James' place will give you an excellent view of the river and works as a great 'launching pad' to the fun that Portland offers. I stayed for almost a month at James' place and repeatedly had the experience of thinking "it would be great if they had 'whatever' here and after a quick look...sure enough, they'd thought of that and had it in the place already. Others have mentioned the train noise. Honestly i commented repeatedly about how quiet it was. It's all about perspective. I live in a major midwest downtown and my modern condo is noisier. I plan to return...more than once. I love the city and this place.