Greetings, citizens of Gresham, and welcome to the online hub for your apartment hunting adventures! Situated just east of Portland at the feet of the majestic Mt. Hood, Gresham has evolved in recent years from a sparsely populated town into a vibrant, bustling urban/suburban landscape boasting more than 100,000 residents. So what do you say? Are you ready to find your dream dwellings in one of Oregon’s fastest growing, most pocketbook-friendly communities? Then stick with us, because a primo apartment with your name on it is just a hop, skip, and jump (and a few simple clicks) away …
A Glance at Gresham
Gresham today boasts a variety of attractions for a wide range of residents, including:
Easy access to the mother ship. Portland is easily achievable thanks to the MAX light rail, which conveniently links the two cities.
Entertainment. Many parts of town are dotted with trails, parks, picnic areas, basketball courts, and walking/biking paths. The historic downtown area, which is home to the renowned Mt. Hood Jazz Festival every August, is lined with boutiques, galleries, and eateries that attract a mix of shoppers, curiosity seekers, and sidewalk surfers. Gresham also boasts a modest number of pubs, clubs, sports bars, and other assorted watering holes.
Peace at an affordable price. An apartment that costs you two grand or more in Portland is likely to go for $1200 or less in Gresham, and it’s easy to see why the city’s population has spiked by nearly twenty percent in the past twenty years.
Tips for Tenants
As Gresham has blossomed in the past two decades, apartments, townhouses, lofts, and freestanding homes have sprung up like mushrooms. Six percent of all housing units are currently vacant, and new apartment complexes continue to be built, so rest assured you’ll have a wide variety of housing options to choose from.
If contemporary urban flair is your cup of tea, we recommend the variety of spacious pads in the historic downtown area, which puts residents within walking distance of the Arts Plaza, Farmer’s Market, and MAX stations. Other parts of town, like Holly Brook, and Powell Valley, feature boatloads of roomy, modern rental properties as well, most of which go for less than a grand.
You can afford to be picky in Gresham, so if you’re not comfortable with an apartment’s amenities, then shrug it off and move on. Most complexes were built post-1990 and many including washer/dryer units, tenant parking, private decks or patios, walk-in closets, and controlled access to the building. Top-notch amenities are the standard fare in Gresham, so don’t settle for anything less.
Waiting lists are infrequent, and apartments don’t typically see large spikes in occupancies during any specific time of the year, so you won’t have too much competition on your apartment hunting escapades. Sometimes, landlords/property managers require a good-faith deposit or charge additional move-in fees upfront, but not always, so be on the lookout for the unbelievable rent specials that often pop up.
Self-Service is for Schmucks!
One last thought: Unless you live in the downtown area and can rely on public transit alone to haul you around, chances are you’ll need your own set of wheels to shop, dine, bank, work, and socialize conveniently. Obviously, you’ll be spending a pretty penny or two at the filling station … just don’t try to pump your own gas! It’s illegal in the Beaver State for anyone but a “trained professional” to pump petro into your gas guzzler, so save yourself from an embarrassing confrontation with a Chevron employee and just stay put when you pull up to the pump!
And now you’re off to the apartment hunting races, so best of luck, welcome to Gresham, and happy hunting!
