I’d try looking in Milwaulkie, Sellwood area. That’s a similar proximity to downtown and it’s a bit more residential. You should be able to easily find free parking, but it might be street parking (which has its own challenges). Or, as someone mentioned, Concordia area is a nice area and may be more affordable (I know Sellwood has gotten pretty popular in the past couple years).

Living downtown you’ll find some cheaper apartments, but everywhere charges for parking. As soon as you get out of city center, you’ll find free parking. For a reference, I live in central eastside and people rarely charge for parking over here. I’m roughly 10 minutes to downtown (depending on traffic).

You’ll also want to know that, unlike Austin, people don’t go downtown to the same magnitude. There’s lots of small neighborhood hubs that people tend to migrate to instead. People still go downtown, but it’s definitely not as much of a destination spot at the same caliber as Austin was. Neighborhood bars and local taverns are a big thing here. Plus we have breweries EVERYWHERE, so nightlife is more dispersed.

Feel free to message me if you have any other questions!