and celebration at Veterans Memorial Park. Each September, the town gathers for the Beaverton Celebration Parade, an annual tradition since 1957.

Neighbors Southwest, 5 miles from Downtown Beaverton, is a recently developed neighborhood made with a modern suburban lifestyle in mind. The area has many new builds, with the average year built around 2002. Homes are built among trees and along winding roads on thin sidewalks bordered by vegetation. Roadways are wide and connect with several highways in the area. “There are sidewalks everywhere and it’s a wooded area,” says Paul Clem, a broker at Oregon Relocation Team. “That’s a big draw.” The area has several shopping centers within its boundaries but is within driving distance of the shopping complexes off Route 217, including Cascade Plaza and Washington Square. Locals can walk or bike through town using the six-mile Westside Regional Trail stretching from Barrows Park to central Beaverton. Housing in the area is comprised of large, new historicism homes with complex roof forms and Craftsman-style details along with contemporary Colonial Revivals and contemporary Craftsman. Townhouses and condos are typical in the area, usually grouped in communities, and sell for $350,000 to $450,000. Homes in the area have around four or more rooms and go for $550,000 to a million. Most schools in the area are relatively new. Students may attend Nancy Ryles Elementary School, receiving an A on Niche. Students continue to Conestoga Middle School, receiving an A rating. Newly built Mountainside High School, receiving an A, is listed as one of Oregon's best public high schools. Due to the Westside Regional Trail, Neighbors Southwest is walkable and bikeable. Public transportation options such as Westside Express Service through Trimet offer residents a convenient option to get to and from downtown, not to mention the neighboring cities of Tigard, Tualatin, and Wilsonville. On the north side of the area, Murray Scholls Town Center and Murrayhill Marketplace offer residents a variety of shopping and dining options. Progress Ridge Townsquare on the south side provides shopping, dining and entertainment with the AMC Progress Ridge 13, including a pastry and bar station and a Classic Movie Arcade. Nearby, are restaurants like neighborhood favorite Big Al’s, where visitors can enjoy hearty American food and craft beers before visiting the arcade or bowling alley. For dessert, residents visit La Provence Boulangerie & Pâtisserie for authentic French pastries. Highly-rated Oasis offers baba ghanoush, vegan falafel wraps and other Lebanese cuisine. For groceries, Neighbors Southwest is home to standard supermarkets like Albertsons and Safeway and the more organic-oriented New Seasons Market. Near Progress Ridge is Barrows Park, which hosts a colorful playground next to statues of a dinosaur, a toad, a turtle and a fish that children can play on. Neighbors Southwest is close to Cooper Mountain National Park and Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge. Locals visit the 232-acre Cooper Mountain National Park to hike along the trails and enjoy the views of the Tualatin River Valley. In the National Wildlife Refuge, visitors can explore the Tualatin wetlands and learn about the wildlife at the visitor center. The neighborhood hosts a variety of community events throughout the year. “We have tons of fun activities every year,” says Kristen Kebbe, recreation coordinator for the non-profit Murrayhill Owners Association. “We put on movie nights in the summer, host a Fourth of July Parade for the kids, and local businesses put on an easter egg hunt each year.” For those who wish to attend religious services, there is the Murray Hills Christian Church, Southwest Bible Church and Southwest Hills Baptist Church.

