How far out of Portland, OR can one find cheap land for farming...I'd like

I'd like to be within easy access to mass transit but still live a rural life-style.

What areas can you recommend?

We are thinking of movint to Portland in the near future but don't know if we'd be able to find a place not too far from the city or a mass tranist link where we could farm and keep goats/chickens.


Any suggestions?

TIA

TruthIsAll ? ...

There is lots of land availible, and it's outside of the 'burbs. Then again, once you get out of all the 'burbs, you have nothing BUT rual land...:hi:

Therefore, the suburbs end abruptly and it's rural. The ring of 'burbs around Portland is not very big (maybe one or two towns before it gets rural; therefore, it's easy to get out into the country quickly from the center of Portland).

I don't know much about rural land prices, but I would say that probably the wine country in Yamhill county (near McMinnville) southwest of Portland tends to be pricier than other areas.

You might check out Banks, which is west of Portland and in very beautiful rolling country. If you're into mountain living there's a town called Sandy on the slopes of Mt. Hood. It's just outside Gresham, which is the eastern 'burb before you get to Portland.

Good luck!

I fear that it may be difficult to find something.

That said, the Max line (light rail train) runs all the way to Hillsboro now, which is a pretty decent area along the edge of the urban growth boundary. There is still farm land out there, but I'm not so sure about the affordable aspect of it.

I live just a few minutes south of downtown Portland in a part of unincorporated Multnomah County. I have not quite a half an acre, but it is fairly wooded. I can grow a decent garden, and I can keep chickens if I want. I'm sure I could keep other livestock as well.

Technically, I'm still in Portland. I have to walk a couple of blocks to get to a bus stop.

West Linn is pretty nice, but I'm not sure that Tri-met goes out that far. (Tri-met is the mass transit agency). West of Portland (like Hillsboro, or even Banks) you're going to run into tons of traffic, as Highway 26 is pretty much the main road in from that area. It leads into downtown, and it is a horrific nightmare, even on off hours now.

South of Portland (West Linn) is nice, but it is getting up there in price. There is still some farm land around that area - I have a friend that owns 5 acres out there, but he is getting crowded out by the McMansions.

East of Portland is accessible to Troutdale, I think. But the air quality tends to suck out there in the summer time.

Not much north of Portland along the transit line except Sauvie Island, and that is way too pricey for most.

there is a town south of Portland called Oregon City. It's right on the Willamette River. There seems to be a lot of farmland around there.

As for public transportation ... not so much.