I've commuted from SE Portland to Beaverton.
Now I commute the lovely back-roads from N Portland to Hillsboro -- over the river and through the woods, the best car commute in town. The only problem is that, since I can drive it in 25 minutes, I have little incentive to take the 1-hour+ Tri-Met (mass transit) alternative.
I live in N. Portland now. It is not a glamorous part of town, but it is affordable and it does have a reputation that is not entirely deserved. Just like SE Portland includes everything from Hawthorne to Lents and NE includes everything from Concordia to Laurelhurst, N Portland has a very diverse bunch of differing neighborhoods. And it is an area under massive improvement and property values are climbing. If you want to live here, buy now.
Out on the Penninsula (St. Johns, Portsmouth, University Park) it feels more like a small town than a big city. I especially love the diversity, not just racial but national, linguistic, cultural, economic, you name it. A little bit of everyone lives up here.
And where else are you only 15-20 minutes from downtown, Vancouver, Jantzen Beach, Forest Park, Sauvie Island, Lloyd Center, PDX, the Expo Center, and the Rose Garden?