Raleigh West is a primarily commercial swathe of eastern Beaverton that maintains cozy residential surroundings. Its homeowners are just a stone’s throw away from copious amenities yet still revel in a distinct and leisureful respite beneath the area's thick canopy of tall evergreens. But perhaps the most enticing offering is the neighborhood's community-oriented parks and those who help maintain an appreciation for them. Plus, a bounty of indoor recreation options nearby allows locals to keep their community's sporty spirit going even on the Pacific Northwest's rainiest days. Most residences in Raleigh West are on the eastern side, in a pocket of residential streets below Southwest Jamieson Road. “The houses tend to be well manicured,” says Realtor Virginia Sewell of Windermere Realty Trust. “It's a fairly safe neighborhood.” Sidewalks run between grass dividers filled with juvenile sugar maples and rock gardens, lending both shade and puddle-free walks to pedestrians crossing from one side of the street to another using black-and-white checkered crosswalks with speedbumps. Tucked into that pocket, a predominance of vernacular home designs vary in their distance from the curb, with some tucked back in groves of trees and others with open skies above. Their stylings often blend woodland colors and materials with their surroundings, offering a litany of cozy single- and multi-story ranchers, as well as split-levels and Cape Cods, “Which are popular,” says Sewell. “The prices are fairly reasonable,” though marginally higher for Beaverton, with many selling for between $400,000 to $700,000. Bereft of heavy industry, Raleigh West contains a few expected businesses in its low industrial area, such as storage units and offices for contractors. Some unexpected businesses, however, include video game stores and coffee shops. But for hefty commerce, residents drive north to Beaverton Hillsdale Highway for home supplies from Michael's Crafts and the Home Depot or groceries from a location for the Asian supermarket chain Uwajimaya. A Fred Meyer grocery store also sits less than a mile west. Residents can instead go south to Allen Boulevard for lower-traffic fillings. “It’s close to everything you’re going to need,” says Sewell. Burgerville is a popular option for fast and filling meals. Just up the road, Legends Billiards Room and its accompanying restaurant, Catfish Lou's, is a popular nightlife spot, offering ladies nights every Wednesday and Sunday. Locals take pride in their manicured streets and location within Beaverton. The Denney Whitford/Raleigh West Neighborhood Association Committee always seeks volunteers to help with cleanup days and other community maintenance projects. With immediate access to downtown Beaverton, residents also like to visit the Beaverton Night Market in August. Students in Raleigh West begin their education at Raleigh Hills Elementary, which has an A-minus Niche score. Next comes the A-rated Whitford K-8, Niche's most standout school in all of Oregon, partly achieved by its offering of the SUMMA program for highly gifted students. The last step is Beaverton High, which has a Niche score of B-plus. All three schools offer class sizes at or below the national average of 17 students per teacher. Woven into the area's low industrial buildings are several indoor recreation options. Probably the most significant is the Winterhawks Skating Center, an ice-skating facility that offers lessons and is the training facility for the Portland Winterhawks. This junior ice hockey team is part of the Western Hockey League. Right down the road is the Beaverton Family YMCA, a vast facility with exercise rooms, gymnasiums, meeting rooms and regular programming for youths and adults. Just west of the neighborhood, the Oregon Badminton Academy serves up lessons and weekly programs for those looking to try out Portland's sacred pastime. Of course, not all days are spent inside, with several parks in and around Raleigh West. All nearby parks are ADA-accessible, including the playground at Little People's Park and even the 4.5-mile Fanno Creek Trail, which cyclists can travel from Vista Brook Park and Greenway Park. Oregon Route 217 is part of the neighborhood's western border and is an apt artery for 7-mile trips eastward to Portland. Those commuting south to Wilsonville can park and ride using a WES commuter rail station 2 miles south at Cascade Plaza. Bus routes also service all major roads in the neighborhood, though some lack shelters for rainy days. Beaverton Creek is prone to occasional high water when precipitation is constant or other factors permit. This affects select areas of Raleigh West, mainly those along Route 217, which is also prone to noise pollution. Properties surrounding Little People's Park are also at greater risk of water damage.

