If you’re building a custom home and enjoy biking to work, walking to the park, or taking the bus to the mall, the location of your future home is probably a prime concern for you. Thankfully, tools like WalkScore.com and Trimet Trip Planner show you how easily you can travel by foot, bike, or transit from a specific neighborhood or city to wherever you need to go. In this post, I’ll give you a brief overview of each to help you find a walkable, busable, bike-friendly neighborhood in Portland.

The walkability score, also called the Walk Score, rates major cities and neighborhoods on a scale of 0-100. The score of a city is the weighted average of the Walk Score, Transit Score, and Bike Score of addresses within that city. The ratings are defined below (Portland’s scores are shown):

portlands-walkability-score

Portland’s walkability score of 63 puts it in the “Somewhat Walkable” range. That’s an understatement! Portland is one of the most walk-, bike-, and public transit-friendly cities on the West Coast — and the 14th most walkable city in the U.S. Basically, it’s a great place for building your custom home.

Want to go more in depth? Walk Score lists all 89 Portland neighborhoods from most to least walkable, including links that can be followed for more detailed information on each area. These descriptions include nearby restaurants, crime rate, and specifics about walking, biking and public transit in that neighborhood. After all, every neighborhood is different, and you want to build your custom home in just the right spot. Sunnyside, for instance, is a cyclist’s paradise:

how-bikeable-is-sunnyside-portland

Another great tool is TriMet Trip Planner, which allows you to enter your “To” and “From” location and then plans your commute within seconds. When it comes to comparing lots for your custom home, this is a quick and easy way to figure out if the commute from your new home will work for you.

trimet-trip-planner

If you’re thinking about building a custom home but don’t want to sacrifice your walks, bikes, or bus rides, Portland is a great choice! It was recently recognized by National Geographic as one of the world’s best cities. Portland is an eco-friendly city and ranks at the very top of the nation in LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) developments. With its proximity to the mountains and beach, Portland is a great place to live if you love snowboarding, skiing, surfing, or boating. And when it’s time to relax, there is a never-ending supply of local breweries, coffee shops, and restaurants.

Ready to build your custom home in Portland? Contact us today for more information!  

Sources:
Portland Neighborhood
The Oregon Optimist