Portland-area renters feeling the strain as housing costs soar – By Jayati Ramakrishnan (The Oregonian/OregonLive) / April 16, 2022
A few years ago, Rosalie Nowalk had options when her rent grew too steep.
When the latest notice of a rent increase for her Lake Oswego apartment arrived earlier this year, though, she found her options had waned.
“I might have looked in Oregon City, Mollala, McMinnville,” said Norwalk, who’s lived in the area for 30 years and wants to stay close to her kids and grandkids. “But those places are getting to be more than the rent I’m paying here. It’s like there’s nowhere to go anymore.”
Rents across the Portland metro area have climbed rapidly over the past year, straining the budgets of renters like Nowalk and forcing them to make a difficult decision: stay and try to keep up with the skyrocketing costs, or take a chance on a new place that might only prove a temporary reprieve.