Sexton Mountain is a suburban neighborhood sitting along the southwestern edge of Beaverton, a city that itself lies about 8 miles west of downtown Portland. Green spaces and parks are located throughout Sexton Mountain, which is bisected by the Westside Regional Trail. Not only does it pass by several parks within the neighborhood itself, but also connects Beaverton’s west side communities. The trail, along with the overall natural scenery, have been credited with helping draw people to the area. “It’s just really beautiful out there, and there are good schools. It’s got really nice trees along the streets and it feels very green down there,” says Beaverton City Council member Kevin Teater. “The Westside Regional Trail cuts north and south through the Sexton neighborhood. It’s a really awesome regional trail, and it’s pretty hilly down there, so you’ll get your exercise in.” Many have also found the community’s suburban vibe appealing. “It really is a residential neighborhood, and the schools are not bad. The homes are generally more affordable and people like that it’s a clean, safe and very family oriented area,” says Alexander Phan, a Realtor and broker with Keller Williams, who grew up in the area. Sexton Mountain received a strong 2 out of 10 on the CAP Index, placing it below the national average when it comes to crime and safety. The Westside Regional Trail spans 6 miles of a mostly continuous path between the city of Tigard southwest of Sexton Mountain and the Tualatin Hills Nature Park to the north. The trail provides users with access to the area’s distinct rivers, forests and prairies. Cyclists on the path can pass by a mixture of neighborhoods, open field spaces occasionally shaded by pines and other pockets dense with shrub. One of the neighborhood green spaces along the trail is the nearly 3-acre Hart Meadows Park, where children burn off some energy at the playground. Those looking to get in some tennis matches can hit the nearby tennis courts south of Southwest Rigert Road. Sexton Mountain is also located just east of Cooper Mountain Nature Park, a vast 230-acre space where visitors can take to the more than 3 miles of trails there to explore distinct habitats that include conifer forest, prairie and oak woodlands. Users can also be treated to views of the Chehalem Mountains. Schools that serve the area include Sexton Mountain Elementary School, Highland Park Middle School and Mountainside High School, all of which received grades of A from ratings site Niche. Each of those schools are part of the Beaverton School District, which also received an overall A from Niche and is ranked among the top 5 districts in the state. Sexton Mountain Elementary, for example, scores above the Oregon average when it comes to meeting state grade-level expectations in English language arts, mathematics and science. It has also a slightly smaller median class size than the overall state, as well as a higher regular attendance rate. Southwest Christian School, located in the far southeastern pocket of the neighborhood, is a faith-based private school serving kindergarten through 12th grade. The school boasts a 100% graduation rate and offers dual credit opportunities for its high schoolers. Homes in Sexton Mountain can be found along winding and hilly streets, with some backing up onto streams and small, wooded areas. Many of the homes are two-story traditional and contemporary houses, with a number of them dating back no further than the 1990s or late 1980s. Price points for these homes that are often around at least 2,000 square feet can run between the mid-$600,000s to well over $800,000s, with overall size playing a role. Although there’s a Walmart Neighborhood Market on the eastern end of Sexton Mountain, residents usually need to travel just outside of the neighborhood to find a greater variety of dining and shopping options. Residents often travel to the Murrayhill area a short distance south of the neighborhood to shop and dine out. Patrons to the Murrayhill Taphouse can pair some brews with fare that can range from avocado toasts topped with greens, onion slices and cherry tomatoes to burgers topped with melted Swiss cheese, bacon and jalapenos. And for dessert, they can a waffle covered topped with berries and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. They can also enjoy their meals and drinks on the outdoor patio, which comes complete with a cozy firepit. Then those interested trying out some Mediterranean options for date night can go to nearby Oasis Lebanese Cuisine just off Southwest Scholls Ferry Road. One community event is the Beaverton Easter Egg Hunt, which takes place in March at Carolwood Park. Sexton Mountain residents can attend a variety of events throughout the Beaverton area, including a summer concert series that takes place at various locations. Among them is the 4th of July Celebration and Concert at Veterans Memorial Park, located less than a miles south of downtown Beaverton. Oregon Route 217, located about 4 miles east of Sexton Mountain, is among the highways that help residents travel to both downtown Beaverton and Portland. Located on the Columbia River, the Portland International Airport is located approximately 23 miles northeast of Sexton Mountain. Sexton Mountain is also located 10 miles southeast of the Hillsboro Airport, the second busiest airport in Oregon. The Providence St. Vincent Hospital East Pavilion is located about 7 miles north of Sexton Mountain.