Well I have lived here all my life but in many locations: Gresham, benifits are traffic lite in town close to Mt hood community college,close to Mt hood for skiing etc. camping, Schools are excellent also, you might also consider Troutdale, which borderes Gresham there schools are even better then Gresham and Beaverton they have many public charter schools available. Beaverton is nice too, it is close to downtown if that is were you will be working however traffic on 26 is aweful and beware of 217 also very heavy traffic, we live in Troutdale my husband commutes to Downtown Portland everyday it takes 45 minutes in rush hour, from downtown portland to beaverton (1/2 the distance) will take you the same amount of time or more. It just depends on if you want to be in a dense populated high traffic area, versus light traffic, not as dense populated however still plenty of people. Three areas to avoid 181st area (rockwood) in portland, North Portland, se portland, these areas are all high crime areas and schools are no good. Good luck with moving. Let me know if you want any other information. Both beaverton and gresham have Max Light Rail (Trimet) which is a high speed commuter train which runs to downtown so you have a choice to drive! Clackamas would be a good middle point possible to check out also they are right by clackamas town center about 20 min from gresham and 25-30 min from beaverton.